Jill Kistler, Julian West to square off in June 3 Primary Election for the office of Allamakee County Attorney

Voters will be heading to the polls Tuesday, June 3 to determine party winners at a number of different levels of government in this year's primary election. Polls in Allamakee County will open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. that day. Anyone unable to go to the polls that election day may vote absentee at the Allamakee County Auditor's Office in Waukon through 4 p.m. Monday, June 2. The Auditor's office will be open Saturday, May 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for absentee voting, and an absentee ballot can also be requested through this Friday, May 30 by contacting the Allamakee County Auditor's Office or by visiting www.sos.iowa.gov.
Although a number of races on this year's Democrat or Republican primary ballots reveal uncontested races, a handful of races do feature challenges. The most heavily contested races on both ballots are at the federal level of government, where the Republican battle for United States Senator and the Democratic battle for United States Representative District 1 each feature five candidates. The Republican ballot also features a three-candidate race for United States Representative District 4, as well as the only contested race at the state level of government, the battle for the Republican bid for Governor of Iowa between incumbent Terry Branstad and challenger Tom Hoefling.
The county level of government features a majority of uncontested races, including the offices of Recorder, Treasurer and Board of Supervisors. The Supervisors ticket on the Republican ballot may appear as a contested race with incumbent candidates Larry Schellhammer and Sherry Strub listed together, but that particular race is requesting voters to choose two candidates.
The only contested race at the county level of government in Allamakee County is on the Republican ballot for County Attorney, where incumbent candidate and Waukon native Jill Kistler is being challenged by Julian West, a northeast Iowa native who is currently in private practice in Cedar Rapids.
In an effort to inform voters about their choices in that local contested race for County Attorney, The Standard issued questionnaires to each of the candidates. The responses received from Kistler and West are published below.

Please provide some background information about yourself.

Kistler: My name is Jill Kistler and I am the current Allamakee County Attorney and an Allamakee County native. I was born in La Crosse, WI and raised in Waukon, where I currently reside, along with several members of my immediate family. I have two sisters, one of which currently resides in Winona, MN with the other residing in Urbandale with my two nieces.
I graduated from Waukon Senior High in 2000 as the Class Valedictorian. I attended Drake University in Des Moines from 2000 to 2004, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Sciences with a major in Law, Politics and Society and a minor in Sociology.
After undergrad I attended Drake Law School in Des Moines. During law school I worked as a student attorney for the Drake Legal Clinic, which provides free legal services to low income individuals in the Des Moines area. During law school I also worked as an intern for the Honorable Judge Constance Cohen in the Polk County Juvenile Court for the 5th Judicial District of Iowa, where I got the opportunity to assist the Judge in numerous court proceedings, including juvenile delinquency cases, termination of parental rights proceedings, Child in Need of Assistance cases, and adoptions.
While in law school I was also an active member of the Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, the Criminal Justice Society, and co-founder and vice president of DALWS. I earned my Juris Doctor Degree in May of 2007 along with a certificate in Constitutional Law and Civil Rights.
From 2008 to 2010, I worked as an Associate Attorney at Bertroche Law Office in South Des Moines, where I practiced in a number of different areas of law, including but not limited to family law, criminal law, probate law, contract law, and commercial law.
I moved back to Allamakee County in November of 2010, when I was elected to the position of Allamakee County Attorney. I am a current member of the Iowa State Bar Association, Allamakee County Bar Association, Iowa County Attorneys Association, Allamakee County Republican Party, and Allamakee County Republican Women. I am also a member of the ASPCA and a current member at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon, where I sat on the Board of Education from 2011 to 2013.

West: I grew up in the rural area near Bluffton with my mother, father and brother. I graduated from Decorah High School in 2001, Grinnell College in 2006, and University of Iowa College of Law with Distinction in 2011. Before attending college, I worked for a year as a busboy and janitor. During college I worked as a security dispatcher, cook, tennis instructor and waiter. Upon graduation from Grinnell College, I worked two more years full-time before attending law school.
My mother is a semi-retired psychiatrist, my father now lives in the Veterans Home in Marshalltown, and my brother has lived and worked in Cedar Falls for a number of years.
After law school, I gained experience as a prosecutor in Storm Lake, where I prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases, ranging from simple speeding tickets to complicated felony sex abuse cases.  I now live in Cedar Rapids, where I have been operating a solo private practice since 2013.
I consider northeast Iowa home, and the most beautiful part of Iowa. There is no question I want to return to the area. The question is whether your community wants a change. In my opinion, the current Allamakee County Attorney has failed to provide the people of Allamakee County with competent, intelligent and professional service. I will return these traits to the office.

What motivated you to seek the office of Allamakee County Attorney?

West: Allamakee County needs a professional for a professional position. Over the past six months, I have been speaking with individuals in Allamakee County.  I have been knocking on doors, making phone calls, and meeting people in the streets. If I haven’t met you individually, I apologize. I urge you to reach out to a friend or family member who has met me, and ask him or her about me.
In my interactions with voters in Allamakee County, there has been a theme of dissatisfaction that has emerged.
You deserve better. Make no mistake, I want to move back to northeast Iowa. But I also want to provide Allamakee with a competent, intelligent, professional option for County Attorney.
Also, I am now offering any newspaper within Allamakee County that wants to publish a record of my clean drug test, full access to those records. I urge any opposing candidate to do the same.

Kistler: I was motivated to seek the office of Allamakee County Attorney based on my desire to protect and serve the county which I have always called home. I have deep roots in Allamakee County and am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work diligently for the citizens of Allamakee County over the past four years. We currently have a well-structured, hard-working, and motivated team in the County Attorney’s Office made up of myself and part-time Assistant County Attorney Richard White, along with full-time victim witness coordinator and collections specialist Robyn Carey-Dundee, and full-time, accredited paralegal and legal secretary Jill Mathis. I would greatly like to continue working with this team and if re-elected will continue to strive for improvement to assure victims’ needs are met and questions answered, those who break the law are held responsible for their actions, and our county receives the legal guidance and assistance needed to assure the interests of Allamakee County are protected.

As the potential Allamakee County Attorney, what do you feel would be your ultimate responsibility to the citizens of Allamakee County?

Kistler: As Allamakee County Attorney, my ultimate responsibility would continue to be seeking and obtaining justice for the citizens of Allamakee County, in accordance with the prosecutorial standards set forth by the Iowa County Attorneys Association. Per those standards, the County Attorney and Assistant County Attorney are considered the chief law enforcement officials of the county, and are responsible for the direction and control of the prosecutorial function in this jurisdiction, with the primary responsibility of the office being “to seek and obtain justice”. Pursuant to prosecutorial standards, the County Attorney represents the case of “the people” of Iowa as to both criminal and civil matters, with criminal prosecution highlighted as the primary responsibility.
If re-elected, I will also personally make it a priority to continue the promotion of fiscal responsibility and assure the County Attorney’s Office remains an approachable place where citizens and other county officials can feel welcome to come to with questions and concerns,   knowing they will be met with responsiveness and professionalism.

West: The Allamakee County Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer. In addition to other codified duties, prosecution of crime is the responsibility of the County Attorney. In fulfilling this duty, a professional working relationship with law enforcement is crucial.  From what I have heard, this relationship could be better in Allamakee.
I have spoken with some law enforcement already, but let me now publicly detail my vision for a renewed working relationship with law enforcement that will ultimately improve the quality of life in Allamakee County.
First, I believe in freedom.  It is fundamental to my philosophy as an American, and as a scholar of our legal system. This means that I take seriously the process that law enforcement must go through to investigate and charge crimes. Ultimately, when an individual is convicted of a crime, the government is justified in taking that individual’s property (money) and/or liberty. If we are going to do that, we must follow due process. I will work closely with law enforcement to ensure that we respect our nation’s traditions of liberty.
However, when proper due process is followed, consequences are necessary for bad actions. Elected officials have determined what constitutes criminal activity, and the County Attorney has a duty to uphold these laws.
Legal due process is a complicated web, and local law enforcement must have a consistent, ongoing relationship with the County Attorney so that those who investigate and those who prosecute are on the same page. A breakdown in communication will lead to lost convictions and ultimately a less safe community.
I vow that if I am elected, any time a case is dismissed or a plea bargain reached, I will personally e-mail the arresting officer with an explanation for my decision.  Law enforcement risk their safety to investigate crime, and they need to feel as though the County Attorney’s Office is advocating for them when necessary, and working with them to improve when appropriate.
I know how to work with law enforcement. I’ve done it before, and I’m good at it.  I will bring mutual respect back to the office, and rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and the County Attorney’s Office.

If elected, what would be your issues of highest priority with regard to law enforcement?

West: Methamphetamine cases. Allamakee County is the most beautiful county in Iowa, yet it has one overwhelming association: methamphetamine. This is an absolute shame.
The continued culture of methamphetamine is destroying the lives of our children, and ultimately the future of Allamakee County. Not enough has been done. The current theme of probation, probation, probation is actually dangerous to future generations of Allamakee County residents.
There is no doubt that users of methamphetamine are often victims of addiction, but that must not detract from the ultimate goal to rid Allamakee County of this harmful culture, once and for all. If I am elected, I will work with local health officials and law enforcement to encourage those who need and want help, to be able to get help. However, anyone who wants to continue to use or manufacture methamphetamine in Allamakee County will be prosecuted fully.
For the sake of our neighbors and children, we simply cannot continue to allow a culture of methamphetamine in Allamakee County.
Let me be clear, I intend to rid Allamakee County of methamphetamine cookers. I heard several people express a twisted view that methamphetamine is evidence of how free and rural Allamakee County is. As someone who honors freedom, and cherishes wide-open spaces, I find this notion unsettling. If you are a voter who believes that methamphetamine is somehow evidence of freedom, don’t vote for me, because we don’t see eye-to-eye.
Allamakee County deserves a better legacy than methamphetamine.

Kistler: If re-elected, my issues of highest priority with regard to law enforcement would continue to be making sure criminal offenders are held responsible for their actions and victims receive the assistance needed to guide them through the legal process and receive compensation for their losses. This is done through a number of different ways including but not limited to:
• Working closely with and being available 24/7 to consult with law enforcement officers to make sure they have the knowledge and tools needed to conduct appropriate investigations and obtain the evidence needed for successful prosecution of both adult and juvenile offenders;
• Keeping the County Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement officers updated on changes in the law by participating in continuing legal training through the Iowa County Attorneys Association several times a year;
• Continuing with the Allamakee County Victim Witness Coordinator program which provides resources to crime victims, including but not limited to notification of court hearings, education on the legal process, support, advocacy, agency referrals, and restitution assistance;
• Continuing with the court debt recovery program begun in 2013 which collects on past due court debt owed for criminal fines, victim restitution, court-appointed attorney fees, etc., and brings money into both the County General Fund and County Attorney budget;
• Continuing with asset forfeitures to prevent individuals from profiting from their crimes by transferring seized money and property related to criminal activity from the criminal to the investigating law enforcement agency; and
• Networking with fellow prosecuting attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office and Iowa County Attorneys Association to provide legal assistance and resources to one another.

What do you feel are the toughest legal issues Allamakee County may face and how would you address those issues?

Kistler: I predict that two of the toughest legal issues Allamakee County may face in the next several years will be related to frac sand mining and the possibility of challenges to the County’s currently proposed extraction pit amendment to the County Zoning Ordinance, and questions arising in regards to the feasibility of and possible financing and construction of a new public safety center/county jail. I have already begun addressing these issues by taking a pro-active approach.
I have participated in the drafting of the proposed zoning ordinance amendment and have prepared for and attended numerous meetings/hearings regarding the amendment and public concerns regarding frac sand mining. In doing so, I have become familiar with the legal challenges that have been or may be faced in other jurisdictions and have used that knowledge to hopefully prevent Allamakee County from encountering the same, and, if challenges are brought, have  the necessary knowledge and resources available to respond appropriately.
Similarly, I have taken a pro-active approach with respect to the issues surrounding the proposal of a new public safety center/county jail in Allamakee County, so am aware of and am already preparing to address the legal questions that will arise in relation to the County’s funding and/or construction of such.

West: Fracking is on the horizon. As a part-time instructor at Northeast Iowa Community College, I teach ethics and I often discuss the issue of fracking with the younger generations. There will be significant legal issues and community concerns to address in the upcoming years.
Yet, perhaps the most pressing legal issue is the implementation of EDMS (Electronic Data Management System) in Allamakee County. All courts in Iowa are moving toward electronic documents. Many counties are already there.  It so happens that due to my work in western Iowa, I am already trained and proficient in EDMS. If I am elected, the transition in Allamakee County to EDMS will be that much smoother, more efficient, and cost-effective.  I don’t require on-the-job training.
Of course, there are other issues that I don’t know about, and would only learn about upon taking over the office. I am a tenacious researcher and problem-solver. Put me in office, and you can rest assured that you have a competent, intelligent and professional advocate for the people of Allamakee County.