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A record of accomplishment

JULIANNE HOLT: Democrat, Hillsborough Public Defender

Incumbent Julianne Holt faces the most formidable challenge of her career in opponent William Knight. Knight is a top-notch trial lawyer with a passion for criminal defense. He offers voters the tempting chance to start fresh in an office scarred by controversy. Like Knight, this newspaper has criticized Holt for what we saw as an unacceptable pattern of ethical lapses. Yet, for all her mistakes, Holt has built a solid record of accomplishment that continues to benefit indigent clients and the broader community. It should not be sacrificed lightly.

The state's most investigated public defender, Holt, 50, is also among its most successful. Now in her third term, she has brought award-winning efficiencies to the office and leads the state in reduced reliance on outside attorneys. Her office tries more cases than nearly every other circuit, winning a favorable result more than half of the time.

Holt works hard to keep indigent criminals crime-free, not just out of jail. She was the first public defender in the country to launch a "restorative justice" program that links clients to jobs and services, enhancing their ability to pay restitution while reducing the likelihood of repeat offenses. That Holt has so intrigued businesses and budgetmakers speaks to her leadership in the community. For more than a decade, she has been at the table during the development of local juvenile and public-safety policy and shared a perspective, based on her work and the needs of her clients, the community might not otherwise have heard.

Knight, 36, says he has reservations about Holt's "holistic" programs, particularly those that assist clients after trial has ended. A longtime Democrat who switched parties to run against Holt, he may be more susceptible to pressure from his adopted party to shift funding away from these services - even when his own experience should remind him of their worth. The great-grandson of Tampa Electric founder Peter O. Knight, Knight spent five years in Holt's office, becoming felony lead attorney before venturing into private practice in 1998.

Earnest and professional, Knight has focused on what he considers Holt's major vulnerability: a management style that drives talented attorneys out the door. State data confirm that Holt's office routinely posts the worst or second-worst turnover rate among Florida's six largest circuits. Many factors, including higher salaries in the private sector, play a role - though none sufficiently explains why Holt's rate is so out of whack with the rest of the state.

More troubling than the numbers is Holt's insistence that she has no control over (read: no responsibility for) the problem. If she wins a fourth term, Holt would do well to reflect on how her own policies and practices may be partly to blame. (Even State Attorney Mark Ober had turnover last year lower than Holt's, and his, unlike hers, is on the decline.) That sort of soul-searching has not been Holt's strong suit. Even after the two state-ethics and one grand-jury probe launched during her first two terms - no charge ever stuck, for various reasons - Holt showed little of the humility one might expect. But we have seen Holt moderate her ways as she and the courthouse environment have matured. For Hillsborough Public Defender, the Times recommends Julianne Holt.

The Times offers candidates not recommended by its editorial board an opportunity to reply. Replies should be sent no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday to: Philip Gailey, editor of editorials, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Fax: 727 893-8675. They can also be sent through our Web site at www.sptimes.com/letters/ Replies are limited to 200 words.