One in particular:
◼ New era in the DA’s Office
After a tumultuous three terms in office, Paul Gallegos’ time as Humboldt County district attorney is coming to an end.
Stepping into the role will be Maggie Fleming, who handily won the June primary election against three other candidates. She will be sworn in Jan. 5, becoming the county’s first female district attorney.
When Gallegos announced in November that he would not be running for re-election, he said he was proud of his tenure as district attorney, but wanted to spend more time with his family. Gallegos surprised many when he was first elected to the post in 2002, beating longtime District Attorney Terry Farmer — who held the office for 20 years. Over the years, Gallegos made a series of controversial decisions and garnered many critics.
“It’s a wonderful job. It’s a wonderful honor. It’s just, at some point, you have to say, ‘I’ve done that, and I’ve served,’ ” Gallegos said after announcing he would not run. “It’s time for me to serve my family.”
Fleming comes to the job with 25 years of experience, having worked for 17 years in the office as a deputy district attorney and most recently as a deputy county counsel.
“You work in a DA’s office because you hope to make a difference,” she said in a recent interview. “I think helping mentor the attorneys is a critical task — currently the office is young, career-wise, as prosecutors. Another part is rebuilding the office; we are down a number of attorneys.”
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| Maggie Fleming handily won the June 2014 primary election for Humboldt County district attorney, and will be sworn in Jan. 5, becoming the first woman in county history to hold the job. TIMES-STANDARD FILE PHOTO |
◼ New era in the DA’s Office
After a tumultuous three terms in office, Paul Gallegos’ time as Humboldt County district attorney is coming to an end.
Stepping into the role will be Maggie Fleming, who handily won the June primary election against three other candidates. She will be sworn in Jan. 5, becoming the county’s first female district attorney.
When Gallegos announced in November that he would not be running for re-election, he said he was proud of his tenure as district attorney, but wanted to spend more time with his family. Gallegos surprised many when he was first elected to the post in 2002, beating longtime District Attorney Terry Farmer — who held the office for 20 years. Over the years, Gallegos made a series of controversial decisions and garnered many critics.
“It’s a wonderful job. It’s a wonderful honor. It’s just, at some point, you have to say, ‘I’ve done that, and I’ve served,’ ” Gallegos said after announcing he would not run. “It’s time for me to serve my family.”
Fleming comes to the job with 25 years of experience, having worked for 17 years in the office as a deputy district attorney and most recently as a deputy county counsel.
“You work in a DA’s office because you hope to make a difference,” she said in a recent interview. “I think helping mentor the attorneys is a critical task — currently the office is young, career-wise, as prosecutors. Another part is rebuilding the office; we are down a number of attorneys.”
Tumultuous? BS. His term was a slow degradation of the office. The only 'tumult' was in the early year when he was filing a lawsuit at his backers behest. And allowing them to plot ways to get themselves paid (and how to let their buddies pay for a public prosecution) via a "trust fund.' After that 'tumult' he slowly allowed the office to fall into ruin. Lost talent, lost grants - and he never rose to the occasion, never made an attempt to solve the problem, like any normal person would have done.
Oh well.
At long last you will have a competent DA. Humboldt County will be well served.
