Three people are running in the Democratic primary Tuesday to become the next Franklin County prosecutor after Democrat Gary Tyack leaves office.
Columbus City Councilmember Shayla Favor, Delaware City Attorney Natalia Harris and Franklin County Prosecutor Deputy Chief Legal Counsel Anthony Pierson all want to become the county's first Black prosecutor. If elected, Harris or Favor would become the first woman in the office.
Columbus defense attorney John Rutan is running unopposed for the Republican nomination as the three go against each other in the Democratic primary. Whoever wins will likely face Rutan in November.
Pierson is the only candidate with experience in the county prosecutor’s office. Pierson said that makes him unique. Pierson worked in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office before Tyack hired him in May 2023.
“No, I have not been the elected Franklin County prosecutor, but I've worked around Mr. Tyack enough to have an idea of what the job entails," Pierson said.
Harris also said her experience makes her qualified for the job. Harris was a prosecutor in Montgomery County and Cincinnati and was assistant city attorney in Columbus for 11 years.
"I have what I term to be a full service government law office that is the same structure as the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office," Harris said.
Councilmember Favor worked for the Columbus City Attorney's office for five years prosecuting blighted and nuisance properties. Favor said she wants to usher in a new era in the county prosecutor's office.
"I believe that I'm a balanced attorney with a wide range of experience. Just happens to be twice elected and battle tested with prosecutorial and executive leadership experience," Favor said.
Pierson, Favor criticized ahead of election
Pierson accused Favor of misrepresenting her resume, comparing her to former New York Congressman George Santos who was expelled from the U.S. House for allegedly lying about his life and qualifications for office. Pierson cited robo-texts to voters that said Favor has prosecuted violent crimes in the courtroom.
Meanwhile Pierson has faced questions about his residency in Franklin County.
Favor told WOSU she didn’t prosecute felonies like murder and assaults during her five years in office, but she did prosecute violent misdemeanors. Favor gave WOSU examples of cases where she indirectly prosecuted crimes. The city got courts to shut down nuisance properties in these cases because crimes frequently occurred around them such as fights, shootings and drug deals.
These cases included the Trolley Barn in 2013, now known as the East Market, and a former market on Long Street in 2017 and 2018 that had multiple reports on drug deals, fights, code violations and other violence occurences nearby or on the property.
Pierson has also faced a lot of criticism about where he lives. Pierson and his wife own a home in Delaware County, but Pierson said he lives in another home in Franklin County and is registered to vote there.
Favor and Pierson called these accusations political attacks by their opponents.
Next prosecutor will oversee police shooting murder trials, decide whether to appoint special prosecutors
Whoever wins the election will take over an office that is prosecuting three high profile police shooting trials where the officers killed Black men. The officers were Rickey Anderson, Adam Coy and Jason Meade. All three are charged with murder.
Harris said she wants justice to be served in these cases. She said she would appoint a special prosecutor when a police officer is charged with murder.
“ I believe that having a special prosecutor assigned is a way to begin establishing in some cases reaffirming in other cases a level of trust in the criminal justice system."Natalia Harris, Delaware City Attorney
Harris said she would prosecute police officers who commit crimes the same way she would prosecute other criminals.
Favor said she wants to create a policy based on best practices from around the country to bring swift justice in these cases.
"Currently, there's just no rhyme or reason to assigning a special prosecutor and how that prosecutor will be selected," Favor said.
Favor said she she doesn't want the office to cherry pick cases to avoid accountability, but recognizes people's concerns about the Franklin County Prosecutor's office overseeing a case involving a Franklin County Sheriffs deputy, like Meade.
Pierson said he wants more transparency from the office when police shoot and kill someone. He said the office should quickly post case files online. Like Favor, he wants to work with the community and also other counties to create a policy on appointing special prosecutors.
“If an officer is involved in a use of force and it was improper, I expect it to be prosecuted vigorously. Just like any other case would be whether it was a murder or a shooting."Franklin County Chief Deputy Legal Counsel Anthony Pierson
Pierson said it is vital the next county prosecutor restore confidence in the justice system when it comes to these cases.
Favor, Harris and Pierson give philosophy on harsh punishments and juvenile justice system
Favor, Pierson and Harris all want to determine how harsh the punishment for a crime should be on a case-by-case basis. And all three said the community should be more involved to help reduce juvenile crime.
The county has seen an uptick in the number of crimes involving teens breaking into vehicles and using firearms.
Favor said she wants more youth diversion programs and community based programs. She said the county can be tough on violent criminals and find alternate routes to prevent crime.
“We have to acknowledge that it's time to get smart on crime, not tougher on crime and expect that we're going to have a different result."Shayla Favor, Columbus City Councilmember
Favor said the county prosecutor can't pretend systemic issues in the justice system don't exist. She said addressing systemic issues like housing insecurity needs and mental health trauma are within the county prosecutor's power.
Pierson said he leans towards delaying extreme punishments for juveniles and nonviolent offenders in favor of graduated punishments that get more and more severe if they reoffend.
"We can make recommendations, which we do. But the final sentencing is up to the judge. And so, it's a matter of us being able to convince the judge," Pierson said.
Pierson said it depends on the judge, but he has disagreed and agreed with some. He said he doesn't see the office as a way to bully a judge to agree with a prosecutor's recommended sentence.
Harris said she thinks the harshness of punishments should be based on what holds the defendant accountable and deters more crime. She says this should be balanced with how likely they are to reoffend.
“I don't like the idea of grouping and classifying defendants as a whole. Because offenders and defendants are individuals as well," Harris said.
Harris said she thinks judges are being responsive to what prosecutors recommend for sentencing.
Winner of general election will take charge of county prosecutor civil division
The county prosecutor also is in charge of the civil division that handles business, contract and zoning lawsuits; delinquent tax and asset collection disputes; an environmental court for nuisance and blighted properties; labor and employment disputes and other litigation. Fueled by metro Columbus' rapid growth, the county prosecutor will likely see many of these cases for a growing community.
Harris said she thinks she has more experience running civil and criminal divisions and cited her work in the Columbus City Attorney's Office with former City Attorney Richard Pfieffer to create the city's zoning team of attorneys. Favor also worked on this team and recently helped City Attorney Zach Klein rebrand it to the Property Action Team.
The team of five, soon to be six, attorneys, worked on nuisance abatement in the city and tackle blighted properties and citizen complaints.
"Through my work in establishing that unit and working within it and also doing similar work in Cincinnati, I have a a pretty good foundation on addressing and working through those issues," Harris said.
Favor said this part of the prosecutor's job can work to address safety in the county, while also working to reform what she called an unjust and inequitable system. She said she wants to ensure the office can provide oversight over the county's other departments like Jobs and Family Services or the Office on Aging or even the Board of Elections.
"All of those agencies fall under the oversight of this office. And I want to make sure that I am helping to support a staff of attorneys, as well as administrative professionals, that can ensure efficiency as it relates to all of the work that would come out of that office," Favor said.
Pierson said this division is important and needs to evolve because a lot of criminal activity had evolved.
"We have to adapt. We have to be efficient. We have to be nimble in our application of the civil law as well. And most importantly, we have to have a very good working relationship with the other county agencies," Pierson said.
Polls are open Tuesday for the Democratic and Republican primaries from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early in-person voting is still available at the Franklin County Board Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
