Mercury Endorsement: Re-elect Mike Schmidt as Multnomah County District Attorney

Since taking the reins at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in 2020, Mike Schmidt has faced a barrage of crises and criticism.

Schmidt took office in August 2020 amid a global pandemic and a nationwide racial justice crisis that sparked prolonged protests in Portland. These external factors, coupled with a nationwide increase in crime during the pandemic (which has since subsided), painted the picture for many residents that Multnomah County was in deep trouble.

Unsurprisingly, residents blamed those in power, and Schmidt, who was elected on a progressive campaign for criminal justice reform, was an easy target.

By the summer of 2023, the DA’s face was plastered on downtown billboards, pinning him as the culprit for Portland’s problems. While the distasteful slogan may have been catchy, it was largely misleading.

Crime, homelessness, addiction and skyrocketing housing costs are not problems created by prosecutors or solved on their own. As much as they tell you they can fix things during campaign season, many of the problems currently facing the province can only be solved with a confluence of public policy changes, social interventions and money.

Both candidates running for the seat agree that the district attorney has a role to play in local crime, largely by prosecuting offenders in hopes of deterring other crimes, but also by working closely working with law enforcement agencies to build successful cases and often launch special missions. who tackle repeat offenders. But let’s not pretend that one elected prosecutor can transform the social and economic landscape that often leads people to commit theft, robbery or, worse, murder.

Schmidt’s opponents claim he is “soft on crime” and deliberately does not prosecute cases for ideological reasons. Part of the reason this sentiment became widespread is because police parroted it to the public as justification for not fully doing their job. What Schmidt actually said in 2020, amid racial justice protests that often led to demonstrators clashing with police, was that he would not prosecute low-level non-violent crimes arising from those protests, but cases like property damage, theft and violence. or threats of violence against others would still continue. It was largely an effort to ensure that the Attorney General’s Office’s limited resources would focus on serious crimes and justice for crime victims, and to ensure that his office would not undermine freedom of speech and expression of those who were rightly frustrated with the police and police. criminal justice system.

In reality, the latest data reflects that prosecution rates at the Public Prosecution Service last year were the highest in seven years. The number of criminal prosecutions reached the highest level in eight years.

We have heard complaints about criminals being released, or about their cases being completely dismissed. It is important to remember that when cases are dismissed, judges make that decision, not prosecutors. Same with the sentencing. Prosecutors can recommend prison sentences or probation terms, but judges make the final call. When offenders are released from prison early? That is also not in the hands of the public prosecutor.

But the prosecutor can play a key role in the crime landscape. Schmidt’s developed community partnerships that helped root out major offenders (through police task forces such as shoplifting and car theft missions), while also seeking to prevent recurring crimes rather than pursuing them. When catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed, Schmidt knew that tracking down and jailing every thief could prove expensive and futile. Instead, he worked with lawmakers to make it harder to sell catalytic converters. And yes, catalytic converter thefts have fallen sharply.

Schmidt also brings a holistic approach to his work: one that looks at the root causes, outcomes, and ways in which the criminal justice system can be a change agent and prevent people from re-entering the system or entangling their lives in it. .

Last year, in response to outrage over public drug use and rising overdoses, Schmidt worked with state lawmakers to redesign and replace Measure 110, Oregon’s drug decriminalization law. While this move did not appeal to proponents of the original measure, it demonstrated his ability to listen to community concerns and respond accordingly.

Schmidt’s opponent, Nathan Vasquez, is a successful prosecutor who deserves recognition for his years of service with the Multnomah County Prosecutor’s Office, including his commitment to justice for the victims and survivors of the horrific 2022 Normandale Park shooting.

Still, it’s hard to say whether Vasquez can reflect the kind of progressive values ​​we hope to see in local government and the justice system. Vasquez voted as a Republican until 2017. While he was telling that Mercury he voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election and plans to do so in November (we needed to know at this point if a DA candidate supported Trump), we are not convinced he is the type of prosecutor who will hold everyone accountable would hold, including police. He is the favorite candidate of the Portland Police Association and his campaign was funded by wealthy donors and political action committees (PACs) that also back candidates like Rene Gonzalez and the most conservative among those running for local office.

Vasquez criticizes Schmidt for not having much experience as a prosecutor, but the time to make that argument was before Schmidt was elected in 2020, not now. Schmidt has been in the role of chief prosecutor in Oregon’s largest county for four years now, and when it comes to a progressive vision as the state faces a dire shortage of public defenders, we think Schmidt is on the right track.

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