Is just good enough really good enough?

The 2024 Johnson County Community Survey results were recently released. The survey is designed to educate the county government and its various agencies on the issues that the residents of Johnson County care about, and their opinions on how well these agencies are performing.

The District Attorney's Office is rarely going to receive ratings like the library or Parks and Recreation departments. However, for another year, the District Attorney's Office has left the people of Johnson County wanting more. Less than 10% of Johnson County citizens said they were "very satisfied" with the performance of the District Attorney's Office and only 33% said they were "satisfied". This simply is not good enough. It also represents a continued decline over the last four years.

There are any number of reasons why someone may be unhappy with the District Attorney's Office. Assistant District Attorneys can be difficult to reach. You may not be getting contacted about your case. Plea deals rarely leave all parties happy. But there is one specific facet of the survey that only confirms we need new leadership in the District Attorney's Office: confidence in the office's ability to "competently prosecute criminals" is down. Way down. Less than half of the citizens feel that criminals are competently prosecuted. This is a 3% drop from 2023 but at 13% drop since 2020.

This perception is not misguided. Over the last four years, Steve Howe's office has hemorrhaged experienced prosecutors. Between 2020 and 2024, the office hundreds of years of experience. Experts in prosecuting economic crimes, sex crimes, traffic crimes, violent crimes, and drug crimes left in droves, leaving a leadership and experience gap.

Too many cases are being declined because they aren't wrapped up in a perfect bow. It frustrates the police officers and deputies working to keep our community safe and it frustrates the victims of crime who deserve justice. A perfect example of the shortcomings in the District Attorney's Office is the lack of action in the fentanyl epidemic. Between 2018 and 2022, 148 people died from fentanyl overdoses in Johnson County. Only 8 drug dealers were charged with the deaths they caused. Where is the justice for the family members who have to bury their loved ones?

The criminal justice system needs the faith of its citizens to survive. People need to believe that the district attorney, defense attorneys, and judges are all competent. People need to believe in fairness and justice. That belief has been betrayed over the last four years and the numbers show it. It is time for change in the District Attorney's Office. Just good enough isn't good enough. Johnson County deserves better and Johnson County can do better.

I look forward to talking with you about how we can do better. Together.

-DG