Pubdate: Sat, 21 Oct 2000
Source: Omaha World-Herald (NE)
Copyright: 2000 Omaha World-Herald Company.
Contact:  http://www.omaha.com/
Forum: http://chat.omaha.com/
Source: Omaha World-Herald (NE)
Author: Tara Deering
Bookmark: For Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act items:
http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm

JAIL, DRUG TREATMENT TOP ISSUES IN RACE FOR DOUGLAS BOARD

Carole Woods Harris hopes to be re-elected to the Douglas County Board so 
she can bring to light a tough issue she says the board hasn't fully addressed.

Her opponent, Jay Woods, says he should represent District 3 on the County 
Board because he has the scientific knowledge to tackle problems most 
commissioners don't even realize they will have to face.

Harris, a Democrat, is seeking her third term representing District 3, 
which covers a northeast portion of Omaha.
	
If re-elected, Harris said, her top priority would be taking a stronger 
leadership role in getting the board to address problems at the county jail.

"My greatest disappointment is that the board has not been open in trying 
to really understand what's going on at corrections," she said. "My guess 
is that I may be the only one who continually receives complaints about 
working conditions for the employees, as well as conditions for the inmates."

Harris said she believes the county should hire an outside agency to 
evaluate the jail's operations.

"In a facility where safety is one of the primary concerns, employee morale 
and conflict among key employees can be detrimental to safety," said Harris.

Harris, 60, a retired US West employee, ran unsuccessfully for City Council 
in 1989. "I didn't win, but it laid the groundwork for something else in 
the future," she said.

She served as chairwoman of the County Board in 1998. She currently serves 
as chairwoman of the board's administrative services committee and as a 
member of Ak-Sar-Ben Future Trust.

Harris said she enjoys being a county commissioner because it allows her to 
help make decisions that help the most vulnerable residents.

"I try to continually remind myself that I'm here because of the 
responsibility the county has to the citizens," she said.

Harris said she is most proud of the leadership she has provided concerning 
health and human services, especially through her involvement with the 
Eastern Nebraska Human Services Agency. She said she wants to make sure the 
Douglas County Health Department continues to provide services to the 
community.

"From time to time, people talk of privatizing the Health Department," she 
said, "but a county this size should have a public health department."

Woods, a Libertarian, said as a county commissioner he would urge the board 
to address the county's drug problem.

"The war on drugs is insane," said Woods, 57.

Instead of sending people who have been convicted of nonviolent drug 
offenses to jail, Woods said, they should be sent to drug treatment 
centers. However, in order to do this, he said the county needs to invest 
in more drug treatment centers.

"It's 10 times as effective to use drug treatment, instead of housing 
people in jail," he said.

Harris agreed, saying that "the drug court has proven to be an excellent 
example of how much we can do to divert people who don't need to be in jail 
away from being inmates in corrections." The drug court is where nonviolent 
drug offenders receive treatment instead of jail time.

Woods, who graduated from Stanford University in 1974 with a bachelor's 
degree in physical science, has worked for the U.S. Strategic Command and 
other federal and private agencies. He also has education in the fields of 
computer science, chemistry, molecular biology and statistics. He currently 
works as a computer consultant for area businesses.

Woods said he is concerned about the depletion of the world's natural 
resources. In the future, he said, the board will have to take a stand on 
whether electrical power that serves the county's residents comes from 
nuclear or coal plants.

"The board doesn't have the expertise to judge the difference," he said. 
"In terms of these kinds of problems, the board is less served by Carole 
Woods Harris. I think we are switching from a time when her skills were 
needed on the board to a time when someone like myself is needed." 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom