Alley, Randolph face off in Hill County attorney race - Randy Randolph

Local private attorney Randy Randolph will be on the ballot in the upcoming Democratic primary race for Hill County Attorney.

Randolph faces Deputy Hill County Attorney Karen Alley in the June 5 primary.

Incumbent Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson opted not to run.

Cole-Hodgkinson was appointed in 2016 after then-County Attorney Gina Dahl resigned to take a job in Billings.

No Republican or Independent has filed for the position, so the winner of the primary will be unopposed in November.

Randolph said he decided to run for county attorney because he thinks the office needs a change in the way it handles cases and staff and needs to be more responsive to the public.

He said that, as a private attorney, he has been frustrated in the last few years because he has trouble getting in touch with anyone from the office.

Randolph said he has extensive experience in civil and criminal litigation, as well as significant ties to the community. An enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, he said he also is sensitive to the needs of Native Americans.

If elected, Randolph said, one of his main goals is to make the office more open and approachable to the public and more responsive to victims of crime.

Randolph said the office needs to better communicate with the public having more of a presence in the office.

The next county attorney will inherit a large caseload, something that Randolph said he has experience with. He said he is now dealing with 150 active cases through his practice. He said that he has run numbers from the past seven or eight years and discovered that there has not been a significant surge in the numbers of criminal cases filed. He said the office will have to determine which cases are right to be filed and which are not.

Past county attorneys used to resolve cases much earlier in the process, but now are only getting resolved when they are on the verge of going to trial, Randolph said. He said he could get cases resolved by putting plea offers out sooner.

Randolph said as the owner of a law firm for the last 19 years he has the administrative experience with staff issues, maintaining an office budget and dealing with other offices.

He has also served on the Little Shell Tribal Council as a general manager and secretary treasurer.

Randolph said that, if elected, he wants to focus on more rehabilitative measures rather than punitive measures for most cases. He said he would want to help people with limited criminal histories get help so they would be less likely to reoffend. Many times people brought up on charges have addiction issues and there are many services that include traditional, faith-based and cultural elements that can help them.

He said that he thinks more of those options should be explored.

He said he also wants to look at why such a high percentage of people facing charges in the county are Native American, something, he added, that the staff of the governor asked him about when he was attending events in Helena.

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Randy Randolph

Date and place of birth: Sept. 6, 1973; Havre

Education: Graduated from Havre High School, 1991; Juris Doctorate, University of Montana School of Law, 1999; Bachelor of Arts, political science, Montana State University,1996

Work history: Attorney, owner of Randolph Law Firm, former court administrator for the Chippewa Cree Tribal Court

Family: Sarah, wife; two children

Political experience: Democratic primary candidate for Hill County Attorney in 2004 and 2010; finalist for the position of judge in judicial district 17