SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington's primary election is just weeks away. This year, the Spokane County Prosecutor's seat is up for grabs. Three candidates are running against incumbent Larry Haskell and we want to help you get to know them. KREM 2's Amanda Roley met with each candidate over tea to learn about where they stand on important issues.
Amanda Roley
Thank you for joining me, Stefanie Collins, for tea today to talk about your campaign running for Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney. First question, though, what did you decide to drink? What tea are you sipping on?
Stefanie Collins
This is caffeine-free, I've had my coffee for the day, orange and cinnamon.
Amanda Roley
Oh, that's one of my favorites. Well, Stefanie, why the heck are you deciding to run for prosecuting attorney?
Stefanie Collins
Well, I'm going to spill the tea with you, Amanda. Tell it all. It started a while ago, where I was thinking about things that were happening in the office and what I would do differently. And ultimately, it came down to the fact that our office doesn't have the standing in the community that it used to have, especially within the legal system. And I think that's a tragedy.
Amanda Roley
So you say we're not doing enough in the office right now. What is enough? What changes would you like to see in the prosecutor's office?
Stefanie Collins
Well, I have a specific four-part plan. Number one, I want to replace the notion of plea bargaining as we know it with offender accountability plans.
Amanda Roley
Should we be dealing with repeat offenders differently? And how could we in the prosecutor's office?
Stefanie Collins
That's number two, part of my plan. There is a small percentage of individuals who reap the greatest amount of havoc on our community. These offenders, this small group of offenders, have shown time and again that they cannot be trusted in the community because they will just continue to revert back to conduct which harms you and I and everyone else in our community. So reinstituting that program, which was called the Repeat Offender Program.
Amanda Roley
You're currently with the prosecutor's office. So I wonder, can you tell me if you believe that Larry Haskell's wife's racist comments have compromised the prosecutor's office?
Stefanie Collins
I will say that I work with amazing attorneys who have not, at any point, demonstrated the racist bias and the racist remarks that we've seen coming from the Haskell corner. But I have seen and heard judges question the decisions made by these fine attorneys because they're potentially viewing our office through the lens of those remarks. And I think the prosecutor's role is so important that part of my plan requires working with community leaders, working within the community, coming up with plans to help people get out of the system, rebuilding the trust of the prosecutor's office.
To watch the full interview, use the YouTube player below:
To learn more about the candidates in all Eastern Washington races, visit the KREM 2 Voter Guide.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.