When Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley decided to retire after 32 years of leading the office, she looked for someone who could fill her shoes and keep moving the office in a positive direction, she said.
She began speaking to several attorneys on staff about stepping up for the role in the 2022 election cycle, and nominated Deputy District Attorney John Savrnoch—who is now running unopposed—because of his history, leadership, empathy, and compassion, she said.
“He’s earned the position, he’s already a leader in the community. Whether he was running opposed or not, I am confident he would be the next district attorney. I think the community felt that way, which is why no one ran against him. They knew his work and knew he could do the job after me,” Dudley said.
Savrnoch began his 30-year career as a prosecutor for the Fresno District Attorney’s Office, moved to the Santa Barbara County DA’s Office Lompoc location, and now works out of the Santa Barbara office.
“I love every aspect of my job in this office, and it was a natural decision in order to support the community to step up and seek the district attorney’s position,” Savrnoch said.
Many of the DA’s Office’s priorities will remain the same when he takes on his new role, with a focus on victims of domestic violence and prosecuting violence against women because of its impact on communities and effect on multiple generations, he explained.
“A particular focus of mine [is] once again attempting to generate publicity about the problem—and aggressively seek prosecution—for those who drive impaired on alcohol or drugs that cause injuries or kill people. It’s a horrible problem that does not need to occur,” he said.
In terms of the justice system, Savrnoch said he’d like to establish a restorative justice program to deal with lower level misdemeanors and get the people who’ve committed those crimes more involved in the community.
“The way the program works is if someone is accused of an offense, instead of taking them into court we’d divert them out of the system and place them under a restorative program where the individual would have to take offense, explore root causes, and meet with a facilitator and peers,” he explained.
The person in the program would be required to do community service, take education courses on their offense, and pay restitution if there were any financial losses, Savrnoch added.
“The hope is that an individual would be less likely to recidivate and more likely to become an active and involved member of the community. It’s not a get-out-of-jail free card; it requires more time and effort than going through the justice system where they may have some time or a fine,” he said. “My sincere hope is we can further develop in coordination with restorative justice in an attempt to intercept people before they receive serious criminal records and serious involvements with the justice system.”
Although Savrnoch has the only name on the ballot, residents are still encouraged to vote, and he is treating his campaign as a way to listen to community needs.
“I will go to events going on throughout the county and hear what [people] are concerned about and what they are interested in. Our main focus will always be public safety and the voice of the victim,” Savrnoch said.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 5, 2022.