— from Colleen Kenimond —
I am Colleen Kenimond and I am the adult public defender for San Juan County. This is my sixth year in this position, and my 24th in criminal practice both as a defender and as a senior deputy prosecutor in other counties. Normally I would not broadcast my personal beliefs about who should be prosecutor in the event my clients and their families might be harmed by those personal beliefs.
This prosecutorial election is too important for me to remain silent.
I endorse Nick Power for county prosecutor. I do so from a vantage point of nearly a quarter century of experience on both sides of the courtroom and significant prior experience as a substitute judge for district court in two counties. I know what it takes to be a good prosecutor. Nick has what it takes.
I have known Nick since I first began serving as public defender here. I know him to be of high integrity and completely transparent. He does the right thing whether anyone is looking or not. He is as committed to the constitutions of the United States and Washington as anyone I know. We finally have a highly qualified alternative to the incumbent. It is time to clean house. Please pick up your brooms and dusters and join me.
“Power for the People” isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s the truth.
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This is an election for a position that has only two areas of discretion: (1) the charging of crimes, a useless power unless the charge accurately mirrors the provable facts, and (2) prosecutorial discretion, a constitutionally protected power designed, among other things, to allow prosecutors to refrain from prosecutions that would exacerbate harm to young, foolish or innocent people notwithstanding “the people’s” righteous and contagious cries for blood. This allows a prosecutor to do least harm, particularly in a case where the expenditure of time and taxpayer money achieve no goal beyond what, as a practical matter, has already been achieved.
It is also no service to the people of the county for the union to demand demand that the prosecutor behave in a manner to favor the cause of labor unions (which personally I do). This is a civil matter in which the prosecutor, like any other civil lawyer has no choice. He represents the client, which is the county- in this case the County Council. To imply that our prosecutor should be a more labor friendly lawyer to represent the county completely misconstrues his (in this case) role as counsel to the county protecting, under his cliet’s instructions, the taxpayers’ money.
This is how the adversary system works, and why it is entirely understandable that a member of the criminal defense bar might be unenthusiastic about an office that prosecutes crime as, when and how it is called for in each case, not as defense counsel may wish.
No prosecutor wins hosannas from everyone. No lawyer does either. A prosecutor’s work is far broader, yet far more limited, than short, punchy election memes can describe. Anyone who knows our county knows that the prosecutor’s client is divided into separately elected and acting offices, and in criminal matters, the people.
It’s a tough job. We have a tested prosecutor who understands his job. I voted for Randy Gaylord and invite you to vote for him too.
Thank you, Mr. Appel. I am gratified that my opinion is important enough to be countered by such a venerable member of the community.
I agree that the role of the Prosecuting Attorney is to represent the client, in this case the County. I have the experience that even though over 25 County employees or appointees for the last 30 years agreed on a decision and opinion made by Community Development and Planning, and even when Randy had a part in writing a contract agreeing with that decision, when it came down to defending the “Official County Position” as the Head of CDP stated, Randy and his ‘great team’ changed their argument when they were about to lose and argued in Court the opposite for the sole purpose of winning the court case. This is only one example of prosecution misconduct born of the great power Randy has assembled over his 20 years of managing the Prosecution Attorneys office and spending our money on personal agendas. It is time for a new perspective and a new understanding of what issues to prosecute and when to stand behind our own County employees and the right thing to do rather prosecuting citizens for the benefit of friends. I am voting for a new perspective and a person who will admit when he is wrong, a person who will refrain from spending our taxpayers dollars on lawsuits which satisfy a personal agenda rather than the “Official County Position”. I am voting for Nick Powers.
The PA does far more than handle criminal matters. He or she is responsible for providing advice to all the operating agencies of County government. That advice can be proactive or reactive. Our County has paid a considerable amount in damages in cases, such as employee terminations, that could have been prevented. We need a proactive PA.
A PA has little opportunity to be proactive when he or she does not have the authority make the decision that caused the problem. The PA has to pick up the pieces after one or more separately elected officials over whom the PA has no authority have acted or failed to act. Being separately elected, these officials are not even required to follow the PA’s advice. This also assumes that the PA is even consulted in advance, which is often not the case. “Pro-active” is a great term to bandy about at election time, but the opportunities to be pro-active are far fewer than some seem to think. We’re electing a prosecuting attorney, not Don Quixote.
The consequence of these officials’ actions, as in any corporate body, sometimes result in claims or litigation the costs of which if carried through usually far exceed the settlement amounts. This is not the appropriate place for high flown moral arguments, but rather the domain of practicality designed to cost the county and its taxpayers less than the alternative. If you want a grandstanding PA, you’ll pay for it.
Odd, I never mentioned a grandstanding PA. And it’s simply not true that because the PA is separately elected, he or she cannot coordinate and work with agencies. It is the duty of the PA to do so, and if an agency fails to involve the PA in its work, the County Manager and Council have the duty to address it.
If a pro-active PA gets ahead of the client, choosing causes for him or herself, this is grandstanding.
As lawyer for the county, the PA cannot force him or herself upon the client. Advice is requested, not imposed. It’s up to the county agencies to do the coordinating. Things happen.
The PA’s job is to advise and when appropriate prosecute. This is a responsive role, not a pro-active one. Responsible PAs know this.
I’ll agree to disagree. A PA need not “get ahead” of an agency. He or she doesn’t “choose causes,” but rather makes him/herself available and works with the agency.
My most rewarding career experience was spending time assigned to an important health agency, and working with its staff daily to train, respond to questions, and work to amend regulations.
That certainly would be a rewarding undertaking and I’m sure your staff training and answering questions made a real difference. Seriously, bravo.
Nevertheless, you or the person who assigned you was responding to a request or higher directive. What you describe would be a great thing if the preventive use of the PA were more embedded into our county government, and money, and consequently personnel, were available. I think this is a County Council/County Manager matter, not a PA matter, but I would certainly be in favor of it.