Electoral process gives the power to the people

You elected me to serve as your district attorney because you wanted a working DA who would bring new management and problem-solving skills to the DA’s Office and our justice system. I have done that.

The District Attorney’s Office is more responsive, accountable and effective today than it has ever been. Not only are our families safer today, but I am committed to further increasing public safety, public confidence in our system of government and justice throughout this county.I have done that by personally trying cases, and also by introducing modern technology, filing systems, record-keeping and retrieval systems, and by streamlining decision-making and accountability processes. As a result of these changes, and despite the loss of more than half a million dollars and of more than one out of every six people due to budget cuts, Humboldt County is experiencing its lowest rate of violent crime in more than 15 years.

I cite these facts and figures to make it unmistakably clear that the District Attorney’s Office is more responsive, accountable and effective today than it has ever been. Not only are our families safer today, but I am committed to further increasing public safety, public confidence in our system of government and justice throughout this county.

This is why I have the endorsement of Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the highest law enforcement officer in the state of California. His job is to monitor the work I do and, other than you, the electorate, he is the only person I am accountable to. Like you, he is proud of the changes I have brought to Humboldt County and, as his endorsement states, he believes I am “one of California’s finest district attorneys.”

These changes have not been easy for Humboldt County. Your confidence in electing me has been challenged again and again by those who would seek to deprive you of an independent DA committed to the principle that all people are equal before the law; that being American is not about where you are from but about a commitment to our deeply held beliefs about individual liberty and the celebration of the individual, not as an instrument for accumulating wealth, but as a reflection of the divine; and that the only legitimate power in a democratic system of government is power that comes from the people through the electoral process.

On June 6, we are asked again whether we have the courage to sustain an independent District Attorney’s Office that is committed to the all of the people of Humboldt County instead of just some of them; that is focused on community safety and crime prevention — not just punishment; and that will continue the changes we began four years ago.

That is why I ask you to re-elect me as your district attorney on June 6.