Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe is no newbie. He’s served 16 years in that capacity. His experience in the office cannot be discounted.
But Howe’s opponent in the Aug. 6 Republican primary, Douglas County Senior District Attorney David Greenwald, brings considerable prosecutorial experience to the table as well.
Our recommendation in this race is Greenwald, a former prosecutor in the Johnson County DA office, who now leads Douglas County’s efforts to prosecute suppliers of the dangerous and potentially fatal drug fentanyl.
“The DA’s office needs to be much more involved in combating the fentanyl epidemic,” Greenwald said. “To do that, the DA’s office needs to charge dealers more aggressively, engage low level drug offenders in treatment to get them clean and save their lives, and proactively go into the community to do education and prevention work with teenagers.”
As is the case in Johnson County and elsewhere around the state, the fentanyl crisis must be addressed. It is our belief Greenwald is best suited for this task and should advance to November’s general election.
As with any incumbent, all Johnson County voters must ask themselves whether Howe is the best candidate to remain in office. We don’t believe he is.
“Being district attorney also requires one to exhibit leadership at both the county and state level on a number of public safety related issues,” Howe said. “That is why my work on a number of important issues has made Kansans and the people of Johnson County safe.”
While Howe has the experience of being a longtime prosecutor, we’ve long held that he has not done enough to hold accountable wayward county law enforcement officials who use excessive force or break the public’s trust.
No one should forget how the public questioned Howe’s analysis of investigative files in the tragic 2017 fatal shooting of 17-year-old John Albers . He also failed to charge officers after an inquiry into the misuse of Overland Park Police Officers Foundation funds . After months of legal wrangling, those officers resigned after being on a paid administrative leave in the case of money earmarked for grieving families of slain officers.
These transgressions were serious and cast doubt on the entire district attorney’s office. In both cases, Howe failed to criminally prosecute officers involved. In the Albers case, Howe was cautioned by Kansas’ Office of the Disciplinary Administrator for providing misleading and inaccurate statements to the media regarding the death of the teen, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was shot at — 13 times — by an Overland Park police officer. The 17-year-old died at the scene.
Greenwald is the head of the drug unit at the Douglas County DA’s office. For three years, he was a gang prosecutor in the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office.
Greenwald has also taught trial advocacy for the National District Attorney Association and has a background that includes presentations to other DAs about the intricacies of prosecuting fentanyl death cases.
In response to our survey, Greenwald said the Johnson County DA’s office needs a number of improvements.
“First, the younger attorneys need mentorship and guidance in how to prosecute,” he said. “That includes consistency in the plea offers they send out, charging discretion, and how to competently prosecute at trial.”
Greenwald added — and we agree with him — that there are multiple other changes the DA’s office should make to bring fair and accessible justice to more people.
“The primary mechanism for this is changing the process for applying for and paying for diversion for low level offenses and misdemeanors,” Greenwald said.
Based on Steve Howe’s past on administering justice in Johnson County, David Greenwald is our recommendation for the Republican nominee for district attorney.
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