Here are Merced Sun-Star’s recommendations for district attorney, county schools chief
One of the key races in the June primary election in Merced County is for district attorney. The Sun-Star Editorial Board recommends voters choose Nicole Silveira, a lifelong county resident and a top prosecutor in the DA’s office.
That recommendation is not made lightly, given that it means yet another change in leadership in recent memory for county prosecutors.
Kimberly Helms Lewis, the current district attorney, captured the office four years ago when she ousted then incumbent Larry Morse II. She easily defeated him to become Merced County’s first female DA. Some local political observers think her win was more the result of an anti-Morse vote. He was embroiled in allegations of sexually harassing subordinates (which he denied), as well as ethical questions over his taking up a case despite the discovery of drugs and guns at a home where the son had been a renter. The residence was owned by Morse’s wife.
A change in leadership is called for because of Silveira’s commitment to bring back some basics to the DA’s office:
▪ She promises to restore legal analysts to help solve violent crimes. Analysts are prosecutor’s staff who work with local law enforcement agencies in investigating crimes. When Helms Lewis began her term, there were four to five such analysts coordinating with police and the sheriff, Silveira said. Now there is one.
Helms Lewis says funding cuts forced her to make tough choices in her budget, which ranges from $14 million to $16 million annually.
▪ Silveria says the DA’s Office has stopped taking the lead in large operations that utilize wiretaps to develop evidence against suspects. She wants to return the office to greater involvement in such operations.
Silveira noted that there has been a dramatic rise homicides in Merced County since 2018. The coroner’s office recorded 32 last year — the highest number in five years. Helms Lewis says the rise in crime was a pandemic-related phenomenon experienced in communities across the nation.
Helms Lewis told the Sun-Star Editorial Board that prosecutions have risen in her first term from what Morse brought. But much of casework came under criticism by the American Civil Liberties Union, which found Helms Lewis was prosecuting lower-level crimes that disproportionately put Black defendants behind bars rather than in more beneficial diversion programs. The ACLU called such a strategy a waste of resources.
Silveira has prosecuted eight homicide cases among the more than 30 jury trials she has handled. Among her responsibilities was taking gang members to trial. She was the first woman to be promoted to the position of supervising deputy district attorney.
She graduated from Atwater High School before attending Merced College and transferring to California State University, San Diego. Silveira earned her law degree at California Western School of Law in San Diego. She worked in private practice before joining the District Attorney’s Office in 2010. She was recognized as county Prosecutor of the Year in 2015, the first woman to win that award.
Among her endorsements, Silveira is backed by Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke. The Sun-Star Editorial Board adds its support to Silveira for district attorney.
County schools superintendent
Also on the June ballot is the choice for who will be Merced County’s superintendent of schools. Steve M. Tietjen has held that position since 2017, and thanks to his steady leadership, should get the chance to keep the post for another four years.
Before being appointed to fill out his predecessor’s term, Tietjen was the superintendent in Los Banos Unified School District for nine years. Dennis A. Areias, a former board member who worked with Tietjen in Los Banos, said this about him in a letter to the editor of the Los Banos Enterprise: “Through turbulent times in our district, he proved again and again he would do the right thing, even when it was not the most popular choice. He always puts students first.”
Among his accomplishments, Tietjen helped guide the 20 districts in Merced County through the COVID pandemic. The districts reopened for classes in the spring of 2021, Tietjen believing that children learned best in the regular classroom setting.
In another COVID response, Tietjen directed emergency preschool placements for the children of essential workers in the summer of 2020.
And all Merced County Head Start centers now offer full-day programs.
Altogether, Tietjen has nearly 30 years of education experience. He has a doctorate in education from USC.
Also running is Alberto Lopez Velarde, a principal in the Lodi Unified School District. A product of Merced schools, he has 32 years of experience in education, 24 as an administrator.
He wants to expand career technical education offerings, create a “character education” program and start a University High that allows high school students to take college courses so they can graduate with college credits.
Lopez Velarde should aim his ambitions first at a local district’s superintendent post. Tietjen is the best choice now for the county Office of Education.