CHENEY – Non-partisan challenger Deb Conklin trails incumbent Larry Haskell with 43.91%, or 59,667 votes. Haskell is in the lead with 55.67%, or 75,658 votes.
Conklin, a former senior criminal deputy prosecutor, hoped to "stop the revolving door" in the criminal justice system, saying on election night that "The results tonight were disappointing. We had hoped to do better. I really thought that Spokane county was ready to really embrace justice and fairness."
Conklin went on to say that "We thought the city was ready to address the long time disparity that we have for black and indigenous and people of color. We don't want to do the difficult work, we are just wanting to keep business as usual."
Haskell, who could not be reached at time of printing, was elected Spokane county prosecuting attorney in 2014. Prior to this, he was a member of the Spokane county gang prosecution unit.
A core tenet of Haskell's campaign was ""Deterrence is the key to combating this highly-preventable crime."
Haskell's website stated that he believes "In policies and procedures that encourage drivers to consider readily-available alternatives to driving impaired."
Lucas is a former Cheney Free Press managing editor. He is a nationally published author who contributes regularly to several publications across the country.
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