Ilsa Minor Daily Press Lauren Wickman, right, and Diane Kay-Hougaboom, candidates for Delta County prosecutor, take part in a recent voter forum in Escanaba sponsored by the Delta County League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

ESCANABA — Two candidates seeking the position of Delta County Prosecutor weighed in on the issues facing the community and the court recently.

Lauren Wickman (R), who currently serves as the acting county prosecutor following the resignation of Former Delta County prosecutor Brett Gardner earlier this year, and Diane Kay-Hougaboom (no party affiliation) shared their goals for the prosecutor’s office during a voter forum held last week in Escanaba. The forum was sponsored by the Delta County League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

When asked what their top three priorities would be in office, the two women showed stark differences in what they feel the prosecutor’s role is in the county.

Wickman identified the inner-workings of the prosecutor’s office as needing significant attention, stating she aimed to make a “self-sufficient, efficient and informed office” that would use grants and alternative funding sources to be as independent of the county’s budget as possible. She also said she wanted to use the office to offer more resources to crime victims and to inform the community of how the criminal justice system works.

In addition, Wickman, who was first appointed as the prosecutor’s office’s primary drug prosecutor in 2018, said her third priority was to target drug dealers within the community. She stressed the focus should be on dealers rather than those who are simply in possession of controlled substances.

Kay-Hougaboom also noted community drug use as one of her top priorities, but instead focused on reducing the “revolving door” of those convicted of drug crimes who are incarcerated for short periods, receive little or no treatment for their substance abuse issues, and return to jail or prison not long after their release.

She also stressed she wanted to focus on the victims of violent crimes and not allow offenders to plead down violent crimes such as rape or domestic violence. Her third priority was to put more emphasis on family cases involving foster care.

“Every ounce we put into those cases prevents crime in the future,” said Kay-Hougaboom, who noted in her introductory statement that she had started her career working with foster families and transitioned to criminal law because of the number of foster care recipients and families who ended up in the criminal system.

Both women stated they believed plea bargins have a place in the criminal justice system. Kay-Hougaboom reiterated her stance plea bargains should not be granted in the case of violent crimes and that the victims should be the primary driving factor in whether or not a deal is reached. Wickman, however, argued that the deals kept the court system functioning and that any accountability is better than no accountability for an offender.

“As a prosecutor, you have to open up your entire playbook. You don’t get to hold anything back, and so we have to look at and assess whether that case is triable, whether that case is winnable, and in looking (at) that, if I can have somebody held accountable — held accountable for years in prison — and the victim may not get their day in court, I’d rather have that than have them walk out the door,” said Wickman.

The discussion of how offenders should be sentenced continued with other questions asked at the forum. When asked about a prosecutor’s discretion within mandated sentencing guidelines, Wickman said she sees the guidelines as a tool to determine what is equitable, even when determining plea deals, and that she has rarely sought to exceed the guidelines.

Kay-Hougaboom expressed she would like to make the guidelines a more fundmental part of the bargaining process.

“What I would like to do is, through the plea bargaining process, look at each case individually, see if this is a case with aggravated circumstances or something more serious or if it’s a more simple case, and then agree to a sentencing within the bottom third of the guidelines, the middle third or the top third,” she said.

When the line of questioning circled back to drug prosecution, the differences between the two candidates views on offenders was highlighted.

Kay-Hougaboom told the audience that “users become dealers and dealers are also users,” and drawing a distinction between the two for the sake of prosecution may be arbitrary. Wickman, however, leaned on her history prosecuting drug crimes to say that identifying the greatest offenders was clear-cut.

“One of the things I’ve discussed with (law enforcement) over the years is targeting those drug dealers that are not the community drug dealers. Not the low-level dealers — the ones who are passing a baggie here and a baggie there — those that are bringing in the large quantities into our community from outside of this area,” said Wickman. “So I would like to seek and continue to seek out those individuals that are bringing in the three-ounces of methamphetamine, that are perpetuating and flooding our community with that poison. That’s something that I’ve taken great pride in, sending those people to prison.”