Street Roots interviewed the candidates for Multnomah County District Attorney with a focus on how the office policies and procedures interface with people experiencing poverty and homelessness.
Both candidates received three questions specific to their campaigns, along with six common questions they both answered.
ETHAN KNIGHT
Endorsed by the incumbent, Ethan Knight has put prosecuting right-wing extremists at the forefront of his campaign. Learn more about Knight, and see how he answered questions about his campaign.
MIKE SCHMIDT
Mike Schmidt has made it clear that he wants to progressively reform the District Attorney’s Office, using research that’s emerged in recent years as his guide. Learn more about Schmidt, and see how he answered questions about his campaign.
QUESTIONS POSED TO BOTH CANDIDATES
Select a question to read both candidates' responses:
NEIGHBORHOOD PROSECUTORS: In Multnomah County, each neighborhood has a county prosecutor that focuses, in many cases, on prosecuting low-level, quality-of-life misdemeanors. Would you continue that program or make any changes to it?
COMMUNITY COURT: Do you see any opportunities for improvement in the way Multnomah County’s Community Court functions? It could be shaped many ways, such as the service mall in Clackamas County. Do you have a vision for how this could be reformed or modified?
PROSECUTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The last time we crunched the numbers, we found that among Oregon’s five largest counties, Multnomah County has the lowest rate of prosecution and conviction in domestic violence cases. What would you do to change this?
FINES AND FEES: People experiencing homelessness and poverty disproportionately interface with the criminal justice system, producing an additional layer of criminality around fines and fees because people cannot pay. Will you eliminate fines and fees for people who fall below a certain income level?
PRETRIAL RELEASE: Will you commit during this interview to releasing people who are pretrial for nonviolent offenses without bail, should you win this race?
LEADERSHIP: What’s the biggest difference we’ll see between the way you would run the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the way Rod Underhill has run it?