County candidates square off
Up for election this November is the position of Williamson County attorney.
Separate from the district attorney’s office, the county attorney handles a variety of legal issues, including prosecuting misdemeanor crimes, overseeing county law suits and county contracts.
Republican incumbent Jana Duty and Democrat Jaime McCain Lynn are the candidates for the position.
Both candidates graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Voters elected Duty to the position in 2004, and she has served since 2005. She ran then on a platform of reforming the office.
Since becoming county attorney, Duty has increased the size of the department’s staff and responsibilities by taking on contractual agreements and civil lawsuits involving the county. Duty said this change is saving the county money because it avoids the use of private counsel, who may wish to extend a lawsuit in order to increase their pay.
“In house attorneys don’t have any motivation to drag things out,” Duty said. “Outside attorneys do.”
Lynn is a recent addition to the Democratic Party. His voting record resembles a staunch Republican, he said. Not too long ago he considered himself an independent. His crossing of the party line came about because the Republican Party has only paid lip service to the issues he values most, and gone against him in practice, he said.
“Ronald Reagan was a Democrat for years and years. I know how he felt because that is not something you do on a whim,” he said. “I am not a party loyalist. I am loyal to my personal beliefs and philosophies.”
Lynn said he “would not hesitate” to leave the Democratic Party should the party push an agenda he does not agree with.
Following are the candidates’ responses to some of the issues facing the county attorney’s office.
Landfill contract
One lawsuit in which the county is involved centers on its contract with Waste Management to operate the county landfill. The county decided to hire a private firm to attempt to void the contract. A judge found in Waste Management’s favor but the county may appeal the decision.
Lynn criticized Duty for the initial lawsuit.
“I am willing to concede she inherited a bad contract,” Lynn said. “It’s her office that initially filed the lawsuit that was so poorly written, I don’t think a first-year law student would’ve got a passing grade.”
The county attorney’s office eventually decided to recuse itself from the suit.
Duty said she was opposed to the lawsuit from the beginning because, in her legal opinion, the argument that the contract is void because it was never publicly bid was not valid.
“I refused to argue a position that I did not believe the law supported,” Duty said. “The (commissioners) court was, I believe, leaning in the direction of following the advice of this hired firm. ... The judge found that my interpretation of the law was correct.”
Duty said she thinks members of the Williamson County Commissioners Court wasted $140,000 of taxpayer money by hiring independent counsel from the law firm Potts & Riley to contest the contract.
“All along it was pointless,” she said.
Pre-trial detention
Duty said she implemented a direct file system that has saved the county more than $1 million by speeding up the pre-trial process. She also implemented a pre-trial diversion program, she said, that allows first-time misdemeanor offenders to participate in community service and drug rehabilitation programs in lieu of serving jail time.
Duty said her programs have lowered the jail’s average population by 56 people a day, leading to a savings of about $1.03 million thus far this year.
Lynn said Duty’s office has cost taxpayers about $1.5 million by holding non-violent misdemeanor offenders in Williamson County Jail during the pre-trial phase of their cases.
Department staff
The most important part of the job is dealing with children, whether it be juvenile justice or child victims of abuse, Duty said.
“My No. 1 priority was hiring staff that deals with (juvenile justice). They had to be committed,” Duty said.
Lynn commended Duty’s staff and said if elected he likely would retain several of them, but he did question her leadership skills in regard to one attorney in Duty’s department, Stephen Ackley. County Judges have expressed no confidence in Ackley citing violations of the attorney-client privilege.
In June, Duty fired Ackley, but she rehired him about a week later.
“Part of the job is to be a strong, ethical leader,” Lynn said. “When it gets to the point that judges are writing their ethical concerns and you keep that person on, it is a poor reflection of leadership skills.”
“I have 19 lawyers,” Duty said. “Sixteen practice in county courts in judges’ courtrooms. The fact they have a personality conflict with one of my lawyers is not unusual.”
Copyright © 2009 Taylor Daily Press