The Office of Hennepin County Attorney Needs Saraswati Singh
Mike Freeman, the current county attorney for Hennepin County, has wisely decided not to run again for the position. Now we have a real race for who occupies this vital office. I am asking you all to support Saraswati Singh, by far the most qualified candidate for Hennepin County Attorney.
But first, I will (briefly) explain what the office of county attorney is and why it is so important.
What a County Attorney Does
Broadly speaking, a county attorney (more commonly known as a district attorney or DA across the country) is responsible for representing the local government, most often the county government, in court. For example, if a local government needs advice on a civil matter, the county attorney will often be the source of said advice.However, the most important job a county attorney has is being the chief prosecutor in the jurisdiction. In addition, many county attorneys’ offices will provide support for victims of crime, both so they can testify in court and so they can recover.
Some who hold this office will at times attempt to divert people away from being incarcerated while still holding them accountable. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, my county attorney, has developed a well-earned reputation for making the criminal justice system here fairer by using diversion programs for low-level and young offenders.
Needless to say, I am quite a fan of County Attorney Choi.
The office of county attorney is a powerful one. The person holding this office plays a significant role in deciding what types of crimes get prioritized. But the office may also play a role in finding better alternatives to incarceration, and it can even provide protection to the most vulnerable in certain conditions.
This position matters a great deal because the county attorney has an immediate and immense impact on how a criminal justice system operates in a given area. As shown by John Choi, the right county attorney can go a long way toward making a criminal justice system much more just. The wrong one can make a bad situation worse—ask the family of Ahmaud Arbery how helpful their DA was when Arbery was murdered.
The Stakes
With about a fifth of Minnesota’s population living in Hennepin County (Minnesota has about 5.7 million residents), who occupies this office has statewide consequences.Moreover, the credibility of the Hennepin County Attorney’s office is at stake thanks not only to George Floyd’s murder and Daunte Wright’s killing, but decades of the office hurting residents of color with racist policies, priorities, and practices. In Hennepin County (like the United States as a whole), your money and, more importantly, your skin color determines how you are treated, either as a defendant or a victim of a crime.
At the same time, violent crime, especially murder and carjackings, are on the upswing in the Twin Cities. Moreover, the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, like the legal system as a whole in Minnesota, has an abysmal record when it comes to dealing with sexual assault.
And thanks to the legal system letting a white man with a gun get away with terrorism and murder (again), confidence in the legal system is going downhill and far-right terrorists have just been emboldened. But the rot of the legal system is being exposed at long last.
Hennepin County’s next county attorney must be able to deal with crime, hold violent offenders accountable (no matter their background), and make the criminal justice system more humane and effective.
Fortunately, someone running for Hennepin County Attorney has already done all of that.
Her name is Saraswati Singh.
How I First Met Saraswati
I first met Saraswati Singh just over two years ago during a MYDFL screening in order to endorse either then Representative Raymond Dehn or current Representative Esther Agbaje at the New Brighton Library for the House District 59B race (Representative Agbaje won the primary). Truth is, I was expecting to vote for Representative Dehn because I knew of his work in the Minnesota House as solid and considered him to be a good representative. In addition, the Trump White House convinced me of just how important experience is—which means that I was (and still am) biased toward DFL incumbents unless they have proven themselves a liability (see the race between current Representative Athena Hollins of House District 66B and her opponent last year for what I mean by liability). Then Representative Dehn did a good job during the screening, but Agbaje knocked it out of the park.During the discussions, Saraswati asked both Dehn and Agbaje questions about sexual assault and how they should handle it. Dehn’s answer was good, but Agbaje’s was just better. I was also quite irritated when one of the people brought up Agbaje’s past as an attorney for a big law firm as a reason that she should not get the endorsement because it reeked of racist and classist double standards.
What pulled me more over to endorsing Agbaje during the second round of voting was the case that Saraswati made to me and the people deciding on the endorsement. Saraswati impressed me that much. Representative Agbaje getting denied the endorsement over an unfair technicality afterwards helped me vote for her as well during the second round.
Timing matters a bit too. I had just read Know My Name by Chanel Miller, and knowing Saraswati was good at prosecuting sexual assault cases caused me to take her arguments for Agbaje that much more seriously. I would have already been persuaded because of how excellent she was at the screening, but I was especially receptive then because of what I had recently read.
The Case for Saraswati for Hennepin County Attorney
Saraswati is an experienced prosecutor who has tackled some of the most emotionally demanding cases in the criminal justice system. She has held murderers, rapists, domestic abusers, and other violent offenders accountable for their actions in court, especially when no one has held them responsible before. As the only successful prosecutor running for the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, she is the one candidate who can credibly claim to have held violent offenders answerable for their misdeeds.At the same time, Saraswati is the only candidate running who has actually carried out policies as a prosecutor to make a county attorney’s office more fair-minded. While working for Ramsey County Attorney John Choi as an assistant county attorney, she has helped to rehabilitate people who both need it and want to get better via treatment courts and counseling.
Moreover, Saraswati has the leadership skills needed to overhaul the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, leadership that has been missing for quite some time.
Saraswati knows the system from all the needed angles, especially as the only person of color running for the Hennepin County Attorney’s office. She mentioned that as a law clerk, she was the only nonwhite person in the room besides defendants.
To conclude, not only is Saraswati the only candidate with the necessary skills and legal experience for this position, but she is also the only candidate with the life experience to understand the racist practices firsthand.
Amateur night is for the comedy club, not when people’s safety or the integrity of the legal system itself is at stake. The situation is too grave for any on-the-job training.
I am asking everyone to spread the word about Saraswati’s run for Hennepin County Attorney and to please donate as much as possible (maximum donation is $250 for this year).
I will include the usual links below.
Hennepin County needs Saraswati now more than ever. I am sending a request for help.