Norma Tillotson, a seven-year veteran of the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office, was appointed Thursday to the office’s top spot by the Board of County Commissioners.
Tillotson most recently had been serving as interim prosecutor, taking over for Katie Svoboda, who was elected Superior Court Judge in November.
Tillotson “has been a tremendous asset to our county during the last seven years; I know she will continue to do so as prosecutor,” said Commissioner Vickie Raines. “I have worked with Norma on a variety of issues and she’s not only knowledgeable, she’s fair and communicative. I look forward to continuing to work with her and her office.”
The three commissioners considered three candidates provided by the Grays Harbor County Democratic Party for the position: Tillotson; Pam Noguiera, an attorney with the Aberdeen firm Ingram, Zelasko and Goodwin; and Jack Micheau, owner of Micheau and Associates law firm in Cosmopolis.
Tillotson and Noguiera were present for the interviews. Micheau was unable to attend the Zoom meeting, but submitted a statement indicating he would serve as prosecutor if selected but didn’t have an interest in running for the position when it came to the ballot again.
During her interview, Tillotson said she was approached by Svoboda when she decided to run for Superior Court judge and “asked if this was a position I would be interested in taking over. I had been mentoring with her for about a year and a half to be prepared to take over, learning the position, and the pitfalls of the position.”
Tillotson said she planned to work closely with law enforcement around the county. “Certainly they have some concerns about some of the things our office does and I want to make sure we’re being transparent and communicating,” said Tillotson.
Tillotson has been participating in Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys meetings, where changes in law are discussed, and she plans to provide local law enforcement with monthly legal updates to keep them abreast of enforcement issues related to those changes. She referenced the recent State Supreme Court ruling that halts enforcement in simple drug possession cases as an example of the type of change law enforcement needs to be kept abreast of.
Because Svoboda was elected as prosecutor as a Democrat, it was up to the county Democratic Party to provide the list of three candidates for the county commissioners to consider for the vacancy. Commissioner Raines explained Tillotson, if she wants to continue in the elected position, will have to file for the office in May. “Then in 2022 she’ll have to file for election for the following four-year term,” said Raines.
After Raines and the other two commissioners, Kevin Pine and Jill Warne, heard the interviews they went into an executive session to consider the candidates for about 15 minutes. When they came out, Pine moved to appoint Tillotson, Warne seconded the motion, and all three voted in favor.
Tillotson began her law career working in non-attorney positions in several county prosecutors offices. She was working as a paralegal in the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office when she was encouraged to apply to the Washington State Bar Association’s Law Clerk Program, and completed the program in January 2007. She sat for the bar the next month, and was sworn in as a licensed attorney in May 2007.
After working in a mid-sized law firm in Spokane and in her own practice, focusing on family law, Tillotson was hired as a civil deputy prosecuting attorney with Grays Harbor County. She was named as Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor in 2018.
Her Grays Harbor experience includes representing and providing legal advice to the departments and elected officials of the county, including overseeing the months-long civil forfeiture proceedings arising from the 2017 Green Jade marijuana bust, which resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of nearly 30 real properties. She also provided legal counsel to the county in its COVID-19 response until she was appointed interim prosecutor.
