MUSKEGON, MI – Two candidates are squaring off in the race for Muskegon County prosecutor.
Incumbent DJ Hilson, a Democrat, is up against attorney Joshua S. EldenBrady, a Republican, on the Nov. 3 ballot.
That elected position represents county government in criminal cases. They are seeking a four-year term.
This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues.
Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigan’s county and local races will be available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters.
Here’s background information on both candidates:
- Hilson (D), the incumbent, is seeking a third term as the county’s prosecuting attorney. Before being elected in 2012, he was an assistant prosecutor in Muskegon County. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics from Marquette University, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University.
- EldenBrady (R), is an attorney. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in education from Western Governors University, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University.
Here’s a look at where the candidates stand on some major issues, according to their responses to Vote411.org. (MLive has not edited these responses.)
What in your education and experience make you the best qualified candidate for this position?
Hilson: Prior to starting in the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office in 1999, I graduated with honors from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. I have been involved in the criminal justice system as a prosecutor for over 20 years. I have served two terms as the Muskegon County Prosecutor (eight years).
EldenBrady: I have the rare perspective among prosecutorial candidates of coming from a defense background. I have seen the flaws in our local prosecutor’s office firsthand and the effect those flaws have on our community and the cause of justice. Further, for the last decade I have lived in one of the areas most affected by violent crime in our county and seen its effects firsthand (a perspective that I do not believe is shared by any of the attorneys currently working in the Muskegon county Prosecutor’s Office). During this time, I have built relationships with members of my community that will allow me to better serve Muskegon’s most under served areas.
What are your goals should you be elected and how will you work to accomplish them with currently limited resources?
Hilson: I plan to continue our efforts to reduce crime through the use of my diversion program, my involvement in our specialty courts, and my extensive work within the community.
EldenBrady: 1. To increase use of diversionary programs for nonviolent offenders while advocating for alternative sentencing arrangements when appropriate. 2. To establish a relocation assistance program for witnesses in violent criminal cases. 3. To eliminate charge reduction plea bargains for violent felonies, particularly those involving weapons and assure that all such cases (including those where law enforcement and other government employees are the offenders) are charged with the maximum crime supported by any reasonably debatable facts. 4. To publish clear guidelines and office policies regarding these programs so that the community can hold all members of the prosecutor’s office accountable for their effective enforcement. With the exception of number 2, which may be funded in part through donated funds, all are achievable by changing policy and redirecting current staff into new programs.
Are you open to expanding the use of restorative justice programs in the county, especially when young offenders are involved?
Hilson: I am a board member of our local Mediation and Restorative Justice Center. Through that relationship, I have implemented programs that use mediation and restorative justice including in our truancy program as well as an option in juvenile delinquency proceedings. For adults we have been able to bring the mission of restorative justice to a brand new grant program through the Michigan Department of Corrections involving people who are affiliated with gangs and violence. One part of this multi-part program will use the mission of restorative justice to connect the perpetrators with their victims or with the community in which they committed their crime. We are one of three sites in the nation to receive this grant.
EldenBrady: Restorative justice options should be explored in all cases involving non-violent offenses. I will explore any options allowed by the law and by available funding sources and will publish all office policies online. There need to be clear and universally applied policies to determine what cases are appropriate for restorative justice and other diversionary programs.
Do you believe that the county public defender system is working as it should? What would you do to improve it?
Hilson: I was blessed with the opportunity after I was elected in 2012 to play an important role in developing our public defender system. This county system has been in place since 2013. Having practiced with the public defenders in the old system as well as our new one, it is clear to me that Muskegon County leads the way in how indigent defendants are presently represented. Our Public Defender Office is top notch and needs no improvements.
EldenBrady: Our county public defender system is performing well given its relative youth. One of the largest deficiencies is that its current funding does not meaningfully compare with the investigative budget of the local police forces. Recognizing that reform of the public defender system is outside the powers of the prosecutor’s office, I support additional funding for investigators in the public defender’s office. Additionally, greater funding is required in order to maintain a sufficient list of conflict defense attorneys.
What new methods or technology would you advocate to prosecute crime more effectively?
Hilson: Over the last three years, my office has moved to an electronic content management system which allows the office to operate more efficiently. We no longer carry a stack of files to court, just our laptop computers. Because of this system, we can access our desktops and any file from any location. It has allowed for us to work from home and keep the wheels of justice moving during the COVID-19 crisis. We are only a few steps away from the entire system being paperless, which will make the function of justice more efficient and effective.
EldenBrady: The adoption of body cameras and improvements in other patrol surveillance systems by our local law enforcement agencies has been extremely helpful to the effective prosecution of cases in Muskegon and elsewhere. I will encourage their continued expansion.
The single biggest change method change I would work to implement is not, however, a technological one. One of the biggest obstacles we face in prosecuting major felonies is fear of reprisal by potential witnesses. We need a local witness relocation assistance program to help those witnesses escape the same violence they are helping us fight.
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