The contest to replace retiring Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Leonard Costello now has three candidates, guaranteeing one will be eliminated in the nonpartisan August primary and that the two top vote-getters will face each other in November.

Kingston attorney Jeanette Dalton was the latest to declare her intention to run for the seat, joining Gregory Wall and Bruce Danielson, both of Port Orchard.

Costello, 60, is the only incumbent Superior Court judge not running for another term. All eight judges are elected at the same time, simultaneous to presidential and gubernatorial contests.

Dalton, 53, said she has the broadest experience of all the declared candidates, having worked as a prosecutor, defense attorney and pro tem judge. She has lived in Kitsap County since 1991. Aside from increasing programs such as drug court, Dalton said she hopes to modernize courtrooms. “There is a lot of available technology that could make our local courts more efficient,” she said. Teleconferencing can eliminate the need for an attorney to be at a meeting, and provide a better record because everything is on tape.

Both Dalton and Wall said they expected to get the endorsement of the Kitsap Bar Association, and that such support will be important for voters. Danielson said he is not seeking support from the local bar association and has already received the endorsement of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Guild, Kitsap Association of Realtors and Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders.

Danielson has previously been identified with Republican causes, while Wall has worked with Democrats. Dalton said she is not affiliated with either party.