YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. – The Yakima County Board of Commissioners voted this week to appoint Marshall Slight as the new county coroner. This decision follows the resignation of former coroner Jim Curtice last month.
Slight has been serving as the deputy coroner and interim coroner prior to this appointment. County Commissioner LaDon Linde expressed confidence in the appointment.
“We appreciate his work, we trust him, and he’s the guy we’d want to see move forward,” he said.
Jim Curtice, the former coroner, resigned in April after pleading not guilty to three criminal charges, including false statements to a public servant, tampering with evidence, and official misconduct. Linde noted that Slight remained free of these scandals.
“Marshall Slight stayed free of those scandals and above those he has never participated in the activities that brought, I think you’d say, disfavor or just distrust to that office,” Linde said.
When Curtice stepped down, the Yakima County Republicans submitted three candidates for the position. State law mandates that the appointee must be from the same party in a partisan role if the elected official resigns or passes away during their term. Although Slight was not the Republican Party’s first choice, Linde and the commissioners valued his experience in the coroner’s office.
“We knew the office he had run the office or been a significant player in running the office and had been a well thought of and consistent asset to that office,” Linde said.
Linde praised Slight’s understanding of the job.
“The job requires someone who understands the work, who’s willing to work hard. Some people are more polished, and others are better speakers. But that’s not what the job is about,” Linde said. “The job is about understanding the process, obeying the process, working hard, being compassionate. Marshall has succeeded in showing us that he’s someone we can trust and that the voters and taxpayers can trust as well.”
Coroner terms in Yakima County typically last four years, but due to Curtice’s mid-term resignation, there will be another election for the position this fall. The elected official will need to run again in November 2026 for a full term, which was the original end of Curtice’s term.
