Letter to the editor

My son, Brandon Johnson, is running to be Superior Court judge. I am a proud father and, of course, am hopeful he will be elected. If he is, it will be his turn to be struck by lightning. Let me explain.

We have two boys, Brandon and Jason. Brandon is 15 months older than Jason. In 1989, when Jason was 12, while at baseball practice behind Pi-Hi, he was struck by lightning. Their mother (Diane) and I were not there, but Brandon was. He saw his brother struck down. Jason’s heart stopped beating. He was technically dead. When the EMTs arrived, they used AED paddles to restart his heart. He was taken by ambulance to General Hospital then by plane to Seattle where he recovered for many weeks.

Jason survived the lightning. Today he’s a pharmacist in the Tri-Cities. For a long time, we were very worried about him. And, for a long time, he was, as you can understand, a topic of concern, interest, and local fame. Brandon and Jason are close, always have been. But when the danger passed and Jason continued to be the center of interest and attention, Brandon, 14 at the time, was I think, a little--maybe a lot--jealous of his brother’s notoriety. I don’t remember if Brandon ever said it, but I’m sure he must have thought that he’d like to be struck by lightning so he could be the subject of articles in the UB like his brother. Well, now it’s Brandon’s turn to be struck by lightning - election lightning, not electric lightning. (You get the point.)

Yes, I’m a proud father, but Brandon will be a very good Superior Court judge. He’s smart, hardworking, honest, and fair - all are very important characteristics for a judge. And maybe more important, Brandon really cares about people and doing what is right. Is he perfect and never made a mistake? Of course not. But he honestly tries to do well and will bring that serious desire to do well to being a judge.

My joke with Brandon is that this is his opportunity to be struck by lightning--of the election variety, not electric. So, please join me in voting for Brandon Johnson to be Superior Court judge. No AED paddles or trip to the hospital necessary, just your ballot and a pen. Thank you.

Warren Johnson

Walla Walla