About Judge Dave Larson
Early Life
Judge Dave Larson is a native Washingtonian. He was born in Tacoma as the second child of Joe and Donna Larson.
Joe was a mechanic for Northwest Airlines and Donna was a homemaker. They raised him to embody all of the values they themselves held – kindness, fairness, resilience, and so much more.
His dad’s job transferred his family to Minnesota in 1962, where they briefly lived, but they moved back to Washington in 1967. Washington was always home for them.
There’s nothing in this world that Dave loves more than his family, as evidenced by this column he wrote – he discusses not only his family, but the upbringing he had, adversities and all.
He’s been known to find small ways to honor his family, from the small day-to-day decisions he makes to the keepsakes he has in his office. In fact, his favorite piece of office décor is his dad’s lunch pale – he keeps it in his office to keep him grounded and remind him of the values his dad raised him to embody.
Dave has two brothers, but he also had a sister who died during birth when they lived in Minnesota. It was incredibly tough on Dave and his family, and as a way of honoring her, he visits her gravesite each time he is in Minneapolis.
In the early years of visiting, he was bothered by the fact that she was nameless on her tombstone, so he wrote something that would give her an identity and posted it at her gravesite during one of his visits. The Veteran’s Administration left the sign up for two years and ultimately added her name to their website in response to the sign.
Judge Larson has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. One son is a police officer, and the other son is a physician. Everything he does is not just for them, but for all of us and all of our children and grandchildren.
Education Earned The Hard Way
A strong work ethic was deeply instilled in him by his father. In fact, he worked various jobs while attending college at the University of Puget Sound, including washing dishes, delivering pizza, driving a galley truck, working as airport security, and operating as a process server for the Office of Support Enforcement.
He then worked full-time and went to law school at night. During his first year of law school, he had the privilege of working in the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Misdemeanor Division, and in his second year, he transitioned to the Civil Division. He moved to a private law firm specializing in civil and government liability cases during his third year and worked with them until he became a lawyer.
Distinguished Career as a Lawyer and Judge
After graduating from law school, Dave hit the ground running as a trial lawyer, trying his first case a month after he became a lawyer. Not one to rest on his laurels, he had no issues diving right in. Throughout his long legal career, he served in various roles: working as in-house trial counsel, practicing at a private firm, owning his own law firm, and later, was Of Counsel for a large law firm just before becoming a judge.
Judge Larson’s abilities, dedication, and legal acumen led his peers to rate him as a preeminent lawyer, and he has garnered a reputation for being one of the most upstanding members of the legal community in our state.
In early 2008, the Federal Way Court system was in trouble, and the city looked to Dave to fix their troubled court. While he was serving as School Board President, they asked him to serve as a Federal Way Municipal Court Judge in an attempt to fix the issues they were facing.
Judge Larson didn’t hesitate to jump in. Not only has this role been one of the most fulfilling opportunities of his career, but it paid off well for the City of Federal Way too. Dave instituted much needed change to the court, bringing years of legal expertise and a commitment to upholding the law that served them all well.
He has been reelected to the position four times by voters, and in 2022, the community named him Best Community Leader, an award that is reflective of his years of dedication to the people he serves.
Award Winning Role in Education
Judge Larson is a member of the board for the Civic Learning Council, a statewide group promoting civics education.
He was a 2014 recipient of the Washington Judge’s Foundation Judge William Nevins Award. This award is given to judges with a long-term commitment to youth education and public understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary in American society. In addition, he was recognized as a “Hero” of Federal Way Public Schools in 2018 and again in 2022.
Judge Larson was the president of the Federal Way School Board before becoming a judge, where he was a champion of civics education. He has helped teach Street Law at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way since 2009 and frequently appears in other classrooms at all grade levels throughout the South Puget Sound. High school students from around the state come to Federal Way to learn from him.
He is the founder and convener of the former South King County YMCA District High School Mock Trial Competition, partnered with the City’s Arts Commission for a student art contest that has been in place since 2009, and even stepped up to coach robotics when they need a coach. In their rookie year in the FIRST Robotics competition in 2013, he coached the Federal Way High School RoboEagles robotics team to a berth in the world championships in St. Louis.
He currently serves on the Federal Way School District Career and Technical Education Business Advisory Board and continues to teach Street Law.
In addition to everything he has done in the education realm, he also created a presentation called How Freedom Works that he presents throughout the state. The presentation is designed to teach those who attend about the fundamentals that make freedom possible.
Civic Involvement
Judge Larson is and has been heavily involved in his community. In 2022, he was selected by the readers of the Federal Way Mirror as Federal Way’s Best Community Leader. He served as President of the Federal Way School Board before joining the court. He was also a member of the City’s Human Services Commission and was the very first chair of the City’s Board of Ethics in 1991.
He is a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club of Federal Way where he has been recognized with a Hixson Fellowship, Zeller Fellowship, Everyday Hero Award, Kiwanian of the Year Award, Distinguished Past President Award, and Doug Benton Award.
He was a founding board member of the Kiwanis Foundation of Federal Way, and he received the Kiwanis Pacific Northwest District Everyday Hero Award in 1998 (the Kiwanis Pacific Northwest District includes Alaska, the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho, and part of Northern California).
He also founded the Aktion Club of Federal Way in 2011, a Kiwanis-based service club for adults with developmental disabilities.
In addition to the above, he taught leadership skills to youth and adults through Advancing Leadership and served on the Board of Advancing Leadership, was a guardian for Puget Sound Honor Flight, escorting veterans on trips to Washington D.C. who do not have family or friends that can escort them and otherwise would not have been able to go.
Judge Larson (aka Major Larson) was the Commander of the McChord AFB Composite Squadron and was also the Washington Wing Emergency Services Officer for the United States Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol). He received a National Commander’s Commendation for his work as Wing Emergency Services Officer.
Judge Larson is running to be your next justice to ensure a better future for us all. Washington deserves a justice that has the experience, the aptitude, and a commitment to upholding the constitution.
Vote Judge Larson. For Justice. For All.
Paid for by Larson for Justice | P.O. Box 27482 Federal Way, WA 98093