St. Louis County Attorney Melanie Ford Announces Plans to Run for Re-election

PRESS RELEASE

April 23, 2009 CONTACT: Melanie Ford
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email: melanie@votemelanieford.com

St. Louis County Attorney Melanie Ford says she will run for re-election in 2010 when her four-year term expires.

“I’m running for reelection in 2010 because I want to continue working on the critical projects I’ve begun,” Ford commented. “Those are projects like our efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of children of color involved in the juvenile justice system and the programs we have underway to keep children in school and away from drugs.”

Ford says she decided to run against former St. Louis County Attorney Alan Mitchell in 2006 in great part because it would give her the opportunity to do something positive for St. Louis County’s youth. “One of the statistics that troubled me most was the disproportionate number of minorities in St. Louis County who were incarcerated. I wanted to find ways to ensure that our justice system was fair and equitable.”

Now in her third year in office, Melanie Ford continues to make reversing the trend of that disproportionate detention a top priority.

Late in 2008, Ford convened a meeting of people involved in St. Louis County’s juvenile justice system to talk about how the system operates and how it could be improved. Joining them were officials from the Minnesota office of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and representatives of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. JDAI is one of the nation’s most effective and widespread initiatives for reform in the juvenile justice system, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation funds programs across the country to help meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.

Since that session, a large group of organizations and individuals has joined in this effort to improve the county’s juvenile justice system, including Arrowhead Regional Corrections, St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services, Bois Forte and Fond du Lac tribal representatives, elected officials, judges, school representatives, and agencies that serve youth. And St. Louis County has been selected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Minnesota JDAI to receive funding and technical assistance for the project.

“The funding will help us create a juvenile justice system that will be the best we can offer our children and our communities,” Melanie Ford said. “Our goal will be to keep those youth who are involved in the justice system in their own community and out of detention. It’s very expensive to incarcerate people, and studies show that troubled youth who are confined only have greater problems in the future.”

Ford says participants in the project will analyze the county’s existing programs, see what’s working well, and create successful reform strategies for approaches that aren’t working.

“While we recognize the need for detaining some juveniles, we want to eliminate the inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure detention,” Ford commented.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has invited Ford to be part of a panel discussion this summer in Washington D.C. on how juvenile justice professionals across the country can help reverse the unequal incarceration of minority youth.

Among County Attorney Ford’s top priorities as well is establishing more problem-solving courts to help past offenders remain law-abiding and save taxpayers money.

“I look forward to the opportunity to serve the citizens of St. Louis County for four more years,” Ford commented. “It’s very early, with the election well over a year away. But I wanted to let people know I have every intention of running for reelection. In the meantime, I have a critical job to do, alongside my dedicated and capable staff. I intend to continue to make that critical job my focus as we work together to make the most of our challenging budget circumstances, for the benefit of all St. Louis County’s citizens.”

St. Louis County Attorney Melanie Ford urges citizens across the county to contact her with their concerns and ideas. She can be reached at fordm@co.st-louis.mn.us or at 218-726-2323.