The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the Johnson County District Attorney election | Opinion

Here is the Johnson County District Attorney candidate we endorse for the general election. For more information about the Nov. 5 election, check out our Voter Guide, a collaboration between The Kansas City Star and the KC Media Collective. See all our published endorsements on our Elections Recommendations page.

During an endorsement interview with The Kansas City Star Editorial Board, Vanessa Riebli, Democratic candidate for Johnson County District Attorney, made a compelling case on why she is the best candidate for that office.

Her opponent, incumbent DA Steve Howe, has been in the position for 16 years and is running for his fifth term. He’s become “risk averse,” Riebli said. And he does not hold law enforcement officials accountable for their wrongdoing, she argued.

“Four terms is enough,” Riebli said. Later she added, “There needs to be a change.”

On this, we agree with Riebli. As district attorney, Howe has failed to hold accountable county law enforcement officials who push the boundaries on what is acceptable behavior.

We view Riebli as the better candidate in the general election.

Because of her experience as a former assistant district attorney in Johnson County, she knows her way around both sides of the courtroom. She spent 21 years in that office under three different district attorneys, a factor we see as a plus. She now works as a criminal defense attorney.

As a prosecutor, Riebli worked on some of the more high-profile crimes that have occurred in recent years in the most affluent and populous county in Kansas. Those cases include homicides at the She’s A Pistol gun store, Jim Kilroy’s Roxy Bar and Mr. G’s Liquor Store.

Riebli wants to tackle violent crime and gun violence in Johnson County, as well as offer alternative sentencing to low-level, nonviolent drug offenders — an innovative approach her opponent has already taken. Fentanyl is a growing problem there and elsewhere around the bistate region. Going after distributors of that potentially fatal drug is a priority, Riebli said.

Riebli left the DA’s office in 2021. She said she did so because she was concerned with how Howe ran the place. He reorganized the office the year before and Riebli was reassigned from the financial crimes unit where she mostly worked. If elected, Riebli plans to reestablish specialized units and hire a chief of staff.

“Being a prosecutor is something I am 100% committed to,” she said.

Being a four-term incumbent is not disqualifying. Howe’s experience leading the Johnson County district attorney’s office for the last 16 years should count for something.

“I have made this a career and I have a passion for it,” Howe said.

Overall, Howe is exceptionally experienced as a prosecutor. But it is our position that there is a need for change in Johnson County. Critics contend the district attorney’s office is isolated under Howe’s watch and lacks transparency.

We’ve long questioned Howe’s analysis of investigative files in the tragic 2018 fatal shooting of 17-year-old John Albers. Howe’s refusal to charge officers after an inquiry into the misuse of Overland Park Police Officers Foundation funds was an abject failure of leadership.

City officials wanted those officers charged, including the police foundation’s board, which hired Riebli to represent its interests in the case.

Months went by before those officers resigned. Each was accused of using funds earmarked for grieving families of slain officers for personal use. Despite evidence that suggests a crime was committed, none were charged. Before they left, the four officers in question were placed on paid administrative leave, costing taxpayers even more money.

In our endorsement interview, Howe said he considered the officers’ action unethical but not illegal. “It’s unfortunate. It’s unethical. But it wasn’t criminal,” Howe said.

Our conclusion: He erred in not filing charges and letting the criminal justice process play out.

In the Albers case, Howe was cautioned by Kansas’ Office of the Disciplinary Administrator for providing misleading and inaccurate statements to the media regarding the teen’s death. When Albers was fatally shot by an Overland Park police officer, he was experiencing a mental health crisis. The teenager died at the scene.

On Nov. 5, Johnson County voters must ask themselves if Howe or Riebli is best to lead the district attorney’s office. We believe Riebli is that candidate.

This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 5:08 AM.