Editorial: Sheriff, DA candidates endorsed

Friday, Oct. 18, 2002 | 6:02 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Oct. 20, 2002

The voting public is fortunate to have four good choices in the races for Clark County district attorney and sheriff. The nonpartisan sheriff's race features Deputy Chief Bill Young and Capt. Randy Oaks, who seek to replace retiring Sheriff Jerry Keller. In the race for district attorney, the Democratic candidate, Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson, and the Republican candidate, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, are seeking to replace District Attorney Stewart Bell, who is a candidate for District Court judge.

As much as we like Oaks, who is a strong candidate and the type of person we like to see running for public office, we favor Bill Young for sheriff because of his breadth of experience. Young has been a street cop, a member of the SWAT team, and he has worked vice and narcotics. He has supervised detectives and the communication center. As a top Metro official he brought major improvements to the system of checking the backgrounds of potential Metro Police employees. Oaks, currently head of Metro's General Services Bureau, doesn't have the top-level executive experience that will allow Young to hit the ground running. The Sun endorses Bill Young.

In the district attorney's race, there is no question that Davidson is a well-qualified candidate. With 25 years of mostly administrative experience and having worked his way up to the No. 2 position in the district attorney's office, Davidson could be an effective district attorney. Much of the district attorney's job is administrative and Davidson could bring continuity and knowledge to the position. Roger, meanwhile, has spent 15 years in the courtroom as a prosecutor. He has successfully prosecuted many of Clark County's most high-profile and complicated cases. In our view, this experience is more valuable. We also like his idea of fighting the growing incidence of identity theft and other high-tech crimes by forming a cyber crimes unit. We see in Roger a candidate who has been outstanding in the area that defines the district attorney's office -- pros ecutions. He could be an invaluable mentor for the next generation of prosecutors coming up. The Sun endorses David Roge! r.