Government : David Thompson Candidate Profile for Office of Benton County Attorney

I have been a licensed attorney for thirty-one years and have practiced law twenty-eight years in Benton County.  My wife and I have one son, and have lived in Vinton for the last eleven years; prior to that, I have lived in Garrison and Urbana.  Prior to being elected twenty-four years ago, I practiced law with the Vinton firm of Milroy, Eckhart and Thompson, and prior to that with the Dutton firm in Waterloo.  Educationally I have undergraduate degrees in Religion and History from the University of Iowa and am a 1991 graduate of the Drake University Law School.   I have always worked in my youth (Gazette paper carrier, detasseling, HyVee, Resident Assistant in college), have been involved in numerous community activities including the Urbana Lions Club and am a proud supporter of the Boy Scouts.
I believe I am the most qualified attorney in this race and am the only accomplished trial attorney in this race.  In my opinion, the County Attorney position should not be a partisan office.  Instead, the office should be held by the attorney who can most effectively administer the many duties of the job and can work with law enforcement to keep our county safe.
I have been proud to serve as the Benton County Attorney for the last twenty-four years.  My number one goal has been to keep our communities safe which means a dedicated commitment to prosecute violent offenders like child molesters, domestic abusers, and those who kill, rob, injure and threaten and intimidate other citizens.  We also hold accountable those who drink and drive and otherwise engage in reckless driving behavior that endangers all who use our roads.
Protecting and helping the victims of crime and securing restitution for them is an emphasis in my office.  All of our paralegals are trained to be crime victim assistance specialists, and our County Collections has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars for crime victims in Benton County.
Under my leadership, our County Collections have put nearly 1.8 million dollars into the Benton County budget which helps to reduce property taxes.  At the same time Collections helps numerous citizens re-obtain their driver's licenses and become compliant with the law.
It has been my highest honor to be able to work with our local law enforcement officers in this endeavor.  Together we take community safety seriously and fight the good fight to keep our communities safe.
There are weak County Attorneys and strong County Attorneys; I have been a strong County Attorney.  By this I mean I have imposed as my standard from day one that no individual is above the law, violent offenders will be aggressively prosecuted, and that Benton County, Iowa will be a county that follows proper law and procedure (rather than being a county that adheres to the "good old boy" system of doing things).  Sometimes I have to prosecute people who do not like that they (or their family or friends) are being prosecuted.  Sometimes I have to tell a County Official to stop what they are doing in order to avoid a law violation or avoid the risk of Benton County being held civilly liable.  In these instances it is not personal -- it is part of the job.  Under Iowa Law, the County Attorney is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the County.  That is a role I take seriously.
I have won over 97 percent of my trials, have successfully prosecuted over 100 child sex offense cases, and have won the cases Benton County citizens expect their County Attorney to win.  I have not lost a felony trial in over 23 years and have never lost a District Court bench trial.  Here are some examples of a few of my jury trial wins:
            State vs. James Bentley (this was the Jetseta Gage case; Defendant             convicted of Sexual Abuse 2nd Degree);

            State vs. Murray (Defendant convicted of bank robbery);

            State vs. Parker (Child sex abuse case -- Defendant convicted on all counts);

            State vs. Vance (Child sex abuse case -- Defendant convicted on all counts); and

            State vs. Trigon and Karl Thompson (1st prosecution in State history where Defendants were convicted of Willful OSHA Violations that caused the death of an employee).

Providing legal advice to the Board of Supervisors and other County Departments is another important function of my job.  My background in civil litigation and city attorney work prior to becoming County Attorney has aided me well in this area.  In this area, I have often led investigations that have prevented the County from being sued or otherwise losing tax dollars.
Areas of concern and development in the next four years:
If re-elected, it is my intention to continue to win the cases our citizens expect their County Attorney's Office to win.  I will continue to seek training for myself and the staff because we want to be the best attorneys in the courtroom and never want to be complacent.  We have excellent staff in the office, and it is my goal to retain this talented group of people.
If re-elected we will continue to strive to keep Benton County safe from the perils of civil liability and will continue to keep the County compliant with the law and following proper procedures.
We will continue to modernize our office to keep up with the latest technology that helps us effectively do our jobs.
We will never stop working to improve our victim outreach services and will continue to advocate and stand up for the victims of crime.
We will continue to work to aid those with mental health and substance abuse issues and will aid in the implementation of beneficial services for those individuals.  Likewise, we will continue to work with our Opioid Task Force to implement the opioid settlement funds in an effort to combat the fentanyl problem in Benton County.
And, I have always had tremendous respect for the men and women of law enforcement, who face the potential risk of their lives every time they go on duty.  My office will always work with them and support them in our joint effort to keep our communities safe.    I would love the opportunity to debate, even if it's on the Courthouse lawn.