District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said the Governor would appoint a new district attorney for Van Buren and Warren Counties since the position will become vacant mid-term.
This comes on the heels of 31st District Attorney Christopher Stanford resigning Friday. Dunaway said the bare minimum requirements to be eligible are that you must be a licensed attorney and must reside in the judicial district for at least a year. Dunaway said experience is usually what the Governor looks for.
“I think the Governor would look for somebody who is qualified and has some leadership ability to take this,” Dunaway said. “Some experience, not a new lawyer. You don’t often see newly licensed lawyers or young lawyers appointed to these types of positions.”
Dunaway said the appointed district attorney will automatically be placed on the ballot for the next general election. Dunaway said the timing of the Governor’s appointment will play a key role in whether the voters of Warren and Van Buren counties will get to elect a district attorney in 2026.
“The timing of the Governor doing that is, of course, completely up to him,” Dunaway said. “We do have general elections in 2026 coming up, and it will depend on the timing of how quickly the Governor appoints someone to fill that vacancy as to whether the appointee will be on the ballot of 2026 or they will be on the ballot in 2028.”
Dunaway said the Governor usually appoints someone very quickly, but at times it has taken a couple of weeks. He also said there is a process in place to make sure things continue operating should the Governor not have an appointee before Stanford resigns.
“If the Governor has not appointed somebody to fill that vacancy by the 31 then what will happen is the trial judges in that district will appoint someone to act as a district attorney pro tem,” Dunaway said. “That’s kind of a temporary acting district attorney, and if that were to be the case, I would expect that one of the judges would appoint one of the current assistant district attorneys in that office to act as the acting district attorney until the Governor makes his appointment.”
Dunaway said when it comes to election time, the requirements to run for district attorney are the same requirements to be considered as a potential appointee.
