Update: 5:55 p.m.
District Attorney Craig Watkins called to criticize Susan Hawk’s proposal to make DA elections non-partisan.
“Her message changes with the audience. She tells people in southern Dallas that she wants to be non-partisan. Then she goes and tell folks in North Dallas that she’s a tea party conservative,” Watkins said. “She doesn’t believe in any values. She believes in Susan Hawk.”
Watkins said that Hawk is only interested in political survival and points to her party switching as evidence.
The original post containing Hawk’s comments is below.
Republican nominee for Dallas County district attorney Susan Hawk wants the DA to be chosen through non-partisan elections.
“Our District Attorney should be focused on law enforcement, not partisan politics,” Hawk said in a prepared statement. “Today, party politics permeates our DA’s office, from hiring and firing to who gets prosecuted and who goes free. When it comes to upholding the law, it shouldn’t matter if you are Republican or Democrat.”
Hawk is running for DA against incumbent Democrat Craig Watkins, an unabashed Democrat who contends political ideology should be considered by voters when choosing a district attorney.
He says Democrats in the DA’s office and on the judicial bench help to refocus criminal justice on more than simply putting folks in prison.
And Watkins has criticized Hawk for switching parties for political gain. She was a Republican when she first became a state district judge. Then she joined the Democratic Party for her 2010 re-election campaign. Last year Hawk returned to the GOP to challenge Watkins.
For the moment, it’s virtually impossible for Texas district attorneys to be elected in non-partisan elections. Such changes would have to be authorized by the Texas Legislature. Over the years, bills have been introduced to make judicial elections non-partisan, but there has been little appetite to change the way the state’s top prosecutors are elected.
But Hawk says making the district attorney office non-partisan would provide greater oversight and accountability.
She has criticized Watkins use of forfeiture money seized from criminals. Last year Watkins paid a settlement to a man involved in a car accident he caused. He did not tell county commissioners about the accident.
“If the DA were non-partisan, there may have been a more frank discussion at the Commissioner’s Court this week about the improper use of forfeiture funds,” Hawk said. “Partisanship sometimes creates a conflict between holding leaders accountable and doing what’s best for your own political party.”
Hawk added that partisanship may also influence the legal process and raise questions about the motive of investigations.
Earlier this year defense lawyers accuse Watkins of bringing a mortgage fraud case against oil heir Al Hill III at the behest of prominent Dallas lawyer Lisa Blue, his friend and political benefactor.
Watkins denied the allegation. When he wouldn’t testify about his office’s handling of the case, state District Judge Lena Levario levied a contempt of court charge against him. That charge was later dismissed.
“There should be no doubt about the motives of an investigation, or the Grand Jury process,” Hawk said. “But some of Mr. Watkins decisions have raised questions about political favors and political payback. Our citizens deserve a DA that makes justice the first and only priority.”