Polk County Lawyer candidates reply questions on points, plans
Three Democrats and one Republican are looking for to interchange longtime Polk County Lawyer John Sarcone when he retires on the finish of this 12 months.
Sarcone, a Democrat, has held the place unchallenged since 1991.
Democrats Laura Roan, Kimberly Graham and Kevin McCarthy will face off in a main election on June 7, whereas Republican Allan Richards is operating unchallenged for the Republican nomination.
Prematurely of the first, The Des Moines Register despatched questionnaires to every candidate asking them about:
The solutions present candidates with a wide range of proposals to enhance the administration of justice, together with extra pretrial diversion packages to resolve circumstances with no leaving folks with everlasting prison information and new places of work centered on stopping employee exploitation and wage theft.
Listed below are the candidates and their solutions to every of the questions requested. Candidates’ responses have been frivolously edited for readability and size.
For subscribers:‘Finish of an period’: Polk County Lawyer John Sarcone, who plans to retire after 32 years, leaves ‘an enormous job’ to fil
Kimberly Graham
- Age: 57
- Residence: Des Moines
- Get together: Democratic
- Training: B.A. College of California Irvine, J.D. Drake Legislation Faculty
- Occupation: Lawyer
- Earlier electoral expertise: none
- Civic actions: Member, NAACP Authorized Redress Committee, former board member for ArtForce Iowa, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020, volunteer and fundraiser for a number of down-ballot Democratic candidates in 2020.
Laura Roan
- Age: 56
- Residence: Des Moines
- Get together: Democratic
- Training: B.A. Simpson School, J.D. Drake Legislation Faculty
- Occupation: Assistant Polk County lawyer
- Earlier electoral expertise: none
- Civic actions: Board member, Iowa Lawyer Help Program; Drake Legislation Faculty pupil mentor; Simpson School Pupil Mentor Program; previous board member, UCS Healthcare (medication-assisted remedy program and dependancy remedy); previous board member and chair of Iowa Coalition Towards Home Violence, member, Iowa State Bar Affiliation, Polk County Bar Affiliation, Polk County Girls Attorneys; fellow, American School of Trial Legal professionals, adjunct school — trial advocacy, Harvard Legislation Faculty.
Kevin McCarthy
- Age: 50
- Residence: Des Moines
- Get together: Democratic
- Training: B.A. Wartburg School, J.D. Drake Legislation Faculty
- Occupation: Lawyer
- Earlier electoral expertise: Six-term Iowa state consultant, 2003-2013
- Civic actions: Volunteered, helped with inner-city packages. Psychological well being initiatives. Supporting veterans.
Extra:Former Iowa Home Democratic Chief Kevin McCarthy operating for Polk County Lawyer
Allan Richards
- Age: 67
- Residence: Des Moines
- Get together: Republican
- Training: B.A. Luther School, J.D. Whittier School Faculty of Legislation, Grasp of Legal guidelines College of Arkansas
- Occupation: Lawyer
- Earlier electoral expertise: County occasion chair, state occasion central committee member
- Civic actions: Taking part in native, state, and nationwide organizations. Main, volunteering, and dealing in the day after day, week to week, and month to month job throughout the teams and organizations. A variety of tasks for constructing, funding, and educating all for kids, households, and hospitals. Preserving historic websites and highways.
A fourth Democrat, David Turner, filed candidacy papers however was faraway from the poll after a Polk County panel discovered he had too few signatures. Turner has petitioned the district courtroom to reverse that call, however at present shouldn’t be on the poll for June 7.
Extra Polk County information:Polk County approves redistricting map that might deliver new faces to board
Q: The Polk County Lawyer oversees a employees of almost 60 attorneys and a considerable funds. What expertise do you could have managing giant groups or organizations that might put together you for the job?
Graham: I’ve labored on groups in Baby in Want of Help circumstances and within the Polk County Restoration Court docket program, the place I work collaboratively with a District Affiliate Choose, Assistant Polk County Lawyer, the dad and mom’ attorneys, Division of Human companies staff and others. I ran a United States Senate marketing campaign the place we had a crew of workers plus dozens of volunteers throughout the state of Iowa. I even have in depth expertise in collaborative regulation and mediation, which is effective and crucial expertise when managing a big workplace.
Roan: As an Assistant Iowa Lawyer Common – Space Prosecutor, I traveled all through the state main complicated investigations and prosecutions in giant and small counties. In every case, I managed native and state regulation enforcement investigations and prosecutions involving severe crimes. In every case, I led a prosecution crew involving the native county lawyer’s workplace and community-based sufferer service suppliers. I coordinated sufferer and survivor conferences, journey and trial preparation for specialists and lay witnesses — all in a number of circumstances directly all through Iowa. In my profession, I’ve had circumstances in 89 of Iowa’s 99 counties and in federal courtroom.
McCarthy: I’m the previous First Assistant Lawyer Common of Iowa, which has a big employees and lots of various duties, and was the supervising deputy for the Client Safety Division, the Crime Sufferer Help Division and the Prosecuting Attorneys Coaching Division. I served previous to that because the Majority Chief of the Iowa Home of Representatives for 4 years, the Minority Chief of the Home for 3 years, and previous to that was the Rating Democratic Member of the Home Public Security Committee for 4 years. Previous to that I used to be the Litigation and Compliance Counsel for the Tobacco Challenge in Washington D.C. on the Nationwide Affiliation of Attorneys Common.
Richards: Educated in Grasp of Science program with public administration, organizational principle, evaluation, and public security coaching. I’ve utilized expertise in administration of workforce as foreperson of small groups. Main groups of expert personnel paving sixty-one miles of freeway in a season as supervisor. Accounting of escrows, tax returns, and audits of private and non-private monetary information as account government.
Directing supervisors in 500-person valet parking operation as personnel and claims director.
Taking part on committees, groups, and boards for native, state, and nationwide organizations, constructing, planning, and executing group targets. Educating, teaching, reporting, talking, debating, and organizing in small and huge communities.
Extra Polk County information:Polk County lowers its property tax levy for 2022-23 after funds approval
Q: If elected, what are an important measures or metrics by which you’d need your workplace to be judged?
Graham: I would like our workplace to be judged totally on two metrics: 1. Whether or not or not we’ve got decreased racial and earnings disparities in our justice system, and a couple of. Whether or not or not we’ve got decreased severe and violent crime. Security or reform is a false selection; we want each security and reform. The info from different forward-thinking, evidence-based prosecutors’ places of work signifies that reform is a key to thriving, wholesome communities and elevated security.
Roan: I might observe all grownup and juvenile dockets to measure case sorts, fees, offense ranges, outcomes per case, recidivism, time from preliminary cost to end result (dismissal, deferred decision, or sentencing), size of pre-trial custody time period, bond suggestions and sentencing phrases, trials (bench and jury), and trial outcomes. This contains monitoring and reporting outcomes for specialty courts. As well as, I might observe sufferer referrals by the workplace to native housing, job coaching, baby care help, main well being, trauma and advocacy packages, and particularly elicit suggestions from all registered victims and survivors after disposition, asking how they really feel the prison justice system served their wants and observe what community-based companies they’re engaged in.
McCarthy: Sustaining one’s prosecutorial oath: to do justice and never merely search prosecutions. To know that there’s extra to the workplace than simply crime points. Ensure that employees morale is supported. Use my previous expertise to assist legislative modifications and help on this effort.
Richards: Measure the respect, belief, and fairness established with the assorted private and non-private entities, teams, and people to deliver concord in Polk County.
The system of measure will embody a scale for balancing the wants of society and group with the rights of the ruled.
A 110 % gauge on the wellbeing of every baby and sufferer with the assist of colleges, organizations, and all accessible companies. Our youngsters, households and communities receiving justice from the workplace of Polk County Lawyer.
The progress gained within the enchancment of these which are/had been a part of the justice system. Statistically, the numbers have to tier in the direction of lifelike targets and aims of the neighborhoods and communities all through Polk County. Discover one of the best, use one of the best.
Extra Polk County information:Polk County supervisors conflict brazenly; one other division head says he is being pressured to depart
Q: What new packages or initiatives, if any, would the county lawyer’s workplace launch below your management?
Graham: We plan to create an Financial Justice Unit to prosecute crimes in opposition to working folks, like wage theft. We plan to rent a full-time social employee to attach folks with companies and assist decrease recidivism. We plan to extend using restorative justice and diversion packages with a concentrate on literacy, particularly for kids. Sexual assault is underreported amongst all victims, however particularly amongst victims of colour. To handle this, we plan on hiring somebody to particularly do outreach to and supply companies for victims of colour and focus prosecution efforts on sexual assault, intercourse trafficking and home violence.
Roan: My key initiatives are to collect efficient metrics by hiring a criminal offense information analyst, assist households in disaster by hiring psychological well being liaisons for psychological well being and substance abuse courtroom commitments, present higher prosecution companies via establishing a particular victims unit for grownup and baby victims of sexual abuse, and broaden sources for restorative justice programming by partnering with sufferer advocacy, re-entry packages and colleges, and local people organizing initiatives. All of those efforts are a part of my plan to construct on and broaden current packages that can preserve Polk County children and households secure.
McCarthy: An Anti-Bullying Unit, working in cooperation with the faculties. A unit centered on employee exploitation and human trafficking. A concentrate on enhancing our psychological well being system, which I did on the state. An Environmental Unit.
Richards: Establishing an “American Justice” program as a substitute prosecution program. Permitting people to keep away from prosecution previous to the submitting of prison fees as decided by groups (household, associates, mentors, professionals, and officers). Present intensive training, constructive tasks, and results-oriented packages designed to deliver people into “concord for all” throughout the group.
Vogue a pleasant surroundings throughout the justice complicated to simplify and absolutely make the most of the sources to resolve disputes, grievances, and complaints arising in Polk County.
Opening a channel of communication for requests to the workplace, designed and developed for fast response primarily based on the accessible expertise and assist supplied to perform respect, belief, and fairness.
Extra Polk County information:Two extra Polk County lawyer candidates be a part of the race. This is why they are saying they’re operating
Q: In case you are elected, how would your workplace deal with victims of trafficking and different crimes, together with juveniles, who commit crimes in opposition to those that victimize them?
Graham: I presume that is in reference to the Pieper Lewis case. I like to recommend everybody learn Rekha Basu’s glorious piece on the case from December 2021 and different reporting from the Register.
Victims of crime needs to be heard, and perpetrators prosecuted, no matter a sufferer’s prison report. No baby is disposable, and sending juvenile victims of trafficking to grownup courtroom is unacceptable. Our workplace wouldn’t request waiver of juvenile victims of trafficking to grownup courtroom.
Roan: As a member of the central Iowa Human Trafficking Activity Power, and an knowledgeable in baby sexual abuse and in homicide investigations and prosecutions, I do and can deal with each case because the complicated, trauma-induced incidents they come up from. I’ll institute best-practices within the investigation and charging of those circumstances and proceed to associate with the federal businesses to make sure baby traffickers are stopped and held accountable. I’ve a observe report of main tons of of prosecutions with compassion, equity, and fairness — and I’ll lead by instance as county lawyer.
McCarthy: A powerful Sufferer/Witness Program. Working with and supporting the Juvenile Court docket Officers and Division of Human Providers staff in addition to assist organizations. Prosecuting those that have interaction in labor or intercourse trafficking to the fullest extent of the regulation.
Richards: I’ll proceed to assist these which are and had been victimized or trafficked.
I’ll be a part of with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and all supporting events in implementation of the packages supporting and defending victims, the targets of training, assist, and prosecution, and the observe of expungement and remedy.
Working to present victims new beginnings, offering recent begins for people, and permitting our neighborhoods and group to offer rehabilitation and development.
Q: What lesson did you are taking from the racial justice/anti-police violence protests in Could 2020, and the way would that inform your work as county lawyer?
Graham: We should handle racial disparities in our prison justice system instantly and we should shield protestors’ First Modification rights. We should additionally shield journalists overlaying protests, quite than prosecuting them as was carried out to Andrea Sahouri from the Des Moines Register, as a result of a free press is important to our democracy.
Extra:‘The jury made the precise determination’: Reporter Andrea Sahouri acquitted in trial stemming from arrest as she coated protest
Roan: The work of the county lawyer and policing businesses have to be for all of our group. Restoring order, and respecting and defending peaceable protests, are each crucial to our democracy. I’ll by no means prosecute a journalist for doing their job.
McCarthy: I helped to place collectively the crew and helped to move the laws that Iowa enacted, with in all probability over forty hours of calls behind the scenes, within the aftermath of George Floyd’s demise. We received it carried out. I get issues carried out, even when the percentages are stacked.
All the time work with and hearken to the group. Even when there may be strife, work via it. Acknowledge that most individuals are good and wish one of the best for his or her neighborhoods. Work with and discuss to them, associate with them. Try for an workplace and prison justice system that displays the group that we serve. I’m proud that my Marketing campaign Co-Chairs are Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines and Rep. Ako Abdul Samad.
Richards: The demand for understanding, communication, and openness. The requirement for planning, response, and correction. The need for respect, belief, and fairness. That, as Aristotle believed, politics needs to be about peace and social “Concord for All”.
Vigilance is a prerequisite.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He might be contacted at [email protected], 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.