County attorney race
Write-in winner’s pay may recruit successor
Staff writer
Michelle Brown isn’t asking for a raise now that she has been certified as winner of a write-in campaign for Marion County attorney.
She plans to ask county commissioners to cut her $94,750 to $98,568 annual salary and set aside the savings to help entice a new county attorney to move here in four years.
The money might be used to help pay a new law school graduate’s student loans or other costs, she said Saturday.
Brown, assistant Morris County attorney since May, was the top vote-getter. Her name was written in by 307 voters. David Graham, also running on a write-in campaign, got 136 votes.
Marion County has a shortage of lawyers. Longtime Marion and Hillsboro lawyer Bob Brookens retired last month, shuttering the county’s only full-time law office. He had attempted to sell his practice but found no takers.
Attorneys Brian Bina and Tim Karstetter have a Marion satellite office. Their primary office is in McPherson.
Besides being assistant Morris County attorney, Brown’s experience also includes working as a public defender and as a Geary County prosecutor.
Brown sees a need for a different outlook in the Marion County attorney’s office, with a prosecutor being an arm of the court and cooperative with law enforcement.
“I will do a good job in Marion, and I am looking forward to being there,” Brown said.
Two years ago, she retired from full-time work and has taken court appointments as a defense attorney in criminal cases and done guardian-ad-litem work.
She will continue to live at a Douglas County farm where she and her spouse operate an animal sanctuary.
Tallgrass Parrot Sanctuary began, as the name suggests, is a sanctuary for parrots. It now is home to 150 animals including parrots, pigs, geese, ducks, tortoises, and a horse.
Incumbent County Attorney Joel Ensey did not file for re-election after persuading county commissioners to increase his salary from $75,000. He had asked for $118,000, but commissioners set the pay at between $94,750 and $98,568.