And 10 times, Florida governors appointed someone else.
One of those times, in January 2019, then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed Bryan Rendzio. It was the ninth-time Scott had passed Washington over.
In the fall of 2019, Washington was a finalist for a new Flagler County judge seat. But Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Andrea K. Totten of Bunnell to the judgeship instead.
After the setbacks, Washington faced a decision.
“It’s been a long, long road and you know you get to a point where you realize, OK, maybe this is not the door that’s going to open, so what are you going to do?” Washington said. “Are you going to give up on it, or are you going to try something different?