Hennepin County attorney candidates talk child protection, police accountability in forum

Another candidate jumped into the race for Hennepin County attorney Thursday, just hours ahead of a second candidate forum.

Jarvis Jones, former president of the Minnesota State Bar Association, joined a crowded field vying to replace Mike Freeman, who is stepping down after more than 20 years in the office.

But Jones was not present at the virtual forum hosted by the Minnesota Justice Research Center and Minneapolis Foundation. The participating candidates were House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, former chief public defender Mary Moriarty, former District Judge Martha Holton Dimick, former Minneapolis Council Member Paul Ostrow, Richfield City Council Member Simon Trautmannand Saraswati Singh, a Ramsey County prosecutor, who called herself the youngest candidate in the race.

"I'm 37," Singh said. "I'm the same age as Amy Klobuchar when she first ran and won for Hennepin County attorney. She was the first woman in that office, and when I get elected, I'll be the first woman of color in the office."

At the first candidate forum more than a month ago, the field shared their agendas and reasons for running. Nearly all cited as a factor the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

On Thursday, the candidates were asked how they would address a rise in violent crime and mitigate racial disparities and implicit bias in the criminal justice system.

Dimick said the child protection system removes more children of color from families that have a difficult time with reunification. "We've got to do better when it comes to child protection cases and when it comes to protecting families and their children," she said.

Moriarty said Minnesota has some of the lowest incarceration rates in the country but among the highest racial disparity rates — and that includes child protection. The issue can't simply be willed away, she said.

Ostrow suggested instituting a public dashboard that would share results of decisions and show how laws are being implemented, as well as public forums for the community to share feedback.

"We've talked about disparities in the criminal justice system, but there are also disparities in who the victims of violence are, and they are disproportionately people of color," Winkler said. "So when we look at creating the justice system that is going to address disparities, we also have to create a justice system that will keep people safe."

More than 100 viewers tuned in for the Zoom forum, which laid out the core functions of the county attorney's office in prosecution of adult criminal felony and juvenile delinquency cases.

Freeman oversees 460 employees in Minnesota's largest county. In 2021, his office prosecuted 10,874 adult and 2,473 juvenile cases.

To address the backlog of cases accumulated during the pandemic, several candidates said they would pivot drug prosecutors to handle more serious cases and hold violent offenders accountable.

The candidates also stressed police accountability and cited last week's critical report by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which documented a pattern of racial discrimination by the Minneapolis Police Department.

"There's an opportunity when you see even a minor policy violation to share that so we could nip the next [Derek] Chauvin in the bud," Moriarty said.

Dimick decried police shootings as awful but asked where was the outrage over the 85 homicides committed in north Minneapolis since 2020.

Beyond the urgency of addressing violent crimes, candidates spoke to the importance of record expungement, substance abuse harm reduction and underused utilized powers of the county attorney office, including the prosecution of environmental crimes and wage theft.

All candidates except Ostrow, who said the office should be nonpartisan, will seek endorsement at the Hennepin County DFL convention May 14.