Tulsa County District Attorney Candidates Go Head-To-Head

Tulsa County's district attorney race is heating up as a debate between the two candidates was held Friday afternoon.

The two candidates have very different backgrounds, so the two talked about how their varying experiences qualify them for the job.

With current Tulsa County District Attorney, Tim Harris, looking on, the candidates hoping to fill his 16-year legacy spoke about what the future should hold for the prosecutor's office.

7/25/2014 Related Story: Court Rules Fred Jordan Can Run For Tulsa County District Attorney

“This District Attorney's race is about a new generation of leadership and a new vision for Tulsa and Tulsa County,” said Candidate Fred Jordan.

Candidate Steve Kunzweiler said, “It takes leadership, and that leadership has to come from experience. This is not a job you can just step into.”

Experience is what Kunzweiler said sets him apart from his opponent. Kunzweiler is the county's current assistant district attorney, and he’s spent his entire career, 25 years, as a prosecutor, 12 of that in Tulsa.

“It's an ever-evolving dynamic in prosecution, and we're always gonna have to do some adaptive things,” Kunzweiler said.

Jordan said his broad range of experience brings a fresh perspective that the county needs. He’s served in the Oklahoma State House for the past eight years and before that, he was a Captain and prosecutor in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“It's time for new ideas, it's time to just change the way the office is operated. Change the way the teams are structured. Change the way we process a case from start to finish,” Jordan said.

The change that tops the list is reducing crime rates. Jordan said it's all about relationships with law enforcement.

“One of the things I want to dedicate myself to is having a regularly with all of the law enforcement agencies in Tulsa County. Believe it or not, that's not happening today,” Jordan said.

Kunzweiler said his relationships are already strong, and said people shouldn't necessarily point a finger at the prosecutor's office for the high crime rate.

“Our local community and local law enforcement do a fantastic job. They need the money to fully staff their departments and if you get fully staffed departments, then you're gonna have more officers on the street catching the bad guys who are getting away with it,” Kunzweiler said.

There is no democratic candidate in the race that will be decided during a runoff election August 26th. 26th.

There will be at least one more debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Tulsa and the Tulsa County Bar Association at 1446 South Boston, starting at 7:00 Wednesday night.

The debate is open to the public.