Gregoire confidante recommended as next U.S. attorney for Western Washington

Jenny Durkan, a prominent Seattle defense attorney and longtime friend and confidante of Gov. Chris Gregoire, has been recommended to the White House as the next U.S. attorney for Western Washington.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sent Durkan's name to the White House for consideration as the top federal law-enforcement officer for the district, a recommendation endorsed by fellow Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Durkan would replace Jeff Sullivan, who was appointed by the district's federal judges after John McKay was fired in 2006 in a politically motivated purge that led to congressional hearings and the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Durkan, 51, must still win nomination by President Obama and confirmation by the Senate. Traditionally, the state's senior senator forwards names to the president for consideration.

"I'm incredibly honored," Durkan said Wednesday after Murray's office announced the recommendation. "While I think it is premature to be talking about this, I will say that I believe I have the right combination of expertise and steadfast independence needed for the job."

Not everybody feels that way. Durkan is fiercely Democratic and was key among those responsible for handing state Republicans their court defeat over the challenge to Gregoire's hair-thin victory over Dino Rossi in 2004.

"I think she's an odd choice in that she's a hard-core partisan," said state Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser. This, he said, after the Bush administration was excoriated by Congress and watchdog groups for letting politics seep into the traditionally nonpartisan Department of Justice.

Esser, however, agreed Durkan has qualities that would serve the job.

"She certainly is a very clever attorney. She's formidable," Esser said. "She's tough. I'll give her due in that respect."

Moreover, the last two Republican-nominated U.S. attorneys to serve in Western Washington — brothers Mike and John McKay — both support Durkan for the job.

"I think it's a great choice," said Mike McKay, who served as U.S. attorney under President George H. Bush and later was vice-chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Washington in 2004.

"There's no question she's partisan," he said. "But she has the will, like many of us, to put politics aside and do justice, which is what the job is all about."

He pointed out she set partisan politics aside when she endorsed Republican Dan Satterberg as King County prosecutor.

John McKay said Durkan would be a "great U.S. attorney" and praised her ethics.

Durkan has long been rumored to be under consideration.

Murray also recommended Michael Ormsby, a Spokane lawyer, replace Jim McDevitt as U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington.

Durkan is the daughter of Martin J. Durkan Sr., a political giant in the state who served as chairman of the state Senate Ways and Means Committee and later became a powerful lobbyist. He died in 2005.

Her mother, Lorraine Durkan, onetime executive editor of the Ballard News Tribune, died last year.

Jenny Durkan has worked for years as a high-end criminal and civil attorney, simultaneously becoming a major figure in the Democratic Party.

When Mike Lowry was accused of sexual misconduct while serving as governor in the 1990s, he hired Durkan to be his office attorney and help steady the administration. She quit after five months, saying the growing controversy made it impossible to do the job.

In 1996, Durkan represented then-state Attorney General Gregoire in a state Public Disclosure Commission investigation into Gregoire's work at a Seattle law firm while running for the office.

The commission ruled Gregoire failed to properly disclose details of her ties to the firm but deemed the violations to be minor and unintentional.

Durkan also was brought in as Gregoire's personal attorney in a case involving the Attorney General's Office missing a deadline for filing an appeal, a blunder that ultimately cost the state $20 million.

Gregoire was supportive, but understated, in a news release endorsing Durkan Wednesday: "Jenny is known for her successful criminal and civil litigation practice and is extremely well regarded for her civic leadership."

Durkan also served on two panels, one appointed by former Mayor Paul Schell and another by Mayor Greg Nickels, to examine misconduct and accountability in the Seattle Police Department.

Durkan is a lesbian who lives in Seattle with her longtime partner and their two sons. Research indicates she would likely be the first openly gay U.S. attorney.

Mike Carter can be reached at 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com

Information from Seattle Times news archives is contained

in this report.