The race is on for King County's next prosecuting attorney

In 1978, "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb topped the Billboard 100, and "Grease" was the highest grossing movie of the year. It was also the last time there was an election for an open seat to lead the King County Prosecutor's Office.

With 15-year incumbent Dan Satterberg stepping down, the candidates hoping to replace him are Leesa Manion, the longtime chief of staff for the prosecutor's office, and Jim Farrell, a former prosecutor with the same office who now serves as mayor of Federal Way.

Both candidates are longtime employees of the King County Prosecutor's Office, which prosecutes felony crime, along with all juvenile offenses in King County.

Manion is the heir apparent of Satterberg's approach as a moderate progressive prosecutor, and she has his endorsement. Jim Farrell has more hands-on trial experience from his years with the office, but left to run for mayor of Federal Way, a post he has held since 2014.

KUOW reporter Amy Radil covers politics, government and law enforcement, and she joined Soundside to talk about the differences between the two candidates.

Radil says the two candidates have very different priorities. Manion seems more interested in prevention and mental health services, while Farrell focuses more on a back-to-basics approach, such as filing more cases and giving police a greater ability to go after stolen vehicles.

Farrell blames the prosecutor's office for the current backlog of court cases, while Mannion says the closure of the courts during the pandemic is what clogged the system.

"We had a system that was accustomed to resolving 300 jury trials a year trickle down to 12 cases in one year," Manion said. "And we are still not up to full capacity."

But Farrell criticizes the prosecutor's office, and Manion by extension, for not doing more to clear the backlog.

"There's no sense of urgency to be able to get those through the system," Farrell said. "Those victims and the families of those victims deserve justice."

Manion is supported by the Democratic Party and Democratic lawmakers. She also received a surprising endorsement from singer John Legend.

Farrell, who switched from being a Republican to a Democrat about 10 years ago, has not received the same level of support from Democratic Party leaders.

He touts his support from labor unions, including police officer guilds.

Radil says she's also noticed an interesting north-south split, with mayors in south King County backing Farrell because they are frustrated with the current approach of the prosecutor's office and want change.

Listen to the full conversation with Amy Radil by clicking the audio above.