Galveston County DA Roady announces he won't seek re-election • Roady endorses Kayla Allen to be county’s next district attorney Just days after the 2024 party primaries concluded, Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady provided the first salvo of the 2026 election season. Roady, among several countywide candidates elected to office in the 2010 Republican sweep, announced Friday (2/8/2024) that he won't seek re-election in 2026. In making his announcement on social media, Roady announced he will be backing his soon-to-be First Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen to be the next Galveston County DA. Allen, in her own social media post, confirmed she will seek the Republican nomination to be district attorney. Roady spent 10 years as a Harris County trial and appellate prosecutor. The Santa Fe resident was elected to his first term in 2010, partly pledging to create a public integrity division within the DA’s office to prosecute criminal activities by elected and public officials. That division was quickly flooded with complaints and has come under fire often for not acting more aggressively against public officials. Roady was also a supporter and facilitated the creation of the county’s first Veterans Court and the first-ever Drug Court. The Veterans Court works with military veterans facing criminal charges to seek drug and alcohol treatment versus going to jail. The Drug Court is a similar concept in that prosecutors and judges work with drug addicts to seek rehabilitation and treatment to avoid jail time. Roady is chair of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association and appointed member of the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit. In 2016, he was named Prosecutor of the Year by the State Bar for his work to ensure the reliability of forensic DNA evidence in criminal cases. “When I finish this fourth term in office if the Lord wills, I will have been in public service for 26 years – 16 as your elected District Attorney and 10 as an Assistant District Attorney,” Roady wrote. “It has been a privilege to be in public service this long, and I’m so very grateful for the trust placed in me by the people of Galveston County.” In endorsing Allen, Roady said, “It is critically important to transition this office into the best and most capable hands. I can say with great confidence that we have someone within our office who is ready to take over and lead our excellent team to even greater things.” “Kayla is imminently qualified for this role. She is a top-tier trial attorney whose skills have been recognized across the State. She’s a leader within the office, mentoring our hard-working lawyers and helping to guide our office through some difficult times.” Allen joined the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office in 2004 after working for her late uncle’s civil practice for a year. She’s a 2003 graduate of Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall Law School after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. She's worked in each division of the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, including stints as the head of the felony division chief prosecutor for child and elderly abuse, vehicular crimes division, and the lead of the juvenile crimes division. She is scheduled to become the new First Assistant District Attorney next month when long-time prosecutor Kevin Petroff retires. Allen and Petroff recently worked together and secured a guilty verdict and three life sentences for Corvette Concepts convicted murderer Jesse Dean Kersh. Allen was also one of the prosecutors in the 2011 murder trial of Travis James Mullis, who was convicted of crushing his 3-month-old son's head with his foot to make him stop crying in Galveston in 2008. Allen, who said she would be seeking the Republican Party nomination to be DA, if elected would be the first woman to have ever serve as the county’s top prosecutor.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2024-03-08 14:09:22 UTC