Incumbent retires after 16 years
Morgan Hill – For the first time in more than a decade, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s race will include a competitive field of applicants.
District Attorney George Kennedy is retiring after 16 years of service, leaving four candidates vying for the open seat including Chief Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu – who Kennedy is backing – Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Dolores Carr, Assistant District Attorney Marc Buller and Deputy District Attorney Jim Shore.
All four candidates have a wealth of experience, several having worked for at least 15 years in the department.
Both Carr and Sinunu have already established campaign Web sites promoting their cause and endorsements for the June election. While Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) has penned her support for Sinunu, Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy and Assemblymember Sally Lieber (D-San Jose) have endorsed Carr for the position.
Sinunu discussed her campaign for the top seat with South Valley Newspapers last week.
“I’m not going to be George Kennedy in a skirt,” she said. “I’m more progressive.”
After the San Jose Mercury News ran a five part series revealing problems within the D.A.’s office last month, some of the candidates pointed at Sinunu, who was Kennedy’s top aid, as being unfit for the position.
“I don’t think the system is broken, I think it can be perfected,” she explained.
Sinunu developed new child abuse protocol in 1999 and suspect identification line-up protocol in 2003, which is used by police departments countywide and considered the first of its kind in the state. She also wrote the Victim’s Rights manual and authored “Hate Crimes” – a handbook for state prosecutors. Sinunu also created a questionnaire homicide detectives use when interrogating mentally ill suspects.
“No one else (running) has a track record of changes,” she said.
If elected, Sinunu said she would pursue drug treatment for simple users instead of incarceration and work to diversify the department with new hires.
Sinunu hopes more understanding and communication will occur when complex cases arise by establishing a community advisory board with representatives from different ethnic backgrounds and gender relations.
“I think our office has been disconnected with the community,” she explained. “There needs to be more of a connection.”
To learn more about the candidates running for DA, log onto Carr and Sinunu’s Web sites at www.judgecarrforda.com and www.sinunu4da.com, and check with Smartvoter.org as the election nears for additional information about Buller and Shore.
