While navigating the sea of partisan candidates vying for party nominations on the June 8 primary ballot, Santa Barbara County voters will also have to select individuals to fill some key non-partisan positions. One of those positions up for grabs is Santa Barbara County District Attorney.
The office has been reeling from the loss of retired District Attorney Christie Stanley, who recently died of lung cancer at the age of 61. Stanley’s death has added another layer of complexity to an already complicated race. To better understand the candidates and their campaigns, the Sun contacted Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley and Chief Trial Deputy Josh Lynn and asked them each to answer a handful of questions.
Q: What tactics do you plan to take to stop gang violence in Santa Barbara County? Will those tactics differ depending on the different parts of the county?
Dudley: Criminal gang behavior cannot be tolerated. Gang leaders must be sought out and incarcerated to decrease their ability to recruit new, and often young, gang members. To stop gang violence and intimidation there must be a comprehensive approach, which should include education, intervention, and incarceration.
• Education—Age appropriate anti-gang education must be made available to all residents of our county in a variety of locations including elementary schools, after-school programs, and faith-based programs. Additionally, children should be encouraged to embrace healthy alternatives to gang membership such as music, art, athletics, crafts, writing, and community service activities.
• Intervention—Should anti-community/gang activity occur, there must be individualized and swift intervention with predictable, appropriate, and consistent consequences. Whenever possible, the offender’s family should be included in this intervention.
• Incarceration—Those who participate in gang violence should be incarcerated for their criminal behavior; the length of their incarceration must be commensurate with the crime, as well as the individual’s criminal history.
I support gang injunctions so long as they are carefully written and appropriately implemented. My experience with the gang injunction in Lompoc is that it is working both to keep the community safer and to reduce the number of new gang recruits.
Lynn: I am the only candidate in this race who (before I became the chief trial deputy and attorney supervisor) was in the Gang Unit for years, prosecuting everything from graffiti to multi-defendant capital gang murder. The approach must have three prongs: First, we very precisely dismantle gangs where they commit violent crimes against our community members. No matter what city in the county, those who prey on our citizens must be dealt severe sentences and removed from society to protect law-abiding, productive citizens. Second, we must go back into the schools with our truancy program and reach kids when they are ages 12 to 17 and still receptive to learning there are better options than a dead-end gang life victimizing others and ending with prison. Third, I will insist we examine all possibilities, including gang injunctions in each city, to maximize our ability to keep youth off the streets and in programs, boys and girls clubs, and school where they are influenced positively.
Q: What do you think are some of the major issues—besides gangs—facing the North County? Please explain how you plan to address at least two of those issues.
Dudley: Economic hardship has led to an increase in theft crimes. We, along with other law enforcement agencies and businesses, must educate the community in terms of how to avoid both thefts and scams. Additionally, all law enforcement agencies have to be vigilant in the investigation and prosecution of all theft-related crimes. Sexual assault crimes are also on the rise. Frequently, these types of crimes go unreported because the victim feels somehow responsible. This misapplied guilt often occurs when the victim was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the assault. It is important for all victims/survivors of sexual assault to know the only reason they were assaulted, or raped, was because they came upon a rapist, and the only way to effectively stop a rapist is to report the crime. Alcohol and drug abuse is at the root of most of our crimes. The most effective means to conquer this epidemic is via education, prevention, and therapeutic programs and courts. When substance abuse leads to crime, public safety demands punishment and incarceration, which should be followed by a successful re-entry program.
Lynn: Rural crime and worker’s compensation claim fraud are major issues facing the North County in particular. Those issues must be aggressively addressed by the district attorney, as businesses small and large are adversely affected by those crimes. Often, they are ignored and considered “civil” court issues. I disagree. When I am district attorney, we will prosecute these crimes vigorously and protect the very tax-base responsible for funding law enforcement and providing jobs and security for so many in this area. I will task specific deputy district attorneys with those cases for special prosecution.
Q: What will be your biggest priorities when handling the DA office’s budget?
Dudley: My biggest priority will always be public safety, now and in the future. I am uniquely positioned to deal with the budgetary issues facing not only the DA’s office, but public safety countywide. I have the endorsements of our sheriff, Bill Brown, and County Fire as well as numerous public safety organizations. They support me because they know I understand how important it is to make our budgetary process a collaborative effort. We cannot allow any one public safety organization to take precedence over any other, and together we must do everything possible to fight for public safety dollars. Together we can work to identify where there are overlaps in our public safety system in order to streamline costs and increase efficiency. We must also look at innovative ways to bring in other sources of funding. In the past, I was successful in bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the DA’s office through asset forfeiture that was directly linked to perpetrators of specific crimes. That is just one of the tools we have to garner additional funding. Our next district attorney cannot rely on a business-as-usual approach.
Lynn: Violent crime, gangs, career criminals, and our youth will be our foremost priorities when I am district attorney. I will find efficiencies as well using better technology and refusing to condone the endless continuances and delays in our cases that clog the courts and jails in this county. In order to improve society and to save tax dollars, we must insist our youth become a top priority. A youth who becomes truant often becomes a part of the juvenile, then adult systems, costing taxpayer dollars and our missing the moral imperative to raise productive, well-adjusted and happy children.
Q: Why do you think this campaign has been so aggressive/contentious?
Dudley: If you look at my campaign, you will see that I have not been aggressive or contentious. I am very proud of my positive campaign; it has been about telling the voters who I am and discussing the issues. Sadly, my opponent has chosen to take a negative route—however, I believe that he has underestimated the wisdom of the voters of Santa Barbara County. Some of our colleagues in the DA’s office have taken sides, while others have remained neutral. I have worked with many of these people for the past 20 years and, despite what you may be hearing, I believe everyone’s primary focus continues to be doing their jobs and doing them well. It has been a difficult couple of years in the office. Christie Stanley’s battle with cancer and her subsequent passing has been something no one in our office ever expected to deal with. Everyone in the office tried to step up during this time and continue with the excellent work our residents demand from us. I know that after this election is over, this cohesiveness will continue and even grow. Politics has never trumped public safety in the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office and under my watch it never will.
Lynn: The truth is not always pleasant to discuss and in law enforcement, truth, honesty, and ethics must flow from the top down. My record is unique in this regard, and I am proud to say I have never crossed that ethical line that separates us from the criminals we prosecute. I have zero personal animosity toward my opponent, have asked voters to look at the records of the candidates, and insisted that we speak the truth during this time of an election. Ambition must be tempered by compassion and fairness. I have asked for that pledge from the beginning and have, instead, been told I would lose my career as a prosecutor if my opponent prevails. I have, on the other hand, stated no one would be punished for expressing their views on the election and asked my opponent to make a pledge to this community likewise in order to preserve our ability to protect the public without distraction. My opponent has made no such promise. The law enforcement mission
of the district attorney must come first, the election second.
Q: If elected, how do you plan to overcome the negative aspects of the campaigning process?
Dudley: I am proud of the kind of campaign we are running. I have focused my conversation with the electorate on my qualifications, my commitment to our community, and the issues facing our county. As mentioned above, everyone in the District Attorney’s Office is a professional committed to public safety. The negative aspects of the campaign my opponent has chosen to interject into this race will disappear once this election is over and the office continues to work together toward one goal: keeping Santa Barbara County safe.
Lynn: I have brought people together my whole life. I have led the District Attorney’s Office in good times and during the most difficult of times when my friend and mentor, Christie Stanley, suffered from her illness. I have the overwhelming support of the office and will bring it together to further public safety and foster a fearless environment of ethics, honesty, and character. We will be a model for law enforcement offices statewide. m
Contact News Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 3, 2010.