Incumbents lead in Marion, Washington County’s contested DA races

Two hotly contested DA races — one in Washington County and one in Marion County — asked Oregonians to decide between incumbent prosecutors and more progressive candidates intent on restructuring their local criminal justice systems. The challenger has conceded in Washington County, and the incumbent has declared victory in Marion County. In both races, tens of thousands of ballots have not yet been reported by elections officials.

Four new district attorneys, all with prior prosecutorial experience, will take their seats in other Oregon counties after running in uncontested races.

Barton leads in Washington County

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton is leading in his bid for reelection over challenger Brian Decker, a public defender who ran on a progressive platform, by a significant margin according to election returns that are still being counted.

Decker conceded the race late Tuesday, announcing on Twitter that he called Barton to congratulate him.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Barton led by more than 10,000 votes, with at least 40,000 ballots to still be counted, according to ballot returns. It wasn’t clear how many additional ballots may still be arriving in the mail.

Barton said he believes the results are an affirmation from the community of how he’s running the office.

“They want us to keep our community safe,” Barton said. “I didn’t run on a tough-on-crime approach. I ran on a balanced approach and that balance does include being tough on crime.”

Barton campaigned as someone who would aggressively prosecute crime and at times warned voters of their community becoming like neighboring Multnomah County.

“I’m not creating any type of division between Multnomah County and Washington County,” Barton said during the campaign. “The leaders in Multnomah county are crazy. They have ruined the public safety system in Multnomah County.”

Barton said Decker attempted to politicize a nonpartisan office. In response to Decker conceding the race on Twitter, Bartons’ chief deputy, Bracken McKey accused Decker of running a “dishonest campaign.”

Barton said he’s aware not all of Washington County’s residents voted for him.

“My goal is to make sure this community is safe for everybody,” Barton told OPB on Wednesday. “Doesn’t matter to me what your politics are because we all have that same common desire to live in safety.”

In a statement on Twitter, Decker said despite the apparent outcome of the race, the community can remake its justice system.

“The incumbent has held onto the office, but more than 33,000 voters sent the message that the status quo is not OK,” Decker said. “Volunteers knocked on doors, advocates drafted op-eds, and neighbors wrote postcards to undecided voters. They did it all because they demand a fairer, better future.”

Washington County was of two contested district attorney races where voters faced the choice between an incumbent or a challenger from the public defense community.

Spencer not giving up in Marion County

As of Wednesday afternoon, Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson had an 1,800 vote lead over her rival, Spencer Todd, a local public defender. At least 35,000 ballots, far more than the gap between the two candidates, have not been reported, according to data from Marion County and the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. The county is expected to report additional results Wednesday evening.

At 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Clarkson issued a statement declaring victory.

“I am truly honored to continue serving the people of Marion County,” Paige said in the release. “For the first time in nearly 40 years, we had a stark choice in this election for District Attorney, and it is humbling to know voters want me to continue standing up to crime and working hard for victims.”

Todd has not conceded the race.

“It’s too soon to be sad,” Todd told OPB Wednesday. “We’re going to wait and see what the future holds.”

New, DA’s in uncontested races

In Deschutes, Gilliam, Crook and Tillamook counties, new district attorneys will take their posts soon after running uncontested elections.

In Deschutes County, the district attorney’s office will change hands without a fight, as an attorney known for embracing progressive causes steps aside, and a career prosecutor moves into the role.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel did not run for re-election. The only person who sought the job is the county’s current chief deputy district attorney, Steve Gunnels, who’s been a fixture in the office since 1994 and only considered a run when he heard Hummel was leaving office.

“There’s a lot of tough-on-crime, lock-em-up type politicians who might have wanted to take me out, but Steve is kind of right down the middle, definitely moderate,” outgoing District Attorney Hummel told OPB. “It’s hard to get people fired up against a moderate.”

Hummel said he plans to serve out his term through the end of the year, and help with the transition. He was not a prosecutor before his election in 2014, and has often aligned himself with a block of progressive DAs in the state, including Multnomah County’s Mike Schmidt and Wasco County’s Matthew Ellis. Their stances have sometimes been at odds with those of the Oregon District Attorney’s Association – like opposing mandatory minimum sentencing.

Locally, Hummel has challenged Bend police’s handling of unsanctioned homeless camps. His office pursued assault charges against a Bend police officer last year. He also ruled in favor of disclosing law enforcement records without charging fees, in a decision the City of Bend unsuccessfully sought to overturn.

Gunnels, who has more prosecutorial experience than his predecessor, told OPB he plans to continue a drug charge diversion program that Hummel piloted, in which prosecutors don’t charge low-level drug offenders as long as they’re seeking medical treatment. He also said he wants to boost staff training, and increase staff presence in the community after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the office into remote operations.

“I’d really like to be the best trained DAs office in the state,” he said. “We already have a really good office here, but there’s always room for improvement.”

In Gilliam County, Kara Davis claimed an open seat to lead the DA’s office. Davis is currently Chief Deputy DA in Wasco County under Ellis. She will replace Marion Weatherford, who ran unopposed for a circuit court judgeship.

In Tillamook County, Aubrey Olson, a current deputy DA for the county, ran unopposed to become the top prosecutor. She will succeed William Porter, who was formally reprimanded by the state in 2015, and did not seek reelection after a 27-year tenure in office.

In Crook County, District Attorney Kari Hathorn was elected to a full-term in office for the first time. She was appointed to the job earlier this year after Oregon Gov. Kate Brown chose former Crook County DA Wade Whiting for a judgeship.

OPB’s Joni Auden Land contributed reporting from Bend.

This is a developing story. Watch for updates.