LINCOLN CITY — District Attorney Jenna Wallace warned this week that criminals are getting a free pass in Lincoln County because top officials want to punish the D.A. instead of lawbreakers!

Wallace told about 50 local residents at an open meeting of the Hilltop Patriots how her office has been gutted by resentful county officials at the highest levels who have withheld critical operating funds over past grievances.

“There is an impact on criminal prosecutions,” she said of the undeserved cutbacks. “Not as many crimes will be prosecuted, criminals won’t be held accountable and justice will be denied to victims.”

Authorized 32 employees, she has 10 unfilled positions — the result of a $4 million shortfall in county finances. Wallace said money already approved by the budget committee was “frozen” and that key employees were terminated without consulting the D.A. Among the empty chairs are three deputy prosecutors, a chief of staff, an in-house detective and a crime specialist who is needed for child sex abuse and other complex cases.

“I’ve asked for exceptions but they haven’t been granted,” said Wallace, a working prosecutor with a decade of experience who handles the toughest Measure 11 cases herself. “Our legal secretaries are moving us forward right now.”

In a cruel irony, the county sheriff was given funds to hire seven new deputies, although Wallace says she doesn’t have the resources to prosecute all the offenders they arrest.

The crisis comes at a time of rising crime in Lincoln County. Aside from the crush of 871 pending cases that have already been set for trial, her office is on track to handle a record 2,300 in 2025, compared to 1,800 cases in 2024. Lincoln County is recognized as a high-crime jurisdiction, its DUI, assault and property crime arrests boosted by the large numbers of tourists.

Elected in 2024 after her beleaguered predecessor resigned, Wallace acknowledged there was “a lot of animosity” between the former D.A. and the three-member county commission, which holds the purse strings. “Regardless of who was right or wrong, I went in hoping to mend bridges. I sat down with them and told them I didn’t want any bad blood.”

Wallace said she was told to fall in line and become a “yes man” like other department heads. She saw things differently, however.

“I’m elected, not appointed,” she stated. “All some people do is worry about holding on to their office, but I will do what I think is right. If I’m not reelected, I will walk away knowing I did the right thing.”

In her opinion, board chair Claire Hall “is making the decisions.” Enforcers are the county attorney and head of human resources while embattled commissioner Casey Miller “is kept in the dark.” Something of a cypher who is seemingly blind to the implosion of order and goodwill all around him, newly-appointed commissioner Walter Chuck wasn’t mentioned.

The Hilltop Patriots are an increasingly active and influential conservative group with new chapters in two other Oregon counties. The meeting was attended by a contingent of the Lincoln Co. Democrat party, whose leader invited everyone in the room to attend their monthly meetings, as well.