The Wichita Women Attorneys Association Monday night held a candidate forum for the judicial and district attorney races in Sedgwick county.
The DA race and 5 judicial races will be decided in the Republican Primary.
The forum held at the Hughs Metroplex on the WSU campus featured candidates from the six contested judicial races, and the two candidates for District Attorney.
Republicans Kevin O’Connor and Marc Bennett are running for the spot that will be vacated by DA Nola Foulston who is retiring after 24 years of service. The race will be decided in the primary.
Marcia Wood, president of the Wichita Women Attorneys Association asked the District Attorney candidates what challenges they foresaw in taking over an office run by the same person for more than two decades, and what changes they would make.
Marc Bennett said the office would benefit from a new person.
“Overcome just some of the status quo, we’re going to have a new DA for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president, it’s a long time, but we are going to have someone new, with renewed energy and renewed willingness to work with different agencies in town,” said Bennett.
Rival Kevin O’Connor took the time to reiterate Bennett’s comments and further attack the current DA.
“There is a general air of complacency in that office and that is what I hear from people when I talk to them, I talk to defense lawyers, I talk to law enforcement officers, I talk to judges and I hear common complains about how that office is run,” said O’Connor.
The race for district attorney, along with five of the six contested judicial races, will be decided in the August 7 primary.