Washblog

While Mr. Roe has spent much of his career as a criminal prosecutor in the office he now presides over as a result of an appointment to replace his former boss (who resigned before the end of her term), Jim Kenny brings a combined two decades of experience as both a prosecutor and an administrator to bear as he seeks to bring reform and the required managerial experience to the job.

While Kenny is currently serving as a prosecutor out of the Seattle Attorney's office (he previously served as a prosecutor in the Clark County Prosecutor's office), he has been a Snohomish County resident for over 30 years; currently residing in Everett's Silver Firs Neighborhood.  He and his wife, Susan, have two children. In addition to his responsibility as a prosecutor, Kenny has been serving for the past seven years as an elected Fire District Commissioner in Snohomish County Fire District 1. He has served as Chair of that body for five of those years. As a commissioner, he routinely deals with the district's $40 million annual budget and its 235 employees; both of which are greater than the size of the Prosecutor's Office.

As a result of the state's "Top Two Primary", Kenny and Roe were both virtually assured a position on the November ballot coming out of that election. Shortly after the results of the primary were certified I had an opportunity to put some questions to Jim Kenny about the issues he will be talking about between now and November, including his somewhat controversial support of the initiative that would have legalized adult marijuana possession and usage in our state (the initiative failed to make the ballot due to lack of petition signatures).

Examiner: First, you say that you want to "clean up" Snohomish County government. What precisely is it that you believe needs to be cleaned up and how will you, as Prosecutor, go about the task?

Kenny: There have been multiple scandals recently in county government:  the planning department, the medical examiner's office, the equal employment opportunity office, and the public works department.  Each of these departments receives its legal advice from the Prosecutor's Office civil division.  What did the prosecutors know and when did they know it?  Did they raise any concerns to middle and upper management in each department and/or the Executive's Office?  When a crime was alleged to have occurred, did they involve law enforcement for a criminal investigation?  These scandals will cost the tax payers significant money.  The county has already paid close to $200,000 for outside counsel to investigate these scandals, and the county is facing close to one million dollars in claims for its failure to properly investigate sexual harassment complaints.  We need to change the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office to clean up these scandals.  The culture of corruption must be swept out.  I will install a public integrity unit with a prosecutor to root out corruption in county government.

Examiner: You want to be "smart on crime". Please describe what you mean and how you would go about it.

Kenny: Smart on crime means incarcerating serious and violent offenders, but doing things differently with low and mid-level offenders.  The end goal of our criminal justice system is to reduce crime.  The most efficient way to do that is to reduce recidivism.  We can reduce recidivism by addressing the root causes of crime:  drug problems, alcohol problems, and mental health problems.  If we can help offenders to help themselves to deal with these root causes, we can reduce the likelihood that these offenders will commit new crimes.  Problem-solving courts like mental health courts, community courts, and veterans' courts can make a positive difference in our community, just like they are doing so in other communities around the state.  Putting mid and low-level offenders in jail is not always the best solution since jail can be a school for criminals.  We can rehabilitate some offenders by using some non-jail alternatives that make the offender take responsibility and give back to the community without significant jail costs, like:  work crew, electronic home monitoring, and community service hours.  Smart on crime uses our tax dollars wisely while keeping our community safe.

Examiner: Your opponent is making much of the fact that he has a great deal of experience in prosecuting criminal cases right here in Snohomish County. Isn't that what being Prosecutor is all about?

Kenny: The elected prosecutor is an administrator and not a trial attorney.  While some trial experience is necessary (I have tried more than 200 cases), the administrative skills of budgeting, human resource management, strategic planning, and coalition building are the significant functions of the elected prosecutor.  As the elected chairman of the Fire District 1 board of commissioners, I oversee the governance of the largest fire department in Snohomish County with more than 200 employees and a $40 million annual budget, which is significantly larger than the Prosecutor's Office.  Public safety governance involves looking at the forest instead of each individual tree.  You have to look at the future and plan for how to reach the horizon.  I can bring these public safety governance skills from the Fire District to the Prosecutor's Office.  

Examiner: You have talked about mandatory inquests for police involved shootings. Do you believe that this has the support of the general public and what type of feedback are you receiving from law enforcement?

Kenny: Mandatory inquests for officer-involved shootings are supported by the public because inquests promote transparency and accountability.  When our officers use lethal force with lethal results, our community wants to know why.  Inquests are a judicial fact-finding process where a jury determines the facts surrounding the shooting by listening to in-court testimony.  There is no substitute for the truth-seeking function of our jury system.  Inquests are good for the slain person's family, the community, and the police officer.

I find that law enforcement inside Snohomish County is not supportive of mandatory inquests because it is a change in the way they do business, and inquests ask too many questions about why a person was killed by the police.  I find that law enforcement outside Snohomish County is very supportive of mandatory inquests because inquests provide a forum for the police officer to explain why he or she used lethal force.  

Examiner: You were one of only a handful of elected officials/candidates in the state to give your support to the failed initiative to legalize small quantities of marijuana for adult use. You have also spoken about eliminating unnecessary prosecutions of medical marijuana patients in the county. Why are you speaking out on this issue?

Kenny: It's about justice.  State law allows sick and injured people to obtain authorizations, which are like prescriptions, from medical doctors to possess and use medical marijuana in various amounts.  However you feel about marijuana, these authorizations are allowed by state law.  Sick people who use medical marijuana should not be prosecuted as felons; they should be treated compassionately like any other medical patient.  The touchstone for medical marijuana should be compassion toward sick people, instead of trying to put them in prison.

After 40 years of a failed war on drugs, it is time to start taking small steps in a different direction.  The federal government recently abandoned the phrase "war on drugs" and started looking at illegal drugs as a public health issue to be addressed by drug treatment and community support instead of prison.  Marijuana is currently an illegal drug for which people in Snohomish County are being arrested and imprisoned every day.  In 2007, approximately 1300 people were arrested for marijuana offenses across all Snohomish County jurisdictions.  In 2008, more than 12,000 people were prosecuted for marijuana offenses across the State of Washington.  Prosecuting marijuana offenses in 2008 cost approximately $18 million.  We cannot afford to keep prosecuting nonviolent offenders in this manner.  Legalizing marijuana for adult use will save us money and stop needless incarceration.  

Examiner: Conventional wisdom would suggest that your numbers in the primary pose an almost insurmountable challenge in the general election. What will you differently in the general election to bring in new voters and perhaps even sway some of your opponent's supporters over to your camp?

Kenny: The voter turnout in the general election will be close to double the turnout in the primary election.  I have a plan to reach these voters with my message of cleaning up county government, being smart on crime, and transparency.  I want voters to see the choice they have between the status quo and a change for the better.  I believe that when voters listen to my call for justice, accountability, and compassion, they will vote for me.  Together, we can meet the challenge of tomorrow.

Examiner: Finally, if folks want to learn more about your campaign, where can they find that information?

Kenny: The campaign is on the net at http://www.jimkenny.org/ and the email address is info@jimkenny.org. Folks are also welcome to write directly to the campaign at:

People for Jim Kenny
21911 64th Ave W, Unit B
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

or feel free to phone us at: 425-774-0362

I thank Jim Kenny for taking the time to answer these questions. Ballots for the November general election will be arriving in mail boxes across Snohomish County in mid-October. I urge voters to become acquainted with the candidates and issues that will affect them for years to come and then cast your vote wisely.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue