League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA June 6, 2006 Election
	Jim Shore Answers Questions Candidate for District Attorney; County of Santa Clara

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience and training would you bring to this office?

As a professional prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney with 17 years of experience, I am running for District Attorney because I know we can do more to protect our kids, our families, and our communities.

My goal isn't just to make this county safer. It's to actually make it safe.

I grew up here + and my wife and I are raising our wonderful family here. And I'm not going to consider the job done until a mother and father in any corner of this county can send their kids off to school or to play without fear.

I'm not fooling myself + this is a tough goal. But I think we can end this culture of fear + and create a culture of safety. We're going to need to be tough and smart to make that happen.

I have the experience and a background that shows I can be both.

I've prosecuted the toughest cases, convicting murderers, rapists, and polluters. As a founding member of the Homicide Investigations Team, I've responded night and day along with sworn law enforcement officers.

But in today's world, it's not enough to be tough. We need to innovate to make this community safe.

That's why I'm fighting to pass Jessica's law + so that we can monitor convicted sexual predators 24 hours a day, by using new GPS tracking technology. That's why I fought to put Megan's Law online + so that parents can better protect their children against dangerous child predators in their own neighborhoods.

I've pushed for new community-based crime fighting strategies + and was honored by the Board of Supervisors for helping reduce juvenile crime in East San Jose by 45 percent.

And I'm fighting for new prevention strategies + to steer kids away from crime and drugs, and help protect our elderly from abuse.

As District Attorney, I will provide the strong leadership + both innovative and effective + required to keep our county safe.

2. What changes do you think need to be made in the way this office operates?

It's time for real reforms in the District Attorney's office.

Keeping the people of Santa Clara County safe requires maintaining the public's trust. Without trust, we can't protect victims and secure convictions of the guilty. Without trust, we can't find evidence that exonerates the innocent. Without trust, our most important public safety agency becomes ineffective.

The comprehensive Mercury News series on criminal justice raised serious issues and has shaken the public's trust in our office. Yet the leadership in the District Attorney's office provides little more than late apologies and weak excuses. We deserve better. Strong leadership is required to implement the fundamental changes that will make the "win at all cost" culture go away.

We can all agree that the best place to protect the innocent is at the front end of the system, to make sure that only the guilty are charged and convicted. As District Attorney, I will take immediate action to create an office culture where justice is always the first priority. Among the steps I will take:

• Bring in outside experts to review every policy and procedure. I made this outside review a central part of my campaign policy platform before the series ran. Since it is a conflict of interest to have an agency review itself, we need an "ethics audit" conducted by a panel of independent experts. The findings will be published so the public can track our progress.

• Dramatically increase the use of support staff to assist prosecutors in discharging their obligation to handle cases fairly and in a timely manner. We must make sure that our District Attorney's Office is adequately funded and appropriately staffed + something that has been woefully lacking under the current administration.

• Provide ongoing training for every supervisor to ensure that the "win at all cost" culture is eradicated. Regular ethics training will constantly reinforce this new culture.

• Show by example that finding out the truth is our only goal. We must banish political considerations from this office. We will seek justice, not headlines. When the leader demonstrates the courage to do the right thing, the example is clear to all others. As District Attorney, I will lead by example.

I am proud to work with great trial attorneys who are dedicating their careers to making our community safe. They deserve leadership as focused and principled as they are.

3. Do you think that the budget for this office should be increased or decreased and how should this be done?

We shouldn't be cutting law enforcement, we should be expanding it -- because it is a much, much less expensive in the long run to keep our communities safe, than it is to allow them to become overrun with crime, gangs and drugs. The cost of failure is too high. It costs nearly $30,000 a year to incarcerate a criminal. It's a much better investment -- and much less costly -- to create a culture of safety and respect for our laws, than it is to put people in prison.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 6, 2006 16:51
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