Biography
I have been a prosecutor for 45 years and the elected Butte County District Attorney for over 35 years. I am currently the longest-serving elected District Attorney in California. During my tenure, the office has instituted the following special prosecution and investigative programs:
- Child Abuse Response Team
- Drug Endangered Children Program
- Domestic Violence Unit - Elder Abuse Unit
- Child Abduction Unit
- Insurance Fraud Unit
- Welfare Fraud Unit
- Sexual Assault Response Team
- Environmental Protection Unit
- Gang Unit
- Drug Courts
- Officer Involved Shooting Protocol Team
As a trial attorney, I conducted hundreds of court and jury trials from simple assault to death penalty murder. I successfully prosecuted PG&E and Union Pacific Railroad for endangering our environment and community.
I am a multi-generational Butte County resident. I graduated from Oroville High School in 1966 and went on to the University of California at Berkeley. I came home during the summers to work in the logging industry and at the local cannery.
After graduating from UC Berkeley, I worked briefly as a teacher in Oroville and then as a reporter for the Oroville Mercury-Register newspaper, assigned to the "court beat". I then went to the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.
I was sworn in as an attorney in 1977, the same year I graduated from law school. I worked in the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office until I was able to return to Butte County where a position opened in the District Attorney's Office. I worked my way through the ranks from Deputy DA to Chief Deputy DA.
In 1987, I was appointed District Attorney and have been subsequently elected and reelected nine times. I am in my 10th term as your District Attorney.
I have a love and respect for my community, as well as a history of working to protect and serve all Butte County residents, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, social, or economic status.
Our mission statement: "To do Justice, as no one is above the Law, nor beneath its protection" is the rock upon which my years as a prosecutor have been based. These are the words upon which my philosophy and office policy are based.
I have dedicated my career and the resources of my office to ensure that justice is done, no matter who the offender or victim may be. Everyone deserves to be protected from the criminal element. Everyone deserves to have their constitutional rights protected. I believe in holding people accountable for their actions.