Meet the candidates: Snohomish County prosecuting attorney
Published 4:45 pm Friday, July 30, 2010
What’s the job?
The Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney oversees the prosecution of all adult and juvenile felony cases referred by local police, and all misdemeanor cases referred by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, all state agencies and some cities. The prosecuting attorney also is the legal adviser for all county departments and defends or prosecutes civil cases on behalf of the county. The prosecutor also oversee litigation regarding child support cases referred by the state Department of Social and Health Services. The job pays $148,832.
Election Day: Aug. 17, ballots are scheduled to be mailed out July 30. Both candidates will proceed to November’s general election under the state’s top two primary system.
Rematch of sorts: Precinct officers in the Democratic Party last fall selected Jim Kenny as their choice for the job after former Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis stepped down. The County Council selected Mark Roe to fill the position until the election.
Democratic precinct officers in May again voted to support Kenny. In July, lawyers with the Snohomish County Bar Association overwhelmingly ranked Roe an “excellent” candidate; most found Kenny “unsatisfactory” or “unknown.”
Jim Kenny
Age: 41
Occupation: An assistant prosecutor for the city of Seattle
Residence: Silver Firs neighborhood near Mill Creek
Website: www.jimkenny.org
Party: Democratic
Education: Bachelor’s degree and law degree, University of Washington
In his own words: “I’m running to clean up Snohomish County government which has been rife with various scandals and we need change at the county.”
Kenny’s priorities: Said he intends to clean up county government. Kenny said he plans to dedicate a deputy prosecutor to investigate public corruption issues.
He said he wants to be smart on crime and look at alternatives to jail sentences for low and mid-level offenders. He proposes specialized courts to handle mental health offenders or war veteran’s accused of committing non-serious crimes.
Notable: Kenny has served seven years as a fire commissioner for Snohomish County Fire District 1. Earlier this year he came out in support of an initiative to legalize marijuana. Proponents didn’t get enough signatures to put the issue to a vote. Coincidentally Kenny’s campaign headquarters in Mountlake Terrace is next door to a medical group that specializes in providing doctor’s authorization to medical marijuana patients.
Mark Roe
Age: 51
Occupation: Incumbent Snohomish County prosecuting attorney
Residence: Marysville
Website: www.markroeforprosecutor.com
Party: Democratic
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Washington; law degree University of Puget Sound
In his own words: “This community deserves a prosecuting attorney who is not a politician (but instead) has spent his career working hand-in-hand with law enforcement and victims to help keep this community safe,” Roe said.
Roe’s priorities: Public safety is his top priority. “Prosecuting attorney is a law enforcement position, not a legislative or political one,” Roe said.
Said he wants to be able to make his first two priorities happen despite a smaller work force and the potential to lose more positions to budget cuts. That means becoming more efficient and eliminating unnecessary spending that doesn’t directly affect public safety, Roe said. Part of that can be done by partnering with law enforcement, the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission and American Indian tribes, all relationships that Roe said that he’s developed in the 22 years he’s worked as a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor.
Notable: Roe has coached Little League baseball and youth basketball in Snohomish County for more than a decade. He is a longtime board member for Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims, a 35-year-old advocacy center that serves hundreds of victims and their relatives each year.
