Ferguson won't run for prosecuting attorney

King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson, D-Seattle, has decided not to run for prosecuting attorney, saying he wasn't prepared to take on a major campaign four months after the death of his father.

Shortly after his announcement, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bill Sherman said he expects to enter the race Friday. If Sherman files, he will face Keith Scully, an environmental lawyer and a former King County deputy prosecuting attorney, in the Aug. 21 Democratic primary.

The winner of the primary is expected to face Acting Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg in the November election. Satterberg is seeking the Republican nomination with the support of his late boss Norm Maleng's family.

Many Democratic leaders had expected Ferguson, 42, a tough campaigner who defeated two veteran County Council members in a two-year period, to run for the office that Maleng held for 28 years. Maleng's death May 24 left potential candidates little time to decide whether to run for prosecutor by Friday's filing deadline.

"You've got to give 110 percent — at least for me — to go through a campaign, and given what the family's going through right now, I didn't have that," Ferguson said.

Another reason he decided not to run was that he had achieved his goal of chairing the County Council's annual budget process this fall, he said: "I've worked hard to get here and I would like to follow through with it." A number of constituents had encouraged him to stay on the council, he said.

Ferguson said he believes the prosecutor's office is a "very winnable race for the Democratic nominee," even though the Maleng family and the Republican Party are rallying around Satterberg, who was a criminal prosecutor before Maleng appointed him chief of staff in 1990.

Sherman called the prosecuting attorney job "an exciting opportunity," but after completing a domestic-violence trial Wednesday, he said, he needs more time to make sure it's the right decision.

"I've really been focusing on my job," Sherman said. "Because of how critical I think this decision really is, I'm going to take time to talk to my family and sleep on it and make sure it's the right step."

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com