100 percent Committed to Del Norte County, says District Attorney
Del Norte County District Attorney Katie Micks is moving. Is that newsworthy? Yes and No…Kind of depends on where you are moving to and does the move compromise the ability to legally serve.
The Triplicate has learned the DA has sold her substantial home in Del Norte and she has bought another home in Eureka, and yet is moving to an apartment located in Del Norte.
No, this is NOT a separation/ divorce situation. The family is quite intact. DA Micks husband and middle school-aged son are moving to Eureka, Micks’ old home town and take care of Micks’ mother who is sadly losing her eyesight.
Micks says she will reside in an apartment whose location will not be disclosed by The Triplicate. Micks says 100 percent she will maintain her residency in Del Norte for the next 3 ½ years, until her six year term ends the first week of January 2029. And she will draw her salary, pension and benefits plan estimated to be $180,000 per annum.
The move will effectuate in mid-July but did not seem credible.
The Triplicate sought clarification of the interesting dynamic of the Micks’ move in separating herself for perhaps as long as 42 months while her mother needed family assistance.
As the meeting began, DA Micks invited Chief Investigator A.C. Field to sit in. The Triplicate was not quite sure why Investigator Field was in the room; this was about a clarification of a family matter, not a criminal issue. Or was it?
When asked to explain the downsizing move. Micks chimed in “What’s the big news here. I’m moving. I’m committed to the job I love and the people I serve.” Micks went on to say how difficult it remains to attract qualified candidates to fill vacant district attorney positions. Field quipped how difficult it is to recruit qualified law enforcement offices. What did these conflated discussion issues have to do with the DA’s move? Qualified residency to serve in the elected position of Del Norte County District Attorney remained the issue.
The Triplicate asked the following question: “District Attorney Micks. Are you saying your family is moving to Humboldt County to take care of your mother?” “Yes!”
Are your moving you child away from his friends and dis-enrolling your son from Crescent Elk Middle School because you are not happy with the education quality at Crescent Elk? “I have no issues with Crescent Elk,” said Micks.
“My primary residence will be noted in my newly negotiated leased unit retorted Micks. I am committed to Del Norte.”
The Triplicate realized why Investigator Field was present. DA Micks does have some legal experience in residency prosecution for candidates seeking political office positions. Many in the community felt City Councilor Alex Campbell and appointed Sheriff Randy Waltz were over prosecuted with felony / perjury charges and faced up to seven years prison sentences for perceived residency violations. Both office holders stepped down incurring substantial legal fees in the process and followup expungement of felony hearings.
Campbell successfully expunged the perjury charge and offered a terse “No Comment” to the Micks matter.
In his defense, appointed Sheriff Waltz also disputed the filing of election papers and successfully conducted an expungement matter and contested the event. He actually filed election papers at the County election office and used the negotiated lease in Smith River, before he would take his Oath, IF he won. Waltz said he simply followed the advice from Del Norte County Counsel on the filing protocol; nonetheless, he did resign after incurring substantial legal costs and a promise of $70,000 legal fees if he went forward with a jury trial.
Field was in complete offense mode, “The two cases you cite were felony perjury charges. Katie has committed no crime.”
The Triplicate did not claim the questionable Micks move was a criminal matter. The interview might be an ethics matter of not actually residing in Del Norte with a paper lease only. Then the issue of residency of Alex Fallman emerged. The young Fallman, a Humboldt State University student, with a County address filed his City Council papers at an address on 4th St. Fallman stated he was renting a room in the home, a fraudulent statement. Alex Fallman’s name was also noted on the mail box on a building on F St. Both were City addresses. The Humboldt University student lived in neither. When this exigent information was shared with Micks and Field, both claimed they had no knowledge of the young Fallman’s disqualifying residency status, while serving a full term on the Crescent City Council.
The Triplicate then asked if either Micks or Field read the newspaper. Both said they do not read the paper. Really? Then DA saw the error of her statement and said she reads the paper online.
Not to conflate yet another distraction to the subject matter at hand, one must ask difficult if not challenging questions:
Can DA Micks serve as the District Attorney in an apartment for the next several years while her family lives 85 miles away in Del Norte County?
And can Chief Investigator Field objectively investigate his boss if she suddenly vacated her primary home, yet continues to draw a Del Norte position.
The question lingers: Is District Attorney Katie Nicks 100 percent committed to Del Norte County? Lastly, and most importantly, Does the public care where the District Attorney lives in either Humboldt or Del Norte County”
This is continuing story.