Primus to lead district attorneys

PENDLETON – Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus is the new president of the Oregon District Attorneys Association. Primus said he had served on the ODAA’s executive committee for several years and was about to step down when some of his peers in the organization asked him to step up instead.

The Umatilla County District Attorneys Office is often short staffed, and Primus said he had begun to feel that he should simplify his life and focus solely on local operations. When he was asked to serve as president, he realized the extra duties involved could be worth it to Eastern Oregon, especially as it relates to the Oregon Legislature.

“I think it’s important that Eastern Oregon is represented,” he said. “I think it’s important that rural Oregon’s voice is heard; that they’re not always hearing from the individuals from the I-5 corridor or the big five counties.”

He admitted that the job will pose some challenges, like trying to work with 35 district attorneys to find agreement on a variety of issues. One issue the association will push for with the legislature is more funding to help victims of crimes.

“We are fortunate in Umatilla County,” he said. “We have what I believe is a strong victims’ advocate office, but that’s not how it is around the state. We’re fortunate with the commissioners that we have and the grant funding that we’ve been able to maintain, but we feel the state should be the one to fund this. This should not sit on grant dollars being able to fund it. This is a mandate by the state and if it’s mandated by the state, maybe the state should help with this.”

Primus said the organization is also going to ask the Oregon Legislature to provide funding to cover district attorneys’ offices efforts to monitor and maintain footage from police-worn body cameras. He also said he hopes to become recognized as a person who can help legislators make informed decisions on the day-to-day consequences of proposed legislation.

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Elkhorn Media Group

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