JAMES KENNEDY

PREFERS DEMOCRATIC PARTY

4-YEAR TERM

What would be your top 3 priorities if elected?

"My top three priorities are to get the office within the County budget so that overages stop being carried over year to year which reduces the amount of flexibility in the office and creates a burden for other County departments. I will ask for fewer autopsies, particularly when the cause and manner of death are self-evident. I also intend to get every attorney qualified as a forensic interviewer. This training is offered for free by the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission and is essential for prosecuting sex offenses or crimes involving children. Finally, I want to establish a Multi-Disciplinary Team with law enforcement, the Dove House, Child Protective Services, and counsellors to ensure that crimes involving the most vulnerable amongst us do not fall between the cracks, but instead are prosecuted to the extent they can be while ensuring that the victims get the care they need."

What is the one thing that needs to change in the position you are running for?

"Restore faith in law enforcement. The Prosecutor and law enforcement need to work together to protect the community. To work together there must be mutual respect so that they can hold one another accountable. That mutual respect has been lost due to comments made by the Prosecutor, and due to erroneous legal advice passed along to law enforcement. I will correct that. My deputies will treat law enforcement as a partner and we will stay on top of case law so that we can give officers and deputies the best advice possible.

What is something you want to keep the same?

"Our County has four great therapeutic courts: Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Top Side (for juveniles), and Family Therapeutic Court. The Prosecutor's office is heavily involved with all of them except for Family Therapeutic Court. I intend to maintain the County's commitment to therapeutic courts. When I worked in Jefferson County I was the prosecutor assigned to Top Side and I frequently substituted in on Drug Court. I can tell everyone first hand that these are great programs that have produced some remarkable turnaround stories. The people who we are trying to help are members of our community, and we owe it to ourselves to do what we can to help them.

What are your thoughts on the county's crime rate?

"I think crimes in Jefferson County are underreported. Studies show that sexual assault and domestic violence tend to be vastly underreported crimes. I don't think that Jefferson County is any different in that respect. However, I think that in the future we are going to see more people coming forward to report these crimes, and I intend to make sure the office is ready to handle them. Drug crime and drug related crimes make up the bulk of what the office sees. Frequently an individual will have committed a crime many times over before they are caught meaning that multiple prior offenses went unreported and that the individual is deep into drug addiction by the time they are caught. Fortunately, we have an outstanding probation department in our district court and numerous options such as drug court and drug offender sentencing alternatives available in superior court.

With the state lab being backed up when it comes to results such as those from toxicology reports, what are your plans, if elected, to help ensure timely closure on cases?

"There is no good answer for this. Until the State Toxicology Lab reduces its backlog the Prosecutor's office will be forced to choose which cases it files right away and which ones it files after the lab tests are completed. Normally this means sorting the cases that present a danger to the public from the ones that don't, but all DUI cases represent a danger to the public. What the office will do is screen for cases that indicate a bad driving history, collisions, and/or actual bodily harm or death. I will speak to the analysts at the crime lab, many of whom I now know personally, to try and request that priority cases be moved to the front of the line. I will also work with law enforcement to ensure that DUI cases are adequately documented so that case can proceed to trial even without a lab report.

If there was only one thing you wanted voters to know about you, what would it be?

"Public service is my calling. I am here because I recognize that for our society to function in a way that meets our mutual expectations we must have people in our government who believe in the work that they are doing. I have been in public service since my early 20s and have no plans to leave anytime soon. We are at a point in our country right now where public service is not seen as a worthy profession and perhaps not coincidentally people no longer think that their government is there to serve them. I believe that actions are stronger than words and that the best way we turn the tide on this sentiment is for people who believe in public service to step forward and lead by example.

What is one thing you disagree with your opponent on?

"Our criminal justice system depends on having one side look out for the criminal defendant's interests and the other side to look out for the interests of crime victims and the community (while making sure the defendant's rights are protected). The system does not work if both sides find themselves on the same side looking out for the same interests. For almost four years in Jefferson County now, we have had our local defense attorneys looking out for the interests of their clients – as they should; but right there beside them has been the elected Prosecutor. No one has been looking out for the interests of crime victims or the community. No one has been looking out for single parents on the support enforcement calendar.

Say something nice about your opponent.

"My opponent is a good person, a dedicated father, and is loyal to his friends. My differences with him are professional, they are not personal.

What keeps you up at night?

"I am concerned about a mass casualty event happening in Jefferson County. As the County Coroner my office would be required to take the lead in responding to the event. The office does not have the training, the staff, or the equipment to respond to an event of this nature. We would likely have to rely heavily on our first responders as well as Coroners from other counties to assist us. I will reach out to first responders, the hospital, local medical providers, and other community services to ensure that our County is as prepared as it can be to respond to such an event.