Carroll County Attorney, John Werden, is running unopposed for his sixth term in office. Though he is disappointed he won’t be facing a challenger, he says he is proud to continue working in a profession that answers to a higher power.
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He says this is one way people don’t often think about the office. They may lose track of witnesses, witnesses may remember things differently at trial and sometimes the evidence doesn’t go quite how you think it is going to go, but that is all just part of the process, Werden says. He thoroughly enjoys his work and the other people committed to doing their jobs very well, even the caseload.
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He says that domestic abuse is another area of the law that has dramatically changed during his tenure.
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After being in this position for so many years and working his way up the totem pole, he is enjoying serving on committees at the state and federal level and in development of criminal justice policy, planning and reform. As he looks back, he points to what he sees as the biggest change of attitude and change in the law that has resulted in saving the most lives.
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And though second-guessing what has been done in the past is human nature, Werden can’t say he has a lot of regrets. What he does have is respect for the system of checks and balances. As he looks to the future, he says there are some serious policy discussions needed in Iowa on costs of prisons and prison populations. There is now a bit of an alliance between conservatives like Werden, who want to see a “bigger bang for their buck” along with improvements in other aspects of the prison system, and those interested more in social justice issues, who would like to see a reduction in the number of people in prisons. They are all starting to take a hard look at the cost effectiveness of the system, Werden says, and are working on a pending recommendation to remove prison as a sentencing option for some misdemeanors. Werden, who says partisanship has no place in the justice system, is asking for the votes from all parties in the Nov. 8 election. He has three children: Chase, a financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual in Carroll; Meridith, who is in her second year of nursing school; and Madison, a senior at Kuemper High School.