Update: See Video Of Leigh Anne Manlove’s KGAB Interview
Cheyenne attorney Leigh Anne Manlove says is she is elected Laramie County District Attorney she will work to bring stability to the office and improve the conviction rate in cases handled by the office.
Manlove, who is a Republican, threw her hat in the ring on Saturday.
She is the first official candidate for the office, which is currently held by Republican Jeremiah Sandburg. Sandburg, who was first elected in 2014, has not yet said whether he will run for another term as D.A.
During an appearance Monday morning on KGAB-AM in Cheyenne, she said she would "really like to see some stability returned to that office. There is some chaos."
Manlove, while not specifically mentioning Sandburg, said there has been a high turnover among the attorneys in the office. ''I don't know the reasons for that, I'm not in that office, but there has been a lot of turnover just in the prosecutorial staff" Manlove said.
She also said the office's conviction rate is not what it should be. ''Your job is to hold people accountable, and I don't see that happening the way I think it should be" Manlove said.
When questioned by a caller about her stance on marijuana enforcement, Manlove said she doesn't support decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot "because that's not what the law is." She went on to say the District Attorney only enforces the law, rather than writing the law.
But she also added she doesn't support decriminalizing pot in Wyoming because it remains illegal under federal law. However, she also said ''we have much bigger issues" than pot use in Laramie County. Manlove is currently in private practice in Cheyenne.
She is a University of Wyoming Law School graduate and worked as a prosecuting attorney under former Laramie County District Attorney Scott Homar from 2010 until 2015.