Columbia County District Attorney
An Oregon District Attorney has dual functions, as prosecuting attorney and law officer of the state and counties. District Attorneys serve as the public prosecutor, represent the state in criminal proceedings, and initiate proceedings for punishable offenses. They enforce child support orders, represent the state in juvenile matters, and undertake inquests into the cause and manner of certain deaths. Though elected by county voters, the District Attorney is a state officer whose salary is paid by the state, sometimes receiving a supplementary stipend from the county. Salaries range from $131,000 to $148,000. In most cases, a District Attorney is prohibited from privately practicing law. District Attorneys must be U.S. citizens, registered voters, and residents of the state. They must have been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Oregon.Term: 4 years. The position is nonpartisan.
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Joshua Pond
(N)
What are the three top challenges facing the District Attorney’s office, and how would you address them?
What qualities and experience make you the best candidate for District Attorney?
What alternatives to incarceration would you like to see available in your area?
Your Experience/Qualifications
I have just over 15 years of experience in the criminal justice system, both fighting for the state and on behalf of the accused. I have worked at the local, state and federal level and frankly have seen it all. Throughout, I have been guided solely by doing what is right. When we work as a system best, is when we work collaboratively and evidence-based so we can do what we can to make all involved whole again.
The top challenges are finding ways to truly reduce crime. This means taking a data-driven and evidence-based approach that focuses on rehabilitation and curbing recidivism. We simply cannot continue with the traditional jail and probation model and expect new results.
I have a great deal of practical experience working in the justice system that has given me an enormous amount of knowledge and resources. On a personal level, I also grew up in the 80's in a crime-riddled part of the Houston area and saw iniquities firsthand. While the vast majority of my friends and neighbors were black, the mayor, the police officer and the jailer were white. I have seen first hand these and many other ways in which the system can fail it's citizens.
I would like to see more community resources available to lower level offenders. Jail won't solve addiction, but clinical intervention might. Jail won't end drunk driving but rehabilitative services might. We simply have to focus on doing what works and not punishing out of an emotional sense of justice.
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