In Support Of Rea Culwell

Letter to the Editor:

There have been a lot of letters to the editor professing their non-support of Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell. These people all believe that they have some basis for their opinion, and that for some reason their opinion is something that everyone wants to hear.

From my vantage point, most of these detractors are upset because of the prosecution of a family member. If those who had written these letters were the victims in the cases and Rea had not prosecuted, my guess is that their letters would be just as negative, but complaining that Rea is too soft on those same defendants. I have always said, if everyone likes you as the prosecuting attorney, you aren't doing your job.

I would like to clarify a few things and give you my opinion as someone who has lived in your community and has worked for three different county prosecutors here. Many of these letters claim Ms. Culwell spends too much money or earns too much money; let me set the record straight. Ms. Culwell DOES NOT set her salary. It is mandated by state law, and the county has not paid one dime more to Rea in salary since she started as your prosecutor.

Ms. Culwell has INCREASED REVENUE to the county, alleviating the burden on our community. Of the prosecutor's budget, approximately $200,000 is offset by these revenues and reimbursements. Ms. Culwell has also CUT HER BUDGET, spending less on travel, supplies and more to help the county balance its budget.

Rea Culwell is the best candidate for this position. I don't believe that longevity as an attorney necessarily makes you the most qualified. This job takes a special person to do it correctly. You have to be able to balance the rights of the defendant as well as the rights of the victim. The job of prosecuting attorney is very victim centered. I think it would be difficult to come from a position of a career defense attorney who persecutes victims and law enforcement on behalf of defendants to simply switch hats and now protect those same victims and prosecute those same defendants.

It is a complete shift in focus. Law enforcement and victims are crucial to any criminal case and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. This victim-centered approach is why the legislature has given all prosecutors' offices additional funding in order to provide victim advocacy.

I also believe something that the prosecutor's office has been missing the last eight years is continuity. In eight years there have been three different prosecutors, several different deputy prosecutors, and support staff. Every time you make such a significant change, it takes several years to get things working efficiently again.

When you have new staff it takes years of training to get them up to speed. You can't just step in to this job and begin as if you have been doing it for thirty yearshellip;it just doesn't work that way. There are many different and complex computer systems that must be learned, etc. These big changes cost the county money that it cannot afford. Every time a new prosecutor steps into office, you are basically starting over, which costs the county more money.

The bottom line is that we are very lucky to have Rea Culwell as our prosecutor, and it would be a big mistake to let her go. Rea is an intelligent, compassionate, fair and able prosecuting attorney. I am privileged to have been her assistant for the last four years and hope to continue in that capacity for the next four.

Please, consider giving Rea Culwell your vote for prosecuting attorney and keep the continuity of this office to make Columbia County a good place for its citizens and a bad place for criminals.

Julie Karl,

Waitsburg