Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney's Office adds new Deputy Prosecuting Attorney position

DAYTON­-The Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has announced that Cindy L. Horowitz will be joining the office as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney on January 1, 2021.

Horowitz has served as an Assistant District Prosecuting Attorney from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in New York. Since 2017, she has served in the Domestic Violence and Appeals divisions of that office. Before working as an ADA in Brooklyn, Horowitz was a securities regulations attorney and an attorney for the City of New York Civilian Complaint Review Board. This government office oversees complaints against the NYPD.

The Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney's office currently has one full-time legal assistant, one part-time legal assistant, a part-time victim/witness coordinator, and one deputy prosecuting attorney, April King. The Columbia County Commissioners approved a modest budget increase to allow for the new hire in 2021.

"The past two years have been hectic for our office, as they have for everyone, and we're overjoyed to have another attorney in the office," said C. Dale Slack, elected Prosecuting Attorney for Columbia County.

Slack said civil work has exploded in the wake of COVID, the floods, and leadership changes throughout the County.

Although not the most exciting or visible work of the office, Slack said the Prosecuting Attorney acts as legal counsel for Columbia County. The office provides legal advice in all areas of law to County departments and officials, litigation oversight in lawsuits, review and drafting of contracts, and other non-criminal legal work. The Prosecuting Attorney's Office also enforces child support orders for the State of Washington, acts as Risk Manager for the County, and the Prosecutor is ex-officio Coroner for the County.

"My time has simply been taken over with civil work, appeals, administration of the office, and trying to make the office run smoothly; I've been working late hours to get that work done and work the few criminal cases I'm still handling, and April has had to take on almost every criminal case in the County," Slack said.

Slack said he has had to abandon work on some priorities, including crime prevention and public outreach, to get the daily work done.

"Cindy will take over prosecution of misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors in District Court, and bring her appellate knowledge to the office, making it possible for April to take over criminal prosecutions in felony cases, and for me to focus on civil work, as well as administration and public outreach."

Slack said he feels blessed to now have two deputy prosecutors available.

"April is a brilliant and focused attorney who adds so much to our community, and I expect that Cindy will bring us a lot of valuable insight and experience that will keep us moving in the direction I wanted to take this office when I ran," he said.

For additional information or questions, please feel free to contact C. Dale Slack at (509)382-1197, (509)520-3472, or dale_slack@co.columbia.wa.us.