PHOENIX — ABC15 is keeping a close eye on the Maricopa County Attorney race, as the general election approaches.
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell sat with ABC15 ahead of Election Day and talked about where she stands on important issues that impact the office.
“We really hit the ground running when I took over,” she said.
Republican candidate and appointed County Attorney Mitchell says there is still more to be done.
“We knew there had to be some really quick transitions, not the least of which was getting more people in the door,” said Mitchell.
She added this effort has already helped drop the backlog of officer-involved shootings that need to be investigated.
“When I took over I had…there was a backlog of about 59 cases, and even with cases being added in the five months that I've been there, we're down to I think about 34,” she told ABC15.
Though she acknowledges there are still other criminal cases that need to be addressed.
Mitchell also says it’s vital the office no longer overcharges defendants, like what happened in 2020, when MCAO slapped fake gang charges on police protesters.
“I was asked to review the August 9th, specifically, 2020 protest that was outside of the Phoenix Police headquarters and that I found was overcharging. And I put a PowerPoint together and presented it to executive leadership and said, this is overcharged. These charges should be dropped,” Mitchell added.
The lead prosecutor on the protest cases has since been fired after ABC15 brought this to light in our Politically Charged series.
“I have terminated the prosecutor that was responsible for some of that and I don’t want that to happen again,” said the Maricopa County Attorney.
Mitchell is a former sex crimes prosecutor, who's faced many questions on how she'll handle cases under the state's new abortion law.
“I will not prosecute women for getting an abortion and the law does actually not allow that,” she said.
We also asked if she would prosecute abortion providers.
“If I get a case, I will review it in terms of a reasonable likelihood of conviction. And part of that definition is, you know, whether I can get a jury to unanimously agree on something. So obviously, I have to look at public perception, public desires about the law. So I would do that,” she answered.
Mitchell also made it a point to say cracking down on organized retail theft and maximizing transparency are also among her top priorities.
As the current leader of one of the largest prosecutorial agencies in the country, Mitchell says she's communicating this vision to her staff:
“We’re here to do justice and that means being forthright. Being straightforward and being fair,” she told our team.
ABC15 also sat down with Democratic candidate Julie Gunnigle, who is also in the running for Maricopa County Attorney.
She also believes the Maricopa County Attorney's office should be fair and transparent, though she says there must be a change in culture within the office.
“The priorities of the County Attorney's office ought to be in this moment…to get rid of the corruption that we've seen in the office,” said Gunnigle.
Gunnigle says earning the community’s trust is a must.
“It is going to take a lot of work because this has become a culture in that office of overcharging and pursuing convictions rather than pursuing justice,” said the Democratic candidate.
Gunnigle is talking about cases like the one in 2020 where police protesters were wrongfully charged as gang members. Gunnigle believes the office should proactively review all cases involving April Sponsel, the lead prosecutor from the protester cases, who had since been fired.
“A look at all of those prior cases would be something that would be in the public interest,” Gunnige told ABC15.
She also says recruitment, clearing backlogs, and acknowledging mental health are a must.
“This office ought to be getting at the root cause of harm in our community, which means a real commitment to treating mental health, addiction and gun violence as the public health epidemics that they are,” added Gunnigle.
Here’s where Gunnigle stands on abortion…
“This is one of the first questions I was asked when I jumped into this race. If Roe falls will you enforce this law and I said not now, not ever, it will never be in the interest of justice to lock up a patient or her provider for having access to health care including abortion,” she told ABC15.
Polls show the majority of Arizonans want abortions to remain legal at least in some circumstances.
“Arizona can and should do better.” We're gonna continue to do the community outreach that's necessary for the first time during my lifetime, build trust in the county attorney's office,” said Gunnigle.
