I am an Assistant District Attorney for Augusta’s treatment courts. As a prosecutor, I employ accountability with compassion. I’m running for Cumberland County DA in the June 14 primary to deliver the criminal justice reform we voted for in 2018. If elected, I will advocate for treatment for substance use and mental health needs as a preferred alternative to incarceration. I will de-emphasize minor driving offenses, focusing instead on remedying violations. I will expand the use of restorative justice, and implement national best practices for cases involving underserved populations, including sexual assault, domestic violence, and hate crimes. Critically, I will provide data and transparency so that the work prosecutors do is finally accountable to the public, particularly to address unconscious bias. This is essential, as Black and brown people are investigated and prosecuted at rates vastly exceeding their population.

This is a strange primary. Jonathan Sahrbeck received 26% of the vote in 2018, winning only when the Democratic candidate abruptly withdrew. He just registered as a Democrat after my intent to run became known. Voter records show he was a Republican through the LePage years and the election of Donald Trump, unenrolling from the Republican Party just before his 2018 run for DA.

As I run, I am often told how much people hate politics and distrust politicians. I’m asked why I bother to run at all. It’s a question I have good cause to ask myself. I want to answer that here at home, where I’ve been a candidate, an elected Town Councilor, and Vice Chair of our local Democratic Party.

I became a Democrat after watching my conservative religious community reject my closest high school friend for being gay. I recognized my Republican roots opposed my basic bodily autonomy. I saw Democrats stand up for the powerless, and fight societal and environmental impoverishment against the interests of the wealthy few. At our best, we must stand up and fight for the public interest and against self-interest, even in the Democratic party, which can be hard. I base this on my experience.

Years ago, I ran in an open House Democratic primary. As that race heated up, Brunswick’s Town Council changed its conflict of interest provisions. The outgoing Council, oddly, made having a family member on Brunswick’s independent utility boards a conflict. Realizing my husband and I would be in this conflict two weeks later, when he replaced our outgoing councilor, I immediately offered my resignation. The Council asked that I remain as they reconsidered their policy. I did.

That May, this paper and the Press Herald suddenly ran headlines calling this an ethics issue. I lost the June primary by 10 votes. Only later was I advised to watch a replay of the Council meeting at which the rules were changed. I was startled to observe that it was my opponent’s son, then our town councilor, who’d proposed that revision. When specifically asked by the Council if anyone would be affected, he remained silent, voting for the proposal.

After the May headlines, I stopped doing doors for days, losing critical votes. I was humiliated — did people regard our family as unethical? Worse, I let that experience change us. Even after watching the replayed meeting, I retreated from our community as my one-time opponent finished his terms, choosing not to harm our town’s representation. In 2016, the inter-party battles within the Democratic primary tore natural allies apart, causing hard feelings and further eroding my sense of political community.

Given all that, why stay an active Democrat, let alone run in a primary with the very strong likelihood of facing additional attacks?

I have learned that wherever there is power, in every party, religion, or workplace, there will naturally be those who act from ambition. But disengaging and staying silent when there is work to be done is impossible. In every sphere — racism, bias, climate, incarceration, poverty, the looming biodiversity crash — there are powerful interests working against the public interest. Too much urgently demands change. Too few of us stand up.

Win or lose, I get to push the agenda towards greater accountability, justice, and compassion. Win or lose, I proudly run as the only candidate who has lived my Democratic values with passion and conviction, and who will center them as a leader.

James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” It’s time to face the urgent need for change, to push towards greater justice everywhere we can, to face our daunting challenges whatever the cost to each of us individually. There is simply no time to spare.

Jackie Sartoris is a former town councilor and state senior planner. A current assistant district attorney in Kennebec County, she is running to be Cumberland County District Attorney in the June 14 Democratic primary.

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