I BELIEVE IN USING A PRACTICAL, COMMON SENSE APPROACH AS YOUR PROSECUTOR AND I KEEP POLITICS OUT OF THE OFFICE.
I am passionate about serving our community, and I know firsthand that
strong, adept prosecution of felonies will make Medina County a safer
place to live, work, and raise a family.
I have been an attorney for over 26 years. As the county prosecutor,
I am honored to represent the people of Medina County and I look
forward to continuing to do all of the work that this job requires.
I have made myself available 24/7 to all law enforcement agencies
to expedite situations that may occur.
The safety of our community matters to me; not just professionally,
but personally. Serving as prosecutor has allowed me to
stand up for all of the citizens of Medina County.
VICTIMS OF CRIME: Many lives are affected by crime in some way. Many victims feel that they have been forgotten or ignored by the legal system. One of my first goals was to restructure the Victim/Witness program. I want to ensure that all victims of crime and their families regain a sense of dignity and safety, and to hold those who commit crimes fully accountable.
ILLEGAL DRUGS: Our community was faced with an opiate epidemic. For years, the response from the prosecutor's office was to just prosecute and incarcerate. That did not work. After I took office, I created new policies to address the issues. I enlisted the assistance of law enforcement to support the theory of ACCOUNTABILITY AND TREATMENT rather than just incarceration while at the same time, provide opportunities for those who honestly want to break the cycle of drug abuse. They have the opportunity to rehabilitate without carrying the stigma of a felony record. We evaluate cases to develop a strategy. I assigned an assistant prosecutor to Judge Kimbler's drug court in order to facilitate state certification of that program. I have also appeared in Judge Collier's drug court to express the support of his program by my office. Our effectiveness on dealing with drug abuse cannot simply be weighed by the number of convictions anymore. In contrast to drug use, drug dealers need to be prosecuted aggressively because I believe the best way to combat drugs is to stop the flow of drugs into our community.
OPIATE LITIGATION: In an attempt to try and recover the millions of dollars that the county expended to fight this issue, I initiated litigation against the big drug manufacture's on behalf of Medina County. Because Medina County was one of the first counties in the state to take this step, Governor DeWine appointed me to serve on the "One Ohio" committee. I continue to aggressively pursue this litigation.
CHILD SUPPORT: In 2016 I promised that I would make non-payment of child support a priority and no longer be ignored by the prosecutor's office. I believe that the families not receiving child support are victims of a crime. Upon taking office, I initiated a new multi-step policy including a new program called "Back on Track" to aggressively pursue unpaid child support cases. The results were DRAMATIC. In my first 3 years, 2017 through 2019, the office prosecuted over 449 cases resolving in excess of $600,000.00 in arrears debt. Of that amount, over $355,000.00 was collected from individuals who had been indicted but paid off the arrears to avoid a felony on their record. I would also point out that of those 449 cases, only 1 went to trial resulting in guilty conviction and 1 case had a guilty plea entered the day of trial. In contrast, the 3 years prior to me taking office, there were only 28 cases indicted and no one paid off the arrears. I kept my promise and I will continue to aggressively pursue these cases. This program has made Medina County a model for other counties in their efforts to collect child support arrears.
ELDERLY CITIZENS: Elder abuse and financial exploitation of our elderly citizens is at an all-time high and these cases were simply being ignored for years. These are real victims and the impact on them is devastating. Time and again, I have seen cases where elderly people have lost their entire life savings, their homes, and their independence to a family member or other person they trusted for assistance. I have made these cases a priority.
As your prosecutor, I have and will continue to support the efforts of all law enforcement agencies to identify, arrest, and bring them to justice. Our police need to be heard and supported in these efforts.
I want JUSTICE for EVERY resident in Medina County. I want the citizens to be heard and get the answers they deserve.
I ask for your continued support and your vote in November 2020
to re-elect me as your Medina County Prosecutor.