Two Democrats vie for job as top prosecutor
Voters in this June’s Democratic primary election will have to choose between two candidates for the position of district attorney in the Fourth Judicial District. No Republicans filed to run, placing more importance on the results of the primary election since the winner will run unopposed in November’s general election.
Tom Clayton and Brett Phelps both gathered signatures from at least 2 percent of registered Democrats in order to appear on the ballot this June 2. Clayton, of Las Vegas, is the current deputy district attorney. Phelps is an attorney and a contract public defender in Mora. Both are vying for the job as the top prosecutor for San Miguel, Mora and Guadalupe counties, a seat being vacated by Richard Flores who decided to not seek re-election after serving four terms.
Though born on the east coast, Clayton grew up on Railroad Avenue in Las Vegas. Clayton attended law school at UCLA in California, but following the birth of his son, he and his wife made plans to return to Las Vegas.
“We wanted him raised with his family, so we definitely made a conscious decision to come home,” Clayton said.
Clayton has spent the past 15 years working in the DA’s office. He said he’s proud of what he’s accomplished, that he’s gained lots of experience as a prosecutor and that he loves serving the community.
“I love being a prosecutor. It’s not work for me,” he said. “When you love what you do, it’s fun to come to work. And I really like serving in the capacity of working for the people. It really gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
But the job requires more than just legal knowledge, Clayton said, knowledge he said he’s gained from other positions he’s held.
“I think it’s important to note that I’ve also been an administrator,” he said. “Running a DA’s office isn’t just practicing law, you have to be an administrator as well, and I was the city manager for the City of Las Vegas for approximately two years, and I was also the executive director of the New Mexico Adult Parole Board for almost two years.”
Phelps too has long ties to the community. He grew up in Farmington and moved to Mora in 2010 to attend graduate school at Highlands University. He went on to law school at UNM in Albuquerque, but quickly returned to Mora.
“I love living here,” he said. “I made the conscious decision to come back because I do love it here. It’s the place I’ve chosen to make my home for the last 10 years.”
Phelps said he didn’t grow up thinking he wanted to become a lawyer, but an experience with a public defender at a young age helped place him on the path to law school.
“When I was 18, I was charged with possession of marijuana,” Phelps said. “I had a great public defender that helped me out. That was something I had a lot of respect for.”
Phelps said he understands some voters might be reluctant to elect a defense attorney to the role of prosecutor, but he said that his time as a public defender has given him a unique perspective for the job of district attorney.
“I’m able to see the humanity in people and understand that people are human and have real emotions and problems that they’re dealing with,” Phelps said. “What I would look at is ways to deal with more of the root causes (of crime) … I’m not going to go in there as a robot, just strictly looking at statistics of how to get as many convictions as possible, because frankly, that’s not doing anything to make people safer.”
Drug addiction and other crimes committed because of an underlying struggle with substance abuse is something both candidates acknowledge the next district attorney will have to address.
According to Clayton, it’s a topic that has closely affected him and his family.
“My godson — my nephew. He was addicted to drugs, and he died because of it,” Clayton said. “So I understand that we have to deal with drug addiction, and because of that, we have to work on treatment programs, we have to work on facilities, we have to work on diversion programs.”
Clayton is currently a team member of the Fourth District Court’s diversion program known as drug court. He said it’s given him a good perspective of the effect drug addiction has on people and their families.
“Conversely, those who sell this poison need to be held accountable. Plain and simple,” Clayton said. “It’s not rocket science. They need to be held accountable.”
Phelps too said he would like to see an increase in the use of diversion programs.
“When people commit crimes, they need to be held accountable, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But the way that things are getting done is not making people feel safer.”
Phelps said he’d like to see an increased use of existing services in order to stop criminalizing people struggling with poverty, substance abuse or mental health issues.
“I want to look at a more holistic approach of what public safety means — beyond just incarceration, beyond just locking people up … Looking beyond incarceration as a means to achieve this goal of public safety.”
