As two newcomers running for Douglas County district attorney on Saturday criticized many issues within the current DA’s office, the incumbent said she’s prepared to keep doing the work.

The three Democratic candidates traded barbs during the standing-room-only forum, hosted by the NAACP and League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County at the Watkins Museum of History. Ursula Minor served as moderator and Wendo Kimori kept time. 

Incumbent Suzanne Valdez, Tonda Hill and Dakota Loomis will face off in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary election. The winner will advance to the Nov. 5 general election to face Republican Mike Warner. 

Expanding on some discussion that emerged during the June 15 Women for Kansas forum, Loomis and Hill both made remarks that were critical of Valdez’s administration throughout her term in office, as well as regarding very recent events. 

“You deserve to elect a compassionate leader that has devoted their life to public service, practices trauma-informed advocacy, and would never mock any member of this community,” Hill said, referencing former Deputy DA Joshua Seiden, whose employment at the DA’s office recently ended after he dressed as a Lawrence man known for his anti-mask protests and acted the part at the courthouse. 

Hill said she was shocked when she started her campaign and some people declined to meet with her because they had a relationship with another potential candidate. 

“Your next district attorney should be an individual that doesn’t applaud or sympathize with the current administration, nor should they have close personal relationships of trust that could cause conflicts for future prosecution,” Hill said. 

Loomis said his top priorities if elected would be “to restore professionalism to the office, restore respect to the Douglas County courthouse,” and “to recruit, retain and train experienced, ethical prosecutors. Prosecution in Douglas County has to start with people in the office who know how to prosecute violent offenders, sex offenders and folks who have committed violent crimes against community members.” 

Loomis, currently a defense attorney and the Baldwin City municipal prosecutor, said those violent offenses are a small number of overall cases, but the DA’s office must have enough prosecutors on staff who are able to handle those serious cases. 

During a December hearing on a disciplinary complaint Valdez is facing related to comments she made about the chief judge, judges and former employees testified at length about the tense, uncomfortable atmosphere at the courthouse since shortly after Valdez took office. The complaint is currently pending before the Kansas Supreme Court, and the panel of attorneys who heard the case have recommended that Valdez face public censure. 

Valdez’s office has also drawn public ire for acquittals, dismissals and plea deals that result in sentences of probation for defendants charged in rape and murder cases, as well as other violent crimes. 

But Valdez said that she’s been making changes since 2021, and that it makes “the establishment” unhappy. 

She said she’s tested every day, “and I get it done. I get it done, no matter the distraction. You know why? Because I care about every single one of you in this community.” 

Valdez has not responded to an email asking whether Seiden is still serving as her campaign treasurer. He did not appear to be in attendance Saturday. 

Alternatives to incarceration

One forum question focused on whether alternatives to incarceration, such as counseling and diversion programs, for lower-level crimes would provide better results for the community. 

Hill said we should not be prosecuting mental illness, poverty and addiction, and that there should be wraparound services for people that need particular help “to make sure that we are focusing our attention on violent crimes.” 

Hill said she’s seen the impact of a veterans treatment court in Wyandotte County, where she currently works as a prosecutor. 

“I believe that is another absolutely important resource to make sure that we’re doing those alternatives, to give individuals an opportunity to have accountability for their actions,” Hill said, “but we have to make sure that the approach is measured and pragmatic, and that only comes when you’re looking at the cases on an individual basis.”

Valdez, however, said her office has already implemented behavioral health court and drug court, and both are seeing more robust enrollments than ever before. In addition, veterans treatment court is already in the works, Valdez said. 

“I’m doing the work. There’s nothing here that they’ve offered to adopt that I’m not doing, and I’m going to do it better and I’m going to continue to do the things that we’re doing,” Valdez said. “… I’m glad to hear about all their ideas, but they’re kind of already being done.”

Loomis said there are programs that exist under Valdez’s administration, and they need to be expanded, diversified and expedited so alleged offenders can avoid the negative outcomes of being in custody, such as losing a job or housing. He said he would want to implement “pre-charging” diversions — allowing offenders to complete a program before a criminal case is ever filed against them — to get people help immediately if they have substance use or mental health issues. 

The DA’s office currently offers diversion programs but only after cases have been filed, and cases are often pending for months before diversion agreements are approved. 

Loomis said the vast majority of people who come into the courthouse are not “violent, dangerous people” — they’re people who have needs that may be economic or involving mental health or substance abuse, and getting the resources they need will help reduce recidivism and increase their chances of success. 

Valdez said the DA’s office is just one piece of the system, but that Douglas County has been a model for criminal justice reform. 

“To be arrogant enough to say that you’re gonna make all these changes, and you can do this and you can do that — believe me, there’s a price to pay, because you know what, I’ve been paying it,” she said. “And I suck it up every day.”

Valdez said she’s proud of the work her team has done and asked those in attendance to give her four more years to continue doing the work. 

Charging marijuana possession

The Douglas County DA’s office hasn’t been prosecuting simple marijuana possession cases for several years. That policy started under the previous DA, Charles Branson.

Valdez and Loomis both indicated they would continue the policy if elected. 

Loomis discussed possibly expanding that policy for more people “who are simply addicted to drugs,” including meth, cocaine and opioids, “where we can get in and get them help as soon as humanly possible.” He said as a defense attorney, he often gets cases six months or more after his client’s initial encounter with law enforcement because drugs have to be sent to the KBI for testing; over the span of those months, his client may have picked up new charges and spiraled further into drug use and depression. 

Valdez said the war on drugs has resulted in mass incarceration of Black and Brown people and she will not prosecute simple marijuana possession. The DA’s office is prosecuting drug distributors, however, and especially distributors of fentanyl, she said. 

But Hill shared a story about meeting a mother whose son was arrested with a “vast amount” of marijuana in his car. The mother was happy he was arrested because “marijuana was actually impacting her son’s life negatively,” Hill said. The mother was later disappointed because the DA’s office dropped the case, so her son was unable to get into the drug court program or get other help she thought he needed. 

Hill said that was an example of how prosecutorial discretion was “being used to prosecute certain cases over another.”

She said district attorneys take an oath to defend the constitution and Kansas law. 

“So if you have a district attorney stand before you to say ‘I will not prosecute a law,’ that means that they have no problem breaking other things,” Hill said. “That means they’re not using the law to guide them — they’re using their personal beliefs, their bias, all of those things to guide their decisions.”

Hill said the DA needs to have experiences with communities other than their own, because if not, “That’s where the discretion turns into, unfortunately, discrimination.”

The deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 6 primary is Tuesday, July 16. Early voting begins Wednesday, July 17. 

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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