EDITOR’S NOTE:
This is the first of a two-part series on a candidate forum in Port Townsend last week.
PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County prosecuting attorney candidates traded ideas on what crimes the office should pursue at a forum last week.
Deputy Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans and Port Townsend Attorney Paul Richmond talked before about 100 people during the forum at the Masonic Hall in Port Townsend.
Two two are seeking the $123,572 job in the Nov. 2 general election. Ballots were mailed Wednesday.
The forum — which included Jefferson County commissioner candidates Republican Jim Boyer, who is attempting to unseat incumbent John Austin, a Democrat — was sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women and The Leader, a weekly newspaper.
Rosekrans, 58, a Democrat, said the law is clear about what should be prosecuted.
“I take an oath to uphold the laws and not to ignore the ones that I think are silly or frivolous,” he said.
“If you don’t like a law, then go to Olympia and have it changed.”
While Richmond, 49, would take the same oath if elected, he pledged to run more selective prosecutions.
“We need a prosecutor who can take an objective look at the prosecutor’s department and how it can best serve the people of this county,” Richmond said.
“This isn’t about being the best one-man band, it’s about who is the best orchestra conductor.”
Richmond, whose political preference is Independent, said that money is wasted in the prosecuting attorney’s office in trying cases that should be negotiated some other way.
“I’ve seen cases where the victim says ‘I don’t think this person should be prosecuted’ and the prosecutor will ride that case,” Richmond said.
Domestic violence
Richmond said the county has “a huge domestic violence grant, and that drives a lot of cases that don’t need to be prosecuted, often to the detriment of those that really do.”
Rosekrans recalled a time when he was a rookie police officer on a domestic violence call and found himself looking down the barrel of a gun.
This began what he called a “passion” for prosecuting domestic violence cases.
“I hadn’t been a prosecutor a couple of months when I heard gunfire outside my office door,” he said.
“Some guy didn’t want to spend $86 a month for child support, so he shot his girlfriend four times.
“I take that seriously, especially when you are shooting outside my office door.”
Rosekrans also talked of prosecuting a case in which a jilted boyfriend killed his girlfriend in a school parking lot in front of school bus drivers, teachers, children and parents.
“We have a grant to prosecute domestic violence because it’s a serious problem, in Jefferson County, in the state of Washington and all over the country,” Rosekrans said.
“Unfortunately, we are in danger of losing that grant, and when I take office I will need to find ways to get it back.”
The $95,000 grant acquired through the American Recovery Act funds one prosecutor dedicated to domestic violence offenses. It expires in November.
Richmond said he would like to expand the role of the prosecutor into more areas, such as attempting recovery of some of the money lost in the banking scandal.
Expand the role
“This office can do amazing things to help the county more than locking up bad guys,” he said.
“When I get into office, I will keep my opponent around for that role.”
That is one campaign pledge Richmond would be unable to fulfill.
“I appreciate the offer,” Rosekrans said after the forum.
“But our philosophies are too far apart, and I don’t think my working for him would be a good fit.”
Monday: Jefferson County commissioners talk of issues at forum.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
