Defense attorney joins county prosecutor race
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A longtime Vancouver criminal defense attorney announced Tuesday that he has filed his candidacy for Clark County prosecutor, making him the fourth attorney to throw his hat in the ring.
James “Jeff” Sowder, a Democrat, filed paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission earlier this month in the race to succeed elected Prosecuting Attorney Art Curtis, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
Sowder joins fellow Democrats Deputy Prosecutor Tony Golik and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Curt Wyrick, as well as Vancouver assistant city attorney Brent Boger, a Republican, in the race.
A 30-year criminal law veteran, Sowder said he’s running because he’s frustrated by the number of minor cases, including no-contact order violations, pursued by deputy prosecutors, especially in light of the county’s current budget woes.
“I want to raise issues that will not necessarily be raised by the in-house candidates,” he said.
Sowder also said he wants to see the county’s drug court program reformed so that charges against a defendant are dismissed in exchange for graduation from a treatment program. Currently in Clark County, a defendant’s conviction sticks, even after graduation.
“If there’s a dismissal program, it’s more appealing to get in,” Sowder said Tuesday.
A lifelong defense attorney, Sowder has handled a number of high-profile criminal cases, including the current first-degree murder case of Michael Hersh, a Vancouver man allegedly linked by DNA evidence to a 1978 homicide. Hersh awaits trial in March.
Sowder would be the only candidate without prosecution experience. Wyrick has been a chief deputy prosecutor for 20 years. Golik has been a prosecutor for 15 years, including six years in the major crimes unit.
Boger has handled criminal and land-use cases for the city attorney’s office for 11 years. He’s also Clark County’s state Republican Party committeeman.
The primary race for county prosecutor will be in August, and the top two vote-getters will square off in the November election. The position pays $148,832.
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