Hennepin County attorney primary/Saraswati Singh: I'm running because I care about our community

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My name is Saraswati Singh (pronounced sir-swa-tea) and I'm running for Hennepin County attorney.

The Hennepin County attorney is the top prosecutor and I'm a prosecutor. I handle murder, sexual assault, carjackings, domestic violence cases and everything in between. I advocate for justice every step of the way, including at jury trials and sentencings.

I'm running because I care. I live here, I work here and I love it here. I want to use my passion, skills and experience to make our community safer by making our criminal justice system more fair.

We have a rare opportunity to elect a new Hennepin County attorney. This will impact who, what and whether people are charged, including police officers. This will impact whether we're effectively addressing violent crimes. This will impact whether we address racial equity in the criminal justice system.

I've spent years fighting for justice in the courtroom. I handle the toughest cases as a prosecutor, working closely with victim-survivors on a daily basis in one of the largest counties in Minnesota. I work with little kid victim-survivors all the way to older folks, plus business owners, refugees and people of all ages, races and genders.

I have the leadership and management experience critical for the job. I was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz to oversee a state agency. We represent about 300,000 Minnesotans and as vice chair, I set vision, and manage staff and the budget.

I've run a government affairs department. As a prosecutor in a County Attorney's Office, I recruit, hire and train attorneys. I was nominated by my colleagues and received the County Attorney's Office Public Service award for leading difficult conversations on race and the law after George Floyd was murdered. Management recognized my work and for simultaneously handling a full caseload that included violent crimes. As a result, I was awarded the highest promotion a trial attorney could receive at the County Attorney's Office.

I've been elected to four terms as co-president of the American Constitution Society-Minnesota Lawyer Chapter, earning a national leadership award, overseeing prosecutors, defense attorneys, civil attorneys and handling personnel issues. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, magna cum laude.

I have the life experience critical for this job. As a person of color, I've experienced discrimination inside and outside the system and so have my parents and grandparents. The inequities of the criminal justice system is not theoretical or "data" to me. There are some life experiences you can't teach. We need someone with these lived experiences to effectively work toward a more fair justice system.

My priorities are public safety, racial equity and police accountability. Informed by my life experiences, I understand that the criminal justice system cannot deliver on public safety and justice without addressing all three at the same time.

We deserve a safe community for all Hennepin County residents. At this historic time, I'm here to meet the moment. I'm an experienced prosecutor, a Hindu and the daughter of Indian immigrants. I'm ready to be your next Hennepin County attorney.