Published: Thursday, December 3, 2009
IN OUR VIEW / INTERIM COUNTY PROSECUTOR
Put seasoned Roe at helm
Deciding who will serve as Snohomish County prosecutor for the next year, a duty the County Council is expected to discharge next week, isn’t a difficult choice.
Mark Roe, a senior deputy prosecutor with 22 years experience in the office and deep support throughout the law enforcement community and among victim advocates, is clearly the best qualified of the three candidates from which the council will choose.
In politics, though, few choices are ever simple. In this case, political pressure clouds what should be a clear decision to have Roe complete the term of Janice Ellis, who resigned to become the prosecutor for the Tulalip Tribes.
Those clouds emanate from an archaic state law that directs a county political party to come up with three candidates to replace a prosecutor who leaves office before his or her term expires. Because Ellis is a Democrat, that’s the party that chose the slate of candidates for the County Council to consider.
The council makes the final choice. It isn’t bound to choose the candidate who receives the most votes among precinct committee officers, but some are arguing it should. In this case, that was Jim Kenny, a Seattle deputy city attorney and District 1 fire commissioner. Kenny received 90 votes from the Democratic PCOs, Roe 65. The third candidate, Millie Judge, received one vote but made it clear she supports Roe.
Kenny is clearly a bright, energetic and serious candidate. He already had planned to run for the office next year, as had Roe. But he doesn’t come close to Roe’s experience in dealing with felony cases, or his knowledge of the office or county government. The latter points are particularly crucial now, because the county budget squeeze will likely force further downsizing in the office next year.
Many in the party apparently are wary of Roe because he is supported by Ellis, who had the audacity to endorse Republicans Rob McKenna and Dan Satterberg in their races for state attorney general and King County prosecutor, respectively. She also has called for making the prosecutor’s position nonpartisan, a “heresy of heresies” according to one party activist.
Roe and Kenny both say that if they don’t get the appointment, they’ll still run for the position next year. That will give voters a chance to size both of them up and make a well-informed decision.
The choice currently before the council should have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with public safety. At this particularly challenging time for the office, that means choosing the seasoned, respected Roe for this interim appointment.
Mark Roe, a senior deputy prosecutor with 22 years experience in the office and deep support throughout the law enforcement community and among victim advocates, is clearly the best qualified of the three candidates from which the council will choose.
In politics, though, few choices are ever simple. In this case, political pressure clouds what should be a clear decision to have Roe complete the term of Janice Ellis, who resigned to become the prosecutor for the Tulalip Tribes.
Those clouds emanate from an archaic state law that directs a county political party to come up with three candidates to replace a prosecutor who leaves office before his or her term expires. Because Ellis is a Democrat, that’s the party that chose the slate of candidates for the County Council to consider.
The council makes the final choice. It isn’t bound to choose the candidate who receives the most votes among precinct committee officers, but some are arguing it should. In this case, that was Jim Kenny, a Seattle deputy city attorney and District 1 fire commissioner. Kenny received 90 votes from the Democratic PCOs, Roe 65. The third candidate, Millie Judge, received one vote but made it clear she supports Roe.
Kenny is clearly a bright, energetic and serious candidate. He already had planned to run for the office next year, as had Roe. But he doesn’t come close to Roe’s experience in dealing with felony cases, or his knowledge of the office or county government. The latter points are particularly crucial now, because the county budget squeeze will likely force further downsizing in the office next year.
Many in the party apparently are wary of Roe because he is supported by Ellis, who had the audacity to endorse Republicans Rob McKenna and Dan Satterberg in their races for state attorney general and King County prosecutor, respectively. She also has called for making the prosecutor’s position nonpartisan, a “heresy of heresies” according to one party activist.
Roe and Kenny both say that if they don’t get the appointment, they’ll still run for the position next year. That will give voters a chance to size both of them up and make a well-informed decision.
The choice currently before the council should have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with public safety. At this particularly challenging time for the office, that means choosing the seasoned, respected Roe for this interim appointment.
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