Voters Choose Steve Kunzweiler For Tulsa County District Attorney

Steve Kunzweiler will be Tulsa's new district attorney. He will take over for his current boss, Tim Harris. Kunzweiler defeated Representative Fred Jordan in Tuesday's special election.

"Our community has always looked to have a strong public servant in the district attorney's office who's got the experience to lead," Kunzweiler said at his victory party.

"I want to do this job. It's been my heart and my passion."

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Kunzweiler led with 56 percent of the vote to Jordan's 44 percent.

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Kunzweiler, currently assistant DA for the county, has spent his 25-year career as a prosecutor. Twelve of those years have been in Tulsa. Kunzweiler ran on a platform of experience within the system of the prosecutor's office.

“It takes leadership, and that leadership has to come from experience. This is not a job you can just step into," he said in a campaign debate.

Kunzweiler developed the DA's program to use therapy dogs to comfort child abuse victims and accompany them to court to testify. He supports alternatives to incarceration and treatment for non-violent crimes through Drug & DUI Court, Veteran's Court, Women in Recovery and Mental Health Court, the website states.

10/8/2010 Related Story: Tulsa D.A. Therapy Dog Offering Courtroom Comfort To Victims

Kunzweiler is married to Dr. Christine Kunzweiler, a Tulsa veterinarian. The couple has three children. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa School of Law in 1988.