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Last week, WW explored the role of Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in founding a program—the first in the nation, according to the judge that runs it—that allows people convicted of violent offenses to avoid prison time if they commit to behavioral health treatment (“Rolling the Dice,” Jan. 25). Schmidt won the county’s top prosecutor job with promises of reform—which he’s keeping with programs like this novel court, as well as a sentencing policy that follows the principles of restorative justice. But a backlash is forming: Over the weekend, administrative law judge and former Portland City Council candidate Vadim Mozyrsky told WW he may challenge Schmidt in 2024. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Joshua Marquis, via wweek.com: “At a time when murder and violent crime rates are at historically unprecedented levels, the response of freshman DA Schmidt is to go even further down the road of appeasement and catering to the most violent criminals.
“His ‘woo woo’ policies have brought blood and tears to Portland, while he walls himself off from press inquiries and loses murder trials at unprecedented rates.
“Retired DA John Foote has more hands-on experience than most of what remains of Schmidt’s senior staff—combined. Foote speaks an inconvenient truth: Murder is at unprecedented levels, and pandering to the worst violent felons didn’t work in the ‘70s and ‘80s, which is why voters twice overwhelmingly endorsed Measure 11 for the MOST violent crimes. “Schmidt isn’t betting his future. He’s always landed with a well-paying job and will when voters wake up in May of 2024 and vote him out. But the victims will stay raped and murdered, and these ‘programs’ that serve violent felons and their lawyers will rightfully fade into the trash can of history.”
pdxswearwolf, via Reddit: “So, the victim gets to pay for his own significant medical bills by begging his friends and family for money, and the perpetrator gets to become a sandwich artist and spend time with her kids. The victim’s family doesn’t feel like they’ve been served at all by this process, but that doesn’t seem to count for anything.
“For the people who support this kind of program, and other prison abolition-type things—do you honestly think this will lead to a better society in the long run? How much of our public safety are you willing to sacrifice to find out?
“For the people on the fence, is this really what you’d want to happen if you, or your loved one, or your friend was the victim of a violent crime?”
Matt McNally, via Twitter: “Republican consultants and big business interests are trying so hard to force Vadim into any position of power.”
Whoa Nelly, via wweek.com: “Hey, I say let’s give our cranky libertarians here what they want and vote [Mozyrsky] in. He’ll be a hot, unqualified mess and maybe they’ll get it out of their systems.”
Lisa Loving, via wweek.com: “It really does look like a bright and shiny new day for conservatism in Little Beirut.”
Lupinered, via Reddit: “Every other month, my office receives a letter from a man in Ohio who is convinced that Vadim Mozyrsky is the key to eliminating a ring of people smugglers who are operating across state lines in Minnesota and Iowa. The letters are generally handwritten and include some, uh, interesting drawings, in addition to photographs of allegedly trafficked individuals (occasionally, some of the pictures have stock image watermarks).
“My office is in no way affiliated with Vadim Mozyrsky.”
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland OR, 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com