The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Burton

How does your job change now that you go from the chief deputy district attorney to the district attorney?

The biggest difference is that there is a greater level of accountability that the district attorney has, in that his position which is subject to an election as a opposed to chief deputy which is appointed by an elected official.

How - if at all - does the D.A.'s office interact with the university?

The D.A.'s office historically has interacted with the university through some cooperative efforts by maintaining lines of communication and when there are cases that arise the involve students or that involve institutions within the university we have been able to enjoy good communication and good cooperation so that we can bring cases to resolution.

What does it mean to you to be the first Mexican-American D.A. in the history of Oregon?

I think that it is an incredible honor to be at a historic crossroads that I didn't necessarily anticipate. I believe that my experience brought me to the point that I'm at, and the appointment itself is a validation that if you do have the experience you should also have the same opportunities as everyone else regardless of who you are.

You're taking over for Scott Heiser, who resigned in protest of Judge Janet Holcomb. Do you share his concerns about her?

Scott Heiser has and Judge Holcomb have had a long history that began with each of them serving as young prosecutors in the Benton County district attorney's office. That's history that began long before I began to work here in Benton County. I came here in 2002 as chief deputy from Linn County where I served 12 years in district attorney's office there. And so I don't have that history, I'm not a part of that history. There are certainly issues that need to be addressed but I'm looking at this appointment as an opportunity to be able to move forward and to start with a new day.

How have the allegations affected the D.A.'s office?

Well up to this point they have certainly presented some challenges that have created some impasses, and I think that it's very important to be able to get past that, because the reality of it is that ultimately, we are all responsible to the citizens of this community and we have to keep their interests at the top and personal interests have to be set aside.

What made you decide to get into law?

Well, when I was an undergrad I studied philosophy and I really enjoyed that area of study. I came to realize that it was probably going to be challenging to find a job where people would pay me to sit on the top of a hill and think. So, I looked at my options and thought it was a very natural fit in terms of the analytical thinking process and also in terms of being an advocate for something I really believed in. And so as I progressed through law school and had the opportunity to do an internship which involved prosecution in the city of Albany, I discovered that I had a passion for being ... a passion for the smallest voices in society, and in particularly in cases that involved children victims ... to be a voice for the most vulnerable in our society. I feel that's pretty important.

Would you say that working with children victims was your main focus as a lawyer?

I focused on a lot of different areas over the years but that's certainly been a significant one. I played an important part the in early stages of the ABC House, which is an assessment center for children that have been reportedly sexually or physically abused. That was an important step for both Linn and Benton County to realize and it continues to be relied upon in child abuse cases as an essential part of our investigations.

You've mentioned to us that you enjoy Salsa dancing. What's more difficult - combating Oregon's meth epidemic or executing a spot turn?

The meth epidemic definitely. The spot turn, even if I fumble that, the only person who's likely to get hurt is me and that just involves my own ego. But the meth epidemic on the other hand hurts a lot of people - it hurts children, it's a serious matter that has an impact right now on our community.

You attended the University of Oregon Law School. What's it like being a high-ranking official in Beaver Nation?

(Laughs) I enjoy that question because my undergrad was Central Washington University and I was a student athlete as an undergrad, I played basketball. I always liked the Pac-10 and particularly the Oregon and Washington schools - maybe the Huskies not so much. So when I came down to Oregon I liked both Oregon schools and even though I went to law school at the University of Oregon, it didn't take away from that, so I've never seen that as a particular issue.

In 2008 your position is up for election, do you plan to run?

Absolutely.

Do you think it will be easier to run having served for this year?

I think that one of the benefits to having the experience of the appointment leading up the election is that the community will be able to see how my administration looks and make a decision about a known quantity.

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