Top prosecutor, public defender clinch new terms without opposition
At noon Friday, the Treasure Coast’s top prosecutor, public defender and four judges were re-elected to office without garnering a single vote.
For a second time, State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, 57, breezed into a new four-year term without drawing a challenger before the week-long qualifying period closed at 12 p.m., election records show.
“It's humbling," Bakkedhal said shortly after noon Friday. "I'm very grateful to the citizens of the mighty 19th Judicial Circuit to continue to have faith in our ability to do our job.”
The Palm City Republican in 2020 was automatically elected to his first term as State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit after no one filed to oppose him.
Bakkedahl Friday noted significant adversity over the past four years in terms of hiring.
“Staffing issues are a tremendous problem,” he said. “But at the same time, my folks are working just beyond what I could ask of them — above and beyond overtime — they're trying cases, they're moving cases, we're protecting the public.”
The circuit includes Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.
Longtime 19th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Diamond Litty also was re-elected after no one stepped up to challenge her by Friday’s deadline.
“I’ve had opposition in the past, and it's not over until it's over," Litty said shortly after noon. "You hold your breath until the very last minute, which is what I've been doing.”
Litty, 67, a Republican who has only been challenged twice since her first election in 1992, will begin her ninth term in January.
She said she’s proud of what she called a “holistic approach to public defending,” which includes representing people in court as well as with additional support programs.
Bakkedahl and Litty, who both earn $212,562 a year, will be sworn in for a new term on Jan. 7, 2025.
Bakkedahl and Litty remarked about recruitment and pay for staff.
“I think people have lost faith in law enforcement and prosecutors, and they're not coming out of law school with the passion to become a prosecutor like they once did,” Bakkedahl said. “We know also, from talking to some of the kids that do come and apply for jobs, that the general consensus among the professors and the elites in the law school is that they're demeaning the role of the prosecutor.”
Bakkedahl said he is not going to prosecute innocent people, and will hold law enforcement accountable.
"That's going to be a big part of what I've got to do, over these next four years, to try to build back confidence, the public's confidence in what we do and how we do it,” he said.
Litty said retention and recruitment are issues for her, but in comparison to others she’s fortunate.
“We have a low turnover rate, despite the salaries that aren't the best and we have been able to retain people,” she said.
Judicial incumbents keep seats
Three 19th Judicial Circuit judges and one county judge were automatically re-elected to new 6-year terms Friday after they drew no challengers by the noon qualifying deadline:
19th Judicial Circuit, Group 3: Sherwood "Chip" Bauer
19th Judicial Circuit, Group 15: Anastasia Norman
19th Judicial Circuit, Group 19: Robert B. Meadows
Indian River County Judge, Group 2: Nicole P. Menz
There will be a competitive race in the Aug. 20 primary for Group 1 St. Lucie County Judge: Daryl "Ike" Isenhower will face Fort Pierce attorney Michael A. Etienne, Jr., county election records show.
Circuit judges earn an annual salary of $191,163, and county judges are paid $180,616 a year, according to court administrators.
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Top prosecutor, public defender clinch new terms without opposition
