The Star’s endorsement in Johnson County district attorney Democratic primary | Opinion

Vanessa Riebli and Zach Thomas, two very qualified candidates, are vying for the Johnson County district attorney Democratic primary nomination on Aug. 6. Only one will advance to November’s general election with a chance to replace current DA Steve Howe, a Republican who is seeking reelection.

Riebli, a criminal defense attorney, is a former assistant district attorney in Johnson County. She spent 21 years in that office under three different district attorneys and certainly has a grasp on the criminal justice system in one of the most affluent and populous counties in Kansas.

Her opponent, Thomas, is a former public defender with years of experience in the legal system. He is a full-time attorney with Roth Davies law firm in Overland Park, a Gardner city prosecutor and a special prosecutor for Linn County. He ran unsuccessfully for Johnson County DA against Howe in 2020 but received 48% of the vote, according to election results — a number that suggests he has considerable cachet in that community.

Both candidates’ platforms include addressing violent crime and gun violence in Johnson County, as well as offering alternative sentencing to low-level, non-violent drug offenders — reasonable stances any prosecutor must take.

At a recent candidate forum sponsored by The Johnson County Post, Riebli said she left the DA’s office in 2021 because she wasn’t fond of Howe’s way of conducting business. Howe has led the Johnson County district attorney’s office for the last 16 years and change is needed, she said.

“I left that office because I was frustrated with the leadership, the lack of direction and the decision-making,” Riebli said. “I determined that I could not effectuate change within that office. So, for the last three years, I’ve been practicing as a criminal defense attorney and I’ve had contact with that DA’s office on almost a daily basis, and he has just reinformed me and confirmed that there has to be change.”

At the same forum, Thomas, the son of immigrants from India, noted Riebli’s ties to Howe as reason for a new voice as Johnson County’s top prosecutor.

“The district attorney’s office does not get better by going backwards,” Thomas said. “I’m asking you and telling you, it’s time for change.”

We agree with Thomas: A new perspective could be a welcome change for that office. Because of this, Thomas is our recommendation for the Democratic nomination.

Ties to current DA Howe’s ethical questions

In response to our questionnaire sent to each candidate, Thomas challenged some of the ethics displayed by DA Howe. Earlier this year, the Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, an arm of the state judicial branch, cautioned Howe for providing inaccurate statements in news releases.

Thomas said Howe’s office has received less than a 60% satisfaction rating on the Johnson County’s community satisfaction survey every year publicly available.

“The district attorney’s office has been a mess for more than a decade,” Thomas said. “The leadership of the office has consistently led with partisan bias and personal opinion rather than on the law. Most recently this was evidenced when the Kansas Disciplinary Board ordered Steve Howe to stop making public statements without evidence.”

Riebli is an experienced prosecutor who has worked on some of Johnson County’s better known cases in recent years, according to her response to our questionnaire.

“I prosecuted several high-profile crimes to include the She’s A Pistol gun store homicide, the Roxy Bar homicide and Mr. G’s Liquor Store homicide,” Riebli said. “I have built strong relationships within the criminal justice community and can utilize these relationships to move the district attorney’s office from a place of isolation to one of transparency and to increase the safety of our community.”

Riebli’s current position as a defense attorney is a plus. Having been on both sides of the courtroom makes her a viable candidate for this office. She counts support from the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus and a local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

She also said she has picked up endorsements from police unions in Overland Park, Olathe and Lenexa — which raises questions for us about impartiality and how Riebli plans to hold officers accountable for questionable on-duty conduct.

But we can’t overlook her time in the DA’s office under Howe. Yes, she left in protest, according to her own statements, but does she really represent a fresh, new voice?

We believe that Thomas does, and he gets our recommendation in this race.