Gaffney

(Editor’s note: Ahead of the upcoming election on Nov. 8, the T-R will be featuring questionnaire responses from the candidates in all of the contested races affecting Marshall County. In the county attorney’s race, incumbent Republican Jordan Gaffney, who was first appointed in 2021 following the resignation of Jennifer Miller and worked as first assistant county attorney in Marshall County before that, is seeking his first full term in office. Democrat Sarah Tupper, who is currently the first assistant county attorney in Marshall County, is opposing him and will be featured in Friday’s T-R.)

1. What is your personal, professional and educational background?

Growing up in a family with roots in John Deere and farming gave me a strong Iowa foundation. Being the second oldest of four siblings and having several cousins, I was raised to value family. Family is a core part of my heart and who I am.

After graduating from Union High School, I attended UNI and obtained my degree in English Language and Literature studies with a minor in Criminology. After UNI, I attended Drake Law School. My first child was born while I was a law student. For me, that life season involved lots of growing up and lessons learned. It’s also the season in life where I committed myself to loving and following Jesus. The work of Jesus in my life has made me the husband and father I am today.

In the fall of 2010 I was hired by the Marshall County Attorney’s Office. It was my first job after law school, and I haven’t looked back since. I started prosecuting traffic and shoplifting charges. My experience diversified to other dockets: OWIs, felony thefts and forgeries, burglaries, robberies, arsons, stabbings, assaults, shootings, drugs, and drug distribution cases involving overdoses. Serving as First Assistant Marshall County Attorney for three years enabled me to gain on-the-job training in leadership in addition to a rich understanding of how all the different people and parts of the County Attorney’s Office work together to serve our community. I’ve trained other prosecutors, invested in learning my craft by joining law enforcement on search warrants, cultivated relationships with other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, helped families on our Drug Endangered Children team, participated as a team member in drug court, gone to trial when a trial is needed, and led by example.

A year and a half ago I was appointed as Marshall County Attorney by the Board of Supervisors. They put their trust and faith in me. I have a lot of gratitude for the trust they placed in me and accept the big responsibility that comes with it. Serving Marshall County in this new way has been both a blessing and a new adventure. I’m proud of the work accomplished by the Marshall County Attorney’s Office under my leadership. We fought back against COVID shutdowns by getting cases into court and to trial. I’ve cultivated relationships with department heads throughout Marshall County to better serve the people of Marshall County who are counting on their government to get the job done. I’ve sought to be a good steward of taxpayer money because I value both financial responsibility and keeping taxpayer money in taxpayer pockets. When problems arise, I continue to seek solutions. I’ve brought the same values to work every day as County Attorney that I did as Assistant County Attorney.

2. Why are you running for Marshall County Attorney?

Having served Marshall County over the past thirteen years as a prosecutor, I have grown to love Marshall County and serving the people of Marshall County. That’s why I’ve invested my entire career here.

When I accepted the position of First Assistant County Attorney in 2017, I went all in on the responsibilities and experience. It was an opportunity to learn how to lead without being in charge. That experience taught me how to identify strengths in others, coach and support colleagues, and cultivate a culture that was supportive during challenging times. I enjoy helping prosecutors and the County Attorney’s Office staff do their very best to serve our community.

In applying for and accepting the appointment as Marshall County Attorney, I decided to run in this year’s election only if this job was for me and I was for this job. I stayed true to myself. I am responsible for every case we prosecute, every legal opinion shared by this office with County officials, and every service provided by staff. I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished as Marshall County Attorney, and I’ve only just gotten started.

There’s more to be done. A project that has been on my heart and mind is a diversion program for veterans. We’ve seen veterans who have served overseas who come home and the war comes home with them. This sometimes manifests as alcohol abuse, substance abuse, crushing anxiety, or post traumatic stress disorder. For some veterans, these things build up until they lead to a criminal act, an arrest, and jail. That’s a tragedy. We need to better serve those who served us. We can better serve those who served us. When we identify a veteran suffering from issues related to their service, my goal is to connect those veterans to substance abuse services, counseling, homeless residency services, and the support of the only other people who know what they’re going through — other veterans. If the veterans who participate in this program put in the work we can look at reducing or dismissing a criminal charge. Instead of putting our veterans on the track that leads to prison, we can put our veterans on the track that leads back home to their families.

I’m also running because I believe the Office of the Marshall County Attorney should be an independent entity. Independence is not possible if the Marshalltown Chief of Police is married to the Marshall County Attorney, regardless of the goodness of their character. The County Attorney’s Office exists apart from law enforcement agencies because it’s intended to be an independent office. The County Attorney’s Office functions as a check and balance on the law enforcement agencies we partner with. The Marshall County Attorney cannot function as a check and balance on the Marshalltown Police Department if the County Attorney and Marshalltown Chief of Police are married.

If a charge is not appropriate, the County Attorney’s Office is a check and balance. If an investigative strategy is not lawful, the County Attorney’s Office is a check and balance. If priorities for crime control and community development need realigned, the County Attorney’s Office is a check and balance.

Without independence those critical checks and balances are lost. The county officials counting on their County Attorney to render independent legal advice lose. The space allowed for Assistant County Attorneys to disagree with the Chief of Police shrink and constrict. The dangers of groupthink increase exponentially, choking out opportunities to grow from dissent and debate. The public cannot know whether or not their County Attorney is a rubber stamp for the Chief of Police.

This loss of independence would mean that the Marshall County Attorney has a personal interest invested in each prosecution. A personal interest in the outcome of a case is a poison for the independence of the County Attorney’s Office. That poison would run through the work produced by the County Attorney’s Office. That’s not a sacrifice the people of Marshall County should have to make.

I’m running because I believe government should serve the people of our communities. I’m running because I’ve grown to love this community and love serving this community. I’m running because I’ve only just gotten started with this work. I’m running because I believe checks and balances are essential to government. I’m running because I believe I am the best person for the job.

3. What, if any, changes to the operations of the office would you propose if elected in November?

We need to get back into the courthouse. I’ve walked with and encouraged this Office to persevere through our facilities challenges. I’m proud of and thankful for how everyone throughout Marshall County has risen up to the challenge presented by having the courthouse closed. It’s time to return. I and the other prosecuting attorneys have tried cases in the Max Building and the Orpheum Theater. We’ve made the temporary court spaces work. We’ve found ways to meet face-to-face with victims, witnesses, law enforcement, and constituents without having a dedicated meeting space, but we need to return to the courthouse. Our case numbers are rising. Our trial numbers are rising. Having the courthouse reopened is important for this Office to serve well its purpose and the community.

I have encouraged staff to engage in more community outreach activities. The purpose is twofold. First, if our staff better understands our community, we will be in a better position to serve the people of our community. Second, it is important for Marshall County to know its prosecutors and understand the role we occupy in the community and in government. To these ends, I plan to establish a community advisory board. The board would consist of community stakeholders from throughout Marshall County who have an interest in criminal justice. We would meet a handful of times per year, discuss issues and values, troubleshoot problems, and seek to identify solutions. I don’t have all the answers to our community’s problems. A community advisory board is a unique opportunity for collaborative community engagement.

4. A proposal to launch a mental health court with ARPA funding received approval from the county’s ARPA committee but was ultimately rejected by the board of supervisors. Do you support the creation of a mental health court, and if so, how would you fund it?

I do not support the plan that was brought to the Board of Supervisors. My reasons are simple. The mental health court program would not have existed long enough to see its participants complete the mental health court program, and that failure would have been a flagrant waste of a quarter-million dollars.

The proposal submitted by the ARPA committee called for funding a mental health court for one year at a quarter-million dollars. Having been involved with our local drug court program for six years, I know it takes around a year and a half for successful drug court participants to graduate. A mental health court program would require about the same amount of time. Some mental health programs last up to two years. To fund a program for only one year would mean that the program would cease to exist before its participants would graduate. That’s a tragedy for the people who should be helped by such a program. My opponent, Sarah Tupper, served on the ARPA committee, was in position to have this knowledge, and pursued this plan anyway.

Because the proposal lacked a concrete plan for funding after one year, this would have resulted in the waste of a quarter-million dollars. Without a solid plan for funding beyond that one year funded by ARPA monies, the yearly quarter-million dollar burden to continue the program would have fallen on the Marshall County taxpayers. To fund the mental health court program locally would require reducing services already being provided by Marshall County, increasing local taxes, or some combination of both.

When this proposal was initially in the works I offered my help. This could have been a bipartisan effort. If my help had been accepted, I would have advocated for a swing for the fences approach. Either we hit a home run in funding a mental health court up to three years or we scrap the proposal entirely. Most importantly, any plan to seek funding for a mental health court must have a concrete plan to ensure that the people participating in the program continue to receive help from the program after the ARPA funds are gone.

Another option would be to start the change small. I would have advocated beginning a program similar to our local drug court. In the beginning our drug court program had no money. What we had was lots of heart, the willingness to put in sweat equity, and one participant. No extra money was needed from ARPA or taxpayers. Our participants were sentenced to probation and put in the work at treatment to get well and be well. Our team encouraged them and held them accountable. Our drug court team still does. When the drug court team sought a federal grant for three years of funding I supported that effort and (as an Assistant County Attorney) committed the Marshall County Attorney’s Office to the drug court program. It was hard work, but the drug court program was built with a foundation first. Change started small. The drug court program was built the right way. I prefer keeping mental health issues out of the criminal justice system completely. Civil mental health commitment procedures exist for this purpose. I support expanding the resources available for such programs to prevent those suffering from a mental health disorder from being brought into the criminal justice system in the first place. If that doesn’t happen, a mental health court program would not be off the table as an option, but it would need to be built like the drug court program — with a foundation first.

5. Do you believe that crimes, violent crimes in particular, are being adequately prosecuted in Marshall County, and what, if any, changes would you advocate for if elected?

We are getting people who commit serious violent crimes out of this community. I’ve been doing so for years. As Marshall County Attorney, I’ve been responsible for each case prosecuted by the Office and have supported and encouraged all of the prosecuting attorneys in their efforts to remove those who commit serious violent crimes from this community. Before serving as Marshall County Attorney, I worked hard as First Assistant County Attorney to get violent offenders out and encouraged other prosecuting attorneys in their efforts to do the same.

Prosecutors must follow the evidence presented by the case in front of them. Prosecuting a case involves three big questions. First, in reviewing the evidence, what do I believe happened? Next, what can I prove? Third, considering these things, what is the right thing to do with this case? Not every case turns out to be what at first it seems. I do not impose quotas or dictate what my attorneys do with each case. Every prosecuting attorney must seek and do what is right, and we must do what is right regardless of the pressures we face. If we as prosecutors pursue charges or sentences we don’t believe in just to obtain the longest sentence or send the strongest message, the harm done by our actions will be greater than the harm done by the offender’s crime.

My approach is solution-based regardless of whether a case involves violent or nonviolent crime. If the solution is a trial, I’ve been taking cases to trial for thirteen years. The reality of our situation is that we cannot and should not send every person charged with a crime to prison. We must also focus on rehabilitation and community-based solutions. This is where probation, treatment services, and drug court enters the picture. As County Attorney, I’ve worked hard to connect our staff members with local service agencies so that we are better equipped to identify opportunities for rehabilitation. We have great people helping folks in Marshall County right here and right now. I’ve sought to use that truth to help the human beings we prosecute live well as members of our Marshall County community.

6. Why are you the most qualified candidate for Marshall County Attorney?

Perseverance. I’ve persevered and been successful when facing new and unique challenges as Marshall County Attorney and for three years before then as First Assistant County Attorney.

I led this Office out of COVID and got us back in the business of going to court, trying cases, cleaning up the COVID shutdown backlog, and working through increased caseloads.

The County Attorney’s Office will not have our own meeting space until we return to the Courthouse. I’ve found ways to get the Office meeting in person with crime victims, witnesses, law enforcement, and community members. Being available to the community is important when you work in public service. It’s important to me.

I identify problems and seek solutions. When our local search warrant template would produce drafting errors and typos that could potentially get a case thrown out, I built a better template. When I get phone calls at two or three in the morning from law enforcement, I try to collaborate in identifying a solution to a problem that empowers them to do their jobs well.

By personally investing my time, effort, and heart for several years on our drug court team, I’ve participated in collaborative and innovative efforts to help Marshall County be a better place one person at a time. In supporting the drug court team in obtaining a three year federal grant, I’ve demonstrated my belief in the program’s value. Marshall County is better because of the drug court program.

I’ve lived and led the Marshall County Attorney’s Office with financial responsibility. It is essential to be a good steward of taxpayer money. Good financial stewardship helps keep taxes low, and I value keeping taxes low in Marshall County.

I’m getting the job done despite facilities challenges by trying cases in the Max Building and the Orpheum Theater. The County Attorney’s Office is spread out across two buildings at the old Marshalltown Fire Department facility, and I am making it work. My perseverance is greater than these facilities challenges.

I’ve been successful even though the person I asked to be my second in command is running against me and is seeking to take my job. The battles with an opposing attorney in a criminal prosecution are significant enough. This extra battle from within the County Attorney’s Office is making a tough job tougher. I haven’t backed down. I haven’t sacrificed my values. That’s grit. That’s perseverance.

I’m the most qualified candidate for County Attorney because I have, am currently, and will continue to persevere for you, Marshall County.