Time for a change in the prosecutor’s office

I’m worried. The incumbent prosecutor has been in office too long. Thurston County’s law and justice system now uses up 75 percent of the general fund and its share of our county’s budget keeps growing. The Thurston County Jail has 488 beds but our Commissioners plan to add 110 beds at a cost of $11 million even though they’re already spending millions more than they collect in taxes.

Given Thurston County’s population, if our law and justice system was as efficient as King County’s, we would have a 250-bed jail -- not one almost double that size and expanding. That’s because King County has successful diversionary programs like Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (L.E.A.D.), which nevertheless failed here under Mr. Tunheim’s watch.

If the poor are jailed for non-violent crimes like shoplifting and cannot afford bail, that deeply drains community resources. A jailed mother can lose her job followed by the loss of her apartment and soon, custody of her children. Her kids’ confusion, hunger and anger trigger problems in school. Jailing a mother for three months costs taxpayers $10,000 but her kids’ situation costs us even more.

Homelessness leads to hopelessness. If the current prosecutor stays, things won’t get better. He’s had his chance.

Victor Minjares thinks alternatively. As an experienced, high-level prosecutor, he’s tough enough to get our criminal justice system under control by establishing much-needed policies and written protocols for our deputy prosecutors. Please join me in voting for Victor.