Press release from the DA’s Office:

Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced today that she will not seek a third term as District Attorney in the 2022 election.  Fleming said: “It has been a privilege to serve the people of Humboldt County; I thank the voters for the opportunity.  I believe that during my tenure as D.A., the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office has made many important advances in its efforts to achieve justice and enhance public safety.  The current people in the Office are a dedicated, collaborative group that provides excellent service to the County – it has been an honor to work with them.”  

Please see the attached letter [reproduced below] District Attorney Maggie Fleming shared with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

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Here’s the text of Fleming’s letter:

January 7, 2022

To the amazing members of the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office,

I will not seek re-election as Humboldt County District Attorney this year, so my time in the job will end in early January 2023. At that point, my career will include 32 years as a prosecutor, 25 of those in Humboldt County,

Never in my wildest thoughts did I imagine being an elected District Attorney when I started in 1986 as a Deputy D.A. in Contra Costa County. I am humbled by, and appreciative of, the trust placed in me by Humboldt County voters.

I can’t thank each of you enough for all of your phenomenal contributions to what we have accomplished since the beginning of my first term in January 2015, including honoring the commitments I made as a candidate, to: consistently and vigorously represent the People of the State of California; improve the timeliness of justice; effectively communicate with all involved in criminal justice, particularly victims; conduct outreach efforts on crime prevention; and do all of our work with total disregard for political considerations.

I also thank you for the dedication, flexibility, and extra time and effort needed to advance the accomplishment of our mission to achieve justice and promote public safety by: collaborating with other agencies to form a team focused on assisting elder and vulnerable adults; developing an environmental task force; restructuring and increasing staffing for sexual assault and domestic violence cases; improving use of information technology to increase efficiency; productively collaborating with Tribal representatives and Tribal courts, and bringing the Victim Witness and Child Abuse Services offices into the courthouse to better support people affected by crime.

Your dedication has allowed us to stand up to many challenges which have included: a rapidly changing legal landscape; our inability to remain fully staffed, and the various pandemic-related constraints on our work. Because everyone here often went above and beyond, we were able to vigorously represent the People in every case, while respecting the rights of the accused and being respectful of everyone involved in the criminal justice process.

It has been an honor to work with you and I cannot express enough my appreciation for your work as advocates for victims and witnesses, investigators, office assistants, support staff, and prosecutors. I look forward to continuing our efforts to serve Humboldt County throughout the next year.

With gratitude,

[Signed]

Maggie