EVERETT — It was a job interview like no other.
Candidates for Snohomish County prosecutor were grilled for about 20 minutes by the Snohomish County Council in a room packed with lawyers, police officers, labor leaders, political honchos, reporters and television crews.
In the end the job went to senior deputy prosecutor Mark Roe.
In a 3-2 vote, Roe eked out a victory over Jim Kenny, a Snohomish County fire commissioner for District 1 and an assistant prosecutor for the city of Seattle. Former deputy prosecutor Millie Judge impressed the Council but made it known that she wasn’t seeking the appointment. She was supporting Roe.
“It’s a gigantic relief. Public safety and the work of the prosecutor’s office are just deeply important to me,” Roe said after Wednesday’s vote.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair swore in the 22-year veteran in a short ceremony after the vote.
Fair recalled being a deputy prosecutor in 1987 when Roe was an intern with the office. She recognized his talent then, Fair said.
“This prosecutor’s office should hire this man as soon as possible,” Fair remembered telling her colleagues.
Roe will fill the post until a new prosecutor is elected in November 2010. He and Kenny are both running. The winner of the election serves for four years and also will fill the final month of former county prosecutor Janice Ellis’ term, which expires at the end of 2010.
Ellis resigned last month to take a job with the Tulalip Tribes. Her early departure left the county’s Democrats tasked with selecting three possible replacements for the Council to consider.
The Democratic precinct officers voted last month. Kenny, a well-known Democrat, lead the vote with 90 to Roe’s 65.
“I respect their decision, but I am disappointed by it,” Kenny said of the Council’s vote.
He said he plans to continue to campaign against Roe in next year’s election. His ideas about crime prevention, special problem-solving courts and community prosecution will resonate with people, he said.
“I look forward to taking my case to the voters of Snohomish County,” Kenny said.
The candidates were questioned about their goals for the office, their experience managing staff and budgets, if they would make any organizational changes and how they would communicate with other elected officials and departments. They also were asked how they would explain to the families of homicide victims why they weren’t seeking the death penalty against the perpetrator.
Look them in eye, be honest and tell them why, Roe said.
“You don’t tell them you know how they feel, because you don’t,” Roe said.
Roe highlighted his long career in the prosecutor’s office as a trial lawyer and a manager. He concluded that the support from people in the law and justice community was based on the trust he’d built with people.
Kenny emphasized his time as an elected fire commissioner in south Snohomish County, overseeing a more-than-$30 million budget and 175 employees. He said his first priority would be to take more cases to trial. The decrease this year over last is a “real reduction in justice,” Kenny said.
The Council deliberated for about 30 minutes behind closed doors before taking a vote in public.
Republican Councilman John Koster voted for Roe, as did Democrats Brian Sullivan and Dave Somers.
The prosecutor’s office is well-respected now, Somers said. “A large part of that is with Mark. I think we need to maintain that,” he added.
Koster said he doesn’t know Kenny well but has watched the prosecutor’s office become successful under Ellis and those who worked for her.
“You don’t fix what ain’t broke,” Koster said.
Cooper criticized the selection. He said the Council was missing out on an opportunity to change the course and culture of the prosecutor’s office. While all three candidates had excellent qualifications, he said, Kenny’s skill set is a better fit for the job.
“Mr. Kenny brings a certain experience, leadership and temperament that we need in the prosecutor’s office,” Cooper said.
Cooper also said Wednesday’s vote showed a lack of respect for the Democratic precinct officers who sent the Council the nominations.
“Today we’re not listening to the community,” Cooper said.
Somers pushed back, saying that he didn’t agree with that characterization.
He pointed out that he himself is a precinct officer and their job was to put the party’s candidates in front of the County Council, not to make the appointment for the county’s elected leaders.
“I do respect that process,” he said. “The responsibility is the County Council’s. … Our responsibility is to pick who is the best person to lead the prosecutor’s office in the next year.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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