On Nov. 7, incumbent Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks and Steve Selby, his former chief deputy prosecutor, will be facing off in the election for prosecutor.

The winner will be responsible for upholding justice in Island County. Somewhat surprisingly, the race has turned from the candidates’ skills in the courtroom to a character debate instead.

The switch started early, with Republican challenger Selby launching an attack on Banks’ character soon after the prosecutor fired his right-hand man in April.

Banks was a micro-manager, Selby said of his Democrat opponent, and someone who managed the prosecutor’s office through intimidation. Selby said Banks had single-handedly wrecked morale in the prosecutor’s office.

Since April, the character attacks have continued. And Selby points to his endorsement by the deputy prosecutor’s labor union, a union made up of the office’s deputy prosecutors, as proof of the bad morale in the office.

In recent weeks, however, supporters of Banks have stepped up to defend him, while others are speaking out and calling Selby’s character into question.

Caroline Morse, an administrator in the prosecutor’s office and a contributor to Banks’ campaign, said the union vote to endorse Selby does not reflect the opinions of the entire office.

Morse said when the union vote was taken, the union consisted of only five members. Currently, there are seven deputy prosecutors and eight non-lawyer support staff, and there are now only four members of the union who participated in the official endorsement, Morse said.

She said the campaign has caused a stir, but people still work effectively as a team. Morale is good, she said, and it’s reflected by the cakes they share for birthdays and the potlucks that are put together for special occasions.

In recent weeks, Selby has said that Banks speaks disrespectfully to his employees, calling them “slaves,” “minions” or “monkeys.”

Arne Denny, a former employee, said he was offended by Banks’ jokes and e-mails. It was one of the reasons Denny left the office.

As proof, Denny presented an e-mail written in June by Banks, who was about to go on a vacation.

According to the e-mail, Banks wrote to his employees that he had left another deputy in charge and wrote, “And, if he says, dance, monkey, I suggest you start tappin’.”

Denny, a contributor to Selby’s campaign did not work in the office at that time.

“Banks thinks he is really funny, but he’s not,” Denny said.

Banks laughed when asked about the e-mail.

“It was a joke,” Banks said.

Banks said he has called himself a minion before, and recalled an intern who would call herself the “office slave.” After that, some people in the office would jokingly give her “slave assignments.”

Morse said most people in the office get Bank’s humor – Denny didn’t.

Banks’ relationship with his office staff became further fodder for the campaign trail after he hired an outside consultant to work with his staff.

Selby said he would improve communication in the office.

“I don’t need a $150-an-hour mediator to talk to people,” Selby said.

But after Selby was fired, Banks said the office appeared to split into two camps. As the department head and a political candidate at the same time, he believed it was important to bring in a neutral person in to iron out any problems.

Banks said he hired a facilitator, not a mediator.

“A mediator is a person who helps people achieve an agreed resolution to a defined dispute. Here, no one could even say what the dispute was because of politics,” Banks explained.

Banks added that the session was fruitful.

In recent weeks, others who have not been involved with either campaign have stepped forward to cast doubt about Selby’s character.

Six of his former neighbors in Long Point Manor wrote in a letter to the editor that Selby often yelled at his children and was rude to neighbors.

At least one neighbor called the sheriff because she was worried about Selby’s children.

According to the March 24, 2002 police report of the incident, the deputy found everything to be in order. Selby was washing dishes and the deputy heard him yell at his children to clean up their room, but the children appeared OK when they talked to the deputy.

In their letter, the neighbors — five of the six are not contributors to Banks’ campaign — said neighbors called Child Protective Services because they were worried about the children.

Kathy Spears, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said the office can neither confirm nor deny complaint calls that are made to CPS because it is forbidden by state and federal privacy laws.

Sarah Felger, a student at Chapman University where Selby taught criminal justice, said he belittled students and insulted students. Felger is a contributor to Banks’ campaign.

Selby discounted her story by saying thats she was a disgruntled student who got a bad grade.

To be sure, the campaign has created worried employees in the prosecutor’s office. Supporters of both sides have said that they fear being fired if the candidate they don’t support wins Nov. 7.

Current Chief Deputy Andrea Vingo bought an ad to share her concerns about Selby’s person and methods.

“Steve Selby will fire me if elected, but I wanted people to know,” she said.

Selby said one of the key problems for the prosecutor office is its the relationship with law enforcement.

Selby is endorsed by many local law enforcement groups, including the Oak Harbor Police Association, the Coupeville Marshal’s Association, Camano Island Firefighters, as well as Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley.

Banks is endorsed by his peers, and has picked up the endorsements of most of his fellow prosecutors in the state.

Selby said Banks makes it difficult for police officers and other county officials to work with the prosecuting office.

“You can’t talk to professional people like this,” Selby said.

Banks acknowledges that the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement have to work successfully together. But he also pointed out that the prosecutor does work for the people, not for police.

Banks said the role of the police is to keep the peace and investigate. The prosecutor office’s job is to guarantee justice.

Sometimes, he said, it can be frustrating to police officers when they are sent back to do more investigative work.

Banks said when he has sent officers back for further investigation, it had a purpose.

“It made the case better,” he said.

“The prosecutor’s role is not to do what the police want but to do the right thing,” Banks said.

He also said what Selby may call disrespect toward other county officials or police is simply someone doing the right thing.

“I am very proud of having stood up to other county officials, and calling them on improper actions. Too many of our county workers cannot speak out and expose these things, because their jobs could be in jeopardy,” he said. “I am in a unique position to call for accountability and open government, though there is certainly a political cost to doing that.”

“I’m talking about requiring officials to conduct open meetings, and respond in a timely and legal manner to public records requests. I’m talking about shining daylight on the county commissioners’ $300,000 no-bid contract with an outside planner/lawyer, when I had one my staff – an accomplished land-use litigator, and when they could have had a planner to do the work in house,” Banks said.

“I’m talking about demanding accountability from the sheriff’s office for mishandling and permanently losing tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursement checks from the state, while other county departments were laying off employees and reducing services,” Banks said.

“If someone inside of Coupeville doesn’t bring these events to light, the citizens will never know,” he said.