By Fox23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — Attorney Colleen McCarty today announced her candidacy for Tulsa County District Attorney. She will run as a Republican.
“I’ve been working in the justice system here in Tulsa County for the last four years as the Director of Oklahoma Appleseed, a public interest law center here and we have really seen the underbelly of everything that’s been going on in our courthouse and it has stirred me to be called to do this. I feel prepared. I feel ready and I feel like I am the right person for the job to tackle some of the systemic issues that have been going on in Tulsa.” says McCarty.
She says a main reason she felt called to run is her work with domestic abuse survivors. She cofounded the Oklahoma Survivors Justice Coalition and helped pass the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act.
“It’s a very popular reform and it is a strong to message to let folks know that we want to take domestic violence and sexual assault into account when someone is being sentenced for a crime,” says McCarty. “And that has not been taken seriously and has not been faithfully followed here in Tulsa County and a lot of survivors are very upset about that. A lot of victims who have been fighting for justice have come forward, they come to me and they asked me to run and I felt like I could not say no.”
McCarty says there needs to be multiple levels of accountability that she says are not currently present. She points to conviction intergrity and oversight over prosecutors.
“It is one of the most powerful positions in our society and there is really no oversight.” says McCarty.
McCarthy says she decided to run as a Republican because she feels those values are not being reflected in the DA’s office saying there is waste, lack of trasparency and lack of honesty.
“It is a toxic workplace.” says McCarty.
The Republican Primary election for District Attorney is on June 16. Her opponent is incumbent Steve Kunzweiler.
