Satterberg says he and Maleng were "true partners"

Second of two profiles about candidates for King County prosecutor. Read Monday's profile of Bill Sherman.

During a speech to kick off his campaign for King County prosecuting attorney, Dan Satterberg could have quoted John Marshall or Thurgood Marshall, two legal minds he admires from the past.

Instead, he quoted John Lennon: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Satterberg, 47, planned to continue to be second-in-command to Prosecutor Norm Maleng, as he had for 17 years. But Maleng died May 24 of cardiac arrest, and the Metropolitan King County Council unanimously promoted Satterberg from chief of staff to the top post on an interim basis.

In order to win the job for the next three years, Satterberg has had to enter the world of partisan politics, which he considers a necessary evil. He faces Democrat Bill Sherman, a deputy King County prosecutor, in the November election.

"This office should be nonpartisan," said Satterberg, a Republican endorsed by several Democrats, including the Snohomish and Pierce county prosecutors. He also is endorsed by a prominent Republican — ousted U.S. Attorney John McKay.

"He gives powerful testimony about what happens when a Justice Department becomes a partisan tool," Satterberg said.

Unknown outside legal circles, Satterberg is trying to make sure voters realize that he and Maleng were joined at the belt loop.

"We were true partners," Satterberg said. "I wrote all of his speeches, talking points and letters. We began thinking alike and then sounding alike.

"For the last 17 years, our careers were really a single career. I'm more than happy to explain any case that went through the office the last 17 years because I had something to do with it."

Satterberg said his job reviews over the past few years consisted of Maleng inviting him into his office, hugging him and telling him how much he loved him and enjoyed working with him.

"He was a father figure to me," Satterberg said.

Art of compassion

Satterberg sings and plays guitar in two classic-rock bands. The only concerts Maleng ever saw in his life were Cher and Anne Murray.

But the two were more alike than different.

"What I learned from Norm, mostly, was the art of human compassion," Satterberg said.

That osmosis was reflected in that same campaign kickoff speech.

Satterberg could have cast himself as a tough-guy prosecutor but instead talked about reforming the criminal-justice system to help first-time juvenile offenders, as well as mentally ill and drug-addicted offenders charged with low-level crimes.

"Why can't we harness the creativity and compassion of our community and be there for the kids who are falling through the cracks?" he asked his audience. "Why shouldn't the prosecutor lead the way to reach those kids on their first brush with the law to make sure that it's also their last?"

Reforming the way the system deals with low-level offenders who are mentally ill was on Maleng's agenda for 2007. It now tops Satterberg's.

"If you just cycle them through the system and kick them back out so they can offend again, you aren't helping them and you also are foolishly wasting court resources," he said.

The seventh floor of the King County Jail is full of people waiting to be evaluated to see if they are mentally competent to stand trial. The average stay there is 111 days, at $300 a day, Satterberg said.

"Let's figure out who can be helped, who can get a case manager, who can access services — and get them out of jail," he said.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Janice Ellis, a Democrat endorsing the Republican, said Satterberg has preached compassionate justice for years.

"It's not just campaign rhetoric," she said. "Norm and Dan have engaged in a lot of progressive work in the state that has inspired other counties, mine among them, to do things a different way."

Votes taken to task

For all the talk of how partisan politics should not enter the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Satterberg has found himself defending votes he made while representing Maleng on the three-member King County Canvassing Board, which convenes after elections to rule on disputed ballots.

Satterberg voted the Republican Party positions in the 2004 disputed gubernatorial race between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi. He also sided with the GOP after a party activist challenged nearly 2,000 voter registrations.

Sherman and state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz say Satterberg's votes on the canvassing board reflect a partisan bias.

Satterberg said he voted based on the merits of the evidence, and an attorney who represented the Democratic Party during the gubernatorial recount agrees that Satterberg acted appropriately.

Recently, Satterberg also has defended his role as a legal resource to the Seattle Archdiocese, disputing the notion that it colored his pursuit — or nonpursuit — of an investigation into the church for its handling of sex-abuse cases involving priests.

An attorney for several abuse victims says Satterberg had at least the appearance of a conflict of interest. But Satterberg, who has since delegated the role to someone else in the office, sees no conflict.

Satterberg and his family — his wife (a Microsoft lawyer) and two children ages 15 and 11 — live in Normandy Park, where he was raised. He met three of his band mates as students at Sylvester Middle School and Highline High School.

He was five years out of law school, working as a deputy prosecutor in the gang unit, when Maleng tapped him as chief of staff. In that role, he managed the budget, personnel, media relations and intergovernmental relations. And he became Maleng's closest strategic adviser.

"It's funny to hear from a prosecutor, but I've always tended to look for the best in people, to be inspired by people who do great things and not be cynical or be sarcastic," Satterberg said. "I think Norm liked that about me."

King County Superior Court Judge Bill Downing, an early supervisor of Satterberg's, recalled the young lawyer sitting second chair as they tried two murder cases together in the late 1980s.

"He was an outstanding trial attorney," said Downing, who is neutral in the race. "Most litigation work is the preparation — the work done outside of court — and Dan was extremely conscientious on that side."

Downing said to understand Satterberg is to understand Maleng.

"Norm evolved from being the 'tough prosecutor' to what in the end he called being a 'minister.' What he meant was: Helping people and society in difficult times calls for toughness but also compassion and empathy. Norm grew into that view of the job and Dan, as Norm's right hand, derived the benefit of that."

Ellis, the Snohomish County prosecutor, said she is confident Satterberg would evaluate policy and cases based on the best interests of the community, not his own or those of the Republican Party.

"He tries to do the right thing for the right reasons," she said.

Satterberg, who claims no ambition for higher political office, said he is unhappy that the King County Republican Party mailed a fundraising letter that called Sherman a fringe liberal incapable of doling out justice equitably.

"All I can say about my opponent is he has a three-year career in our office," he said. "I had three years experience in 1988. I don't think he's ready, and I think I am."

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com