DA Mike Schrunk retires; race to replace him begins in earnest
Kari Chisholm
Mike Schrunk, Kellie Johnson, Rod Underhill
Somehow, I completely missed this story last week, so I'm catching up.
It's been rumored for months that Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk was planning to retire at the end of his term next year. Schrunk was first elected DA in 1980 and has been pretty much a lock for re-election ever since. He finally made it official last week. He's out:
Characteristic of a man who stays out of the limelight, Schrunk said he wasn't really planning a formal announcement, but planned to let people know as the time comes this week for candidates to file for the 2012 election.
Which makes the 2012 campaign for DA a bit of a mystery to political junkies and journalists. Frankly, no one's really used to paying any attention to the DA's race. But we should.
After all, the Multnomah County DA is not only the most active prosecutor in Oregon, but the job of a county DA is often a stepping-stone to higher office. (Amy Klobuchar, for example, was DA in Minneapolis's Hennepin County immediately prior to her election to the U.S. Senate. Patrick Leahy was also a county DA immediately prior to his election to the Senate, as were two members of the U.S. House - Sean Duffy and Bill Keating. Several others were DAs prior to serving in other offices on their way to Congress.)
So, who's running? Even before Schrunk officially made his plans clear last week, campaigns had been gearing up.
First one in, back in July, was Kellie Johnson, a former assistant DA in Multnomah County and a state bar disciplinary attorney. She's also a former president of the Oregon Women Lawyers association.
Last week, the race was joined by Rod Underhill, who has been an assistant DA in Multnomah County for the last 23 years - and the chief deputy for the last four. In that role, Underhill oversees more than of the DA's attorneys and staff.
Schrunk has already announced his endorsement of Underhill as his successor. We'll see how the race shapes up. Thoughts?
 |
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
11:06 a.m.
Sep 12, '11
I like Kellie Johnson for the seat. I am an attorney practicing civil law and not criminal law, so the race will not impact me or my clients directly. As a member of the bar, I do appreciate that she has tried many cases, holds attorneys to a high standard (ethics attorney), and doesn't hold the community she is serving in disdain (if you watch the video you will see). I think the video she has on her website says it all, she wants to help the community be safe and not just blindly go after every minor case whether it should be prosecuted or not. Prosecutors get a lot of discretion, I would trust her to use it wisely.
8:54 a.m.
Sep 13, '11
This is a hard race for those of us who don't follow the legal community closely. (I never know how to vote on judges.) The race will be determined by who gets what endorsements and who my lawyer friends recommend. If they split evenly I am lost.
10:47 p.m.
Sep 13, '11
I see this race as more similar to the race for AG than like all those races for various judges.
The Multnomah County DA has a huge role and tremendous power in this community. And we should be paying attention to the race accordingly.
9:57 a.m.
Sep 13, '11
I have been a lawyer in Portland for over 25 years and have known Rod Underhill for most of that time. I mostly practice in the area of criminal law. Quite frankly, I can't think of a candidate better suited to take over for Mike Schrunk. Rod is smart, experienced and an excellent prosecutor. He has gained the broad-based support of victims groups, business leaders, and the top law enforcement leaders in the community. Impressively, he is also widely supported by the criminal defense bar. Although he clearly understands that the role of the District Attorney is to primarily prosecute serious crime, he also understands that in a community like Multnomah County, "lock ‘em up" is not always the appropriate response and thus has voiced support for drug courts, mental health courts and community courts.
Most importantly from my perspective, Rod is an honest, ethical, reasonable and thoughtful person who treats everyone in the system, including defense counsel and defendants, with respect.
10:23 a.m.
Sep 14, '11
For what it's worth....
As administrator of a large "law firm" and government agency, the DA must have experience running legal related organizations. This is very important. A poorly run organization will lead to dissension, the loss of good employees, and a loss of confidence by the community.
In Multnomah County particularly, the DA acts as the leader in criminal justice. So proven leadership is essential. Courts, law enforcement and the entire criminal justice system have their fair share of egos and turf battles. Leadership has to extend to the community as well, so it's important to build that relationship. Willingness to listen and make communication with other commu nity leaders is essential.
The DA sets policies on prosecution plea negotiations and sentencing recommendations, so has to understand how the entire system works. They should have extensive experience in prosecution of all types of cases. They must have a very good grasp on what the different parts of the system can and cannot do. Community corrections (probation/parole), the Juil, the Sheriff's office and local law enforcement agencies, the State Department of Corrections, and the Courts. They should even understand how the criminal defense system works in Oregon. It would be difficult to set prosecution and sentencing policies that maximize community safety if you don't know the capabilities of each of these other parts of the system and how to maximize community safety by utilizing the limited resources in the most cost effective way.
The DA represents victims. They should understand what victims and communities go through during a criminal prosecution. They also need to balance the desire for retribution and the goal of community safety.