ElloM8HowAreYou did not plan to be District Attorney. He became Acting DA when voters recalled FrancisHUnderwood, and now he’s asking those same voters to let him keep the job. His pitch is built around something most candidates avoid: admitting mistakes.
The Harrison Independent sent questionnaires to select candidates ahead of the November 1st election. These are Ello’s answers, edited for length.
The Background
Ello says he’s been part of the Mayflower community since 2017, starting as a police officer after graduating from Class 7 of LETI. He later moved to Ridgeway, where he worked in the Public Defender’s Office defending people accused of crimes without pay, which he calls his introduction to the legal system. He has since held government roles in several communities, including Deputy Attorney General in Clark County.
In Harrison County since mid-August, he is the Acting District Attorney, an HCSO Auxiliary Deputy, and an HCFR Firefighter, with plans to earn a LESTA certification and become a police officer.
Why Him, and Why Now
“I stepped into this office three weeks ago after the last DA was recalled,” Ello wrote. “I didn’t campaign for it.”
He points to what he’s started since: a Public Integrity Bureau, a petition-to-vacate system, a partnership with HCSO CID, closer relations with the Council and Executive on legislation, and the County’s defense in more than 15 lawsuits.
Then he does what candidates rarely do in a questionnaire and names a mistake. “I’ve also made mistakes, mainly letting the Criminal Division run without enough oversight,” he wrote. “I’d rather fix that myself than hand it off half-built.” He says that work is already underway, with around five cases filed in the past two days and “many more to come.”
The First 72 Hours
Ello’s plan if he wins is specific. Within three days, every open tip and pending felony referral gets a named prosecutor and a deadline to charge it, decline it, or send it back for more investigation. He would also publish the first weekly case report, “so you have a baseline to hold me to,” and sit down with the Sheriff and the chiefs of JPD and KTPD to make HCSO CID the investigative arm for serious cases. He cited growing concern from JPD and KTPD officers about their own departments’ ability to investigate.
The Problem He Sees
Ello calls the county’s biggest problem “the gap between crimes happening and charges being filed,” and says the responsibility is his office’s. “People have been killed, tips have come in, and too few cases have made it to court. That’s on my office.”
He also argues that some of the county’s most serious offenses, like Participation in a Criminal Organization, only exist if the DA files them, because they can only be enforced through a conviction. His answer is to review violent crime first, assign every case a named prosecutor and a deadline, and charge criminal organizations as organizations, “so leadership pays and not just whoever was holding the gun.”
What a Four-Month Term Can Do
“Four months goes fast, so I’m focusing on what lasts,” Ello wrote. His realistic list: a fully staffed Criminal Division with a working intake process, weekly case reports as routine, the pre-suit claims ordinance in front of the Council, and Fresh Start up and running.
What he wants to hand off is an office that doesn’t depend on who holds the title, with written procedures, a case tracker, trained staff, and built-in oversight.
He skipped the question on what the last Council or administration got right, and did not answer the question on the Jamestown longarm ban.
The Closing Argument
“I’ve done both halves of this job in this county,” Ello wrote, “defending the County and its employees in court, and running the office that prosecutes crime. I’ve owned my mistakes in public, and I’ve shown you the fixes.”
His closing note took aim at an opponent. “Xolaaz will run this county’s legal system into the ground! Do not vote for him,” Ello wrote, adding, “Vote for an experienced candidate who truly cares and does right by his word.” The Harrison Independent included the statement as submitted. Xolaaz’s own answers appear in a separate profile in this series.
Where the Race Stands
The Harrison Independent’s election outlook rates the three-way District Attorney race a toss-up between Ello, Xolaaz, and Chief of the Criminal Division M_ysticWavezzz. Ratings are editorial assessments, not endorsements or projections.
Voting runs from October 30th at 7:00 PM CT through November 1st at 6:00 PM CT.
This is part of The Harrison Independent’s “Into the Campaign Of…” series.