{"id":167543,"date":"2026-02-17T02:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T02:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/167543\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T02:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T02:29:07","slug":"candidate-qa-republican-district-attorney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/167543\/","title":{"rendered":"Candidate Q&A: Republican District Attorney"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: Levi Rudder, who is on the ballot to challenge incumbent Stanek did not respond to our questions. There is no Democrat on the ballot.<\/p>\n

Sunshine Stanek<\/p>\n

What are your three priorities and if elected, what will you do about them?<\/p>\n

Reducing Violent Crime.\u00a0By devoting specialized prosecutors to the Metro, TAG and Crimes and Against Children divisions of law enforcement, we are working together to ensure these offenders are arrested, receive high bonds and lengthy sentences.\u00a0 We specifically do this by maintaining 24-hour on-call shifts to assist at any time of the day, working closely alongside the Feds to ensure high bond options when necessary, targeting youthful repeat offenders and securing and keeping\u00a0high-quality senior prosecutors with the experience to handle these complicated cases.\u00a0We are very proud of the reduction in the number of pending and occurring homicides over the last few years and the number of cases cleared by law enforcement and our office working together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Building and maintaining good working relationships with law enforcement, members of the defense bar and the community.\u00a0Communication is the key.\u00a0We meet consistently with the LPD, LSO and DPS leadership and participate in trainings together to keep us all on the forefront of issues that arise. In our working relationship with the defense bar we encourage communication and open mindedness. \u00a0We also encourage our entire staff to be involved in the community so there are names with faces of the DA\u2019s office.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Creativity in community safety and property crimes.\u00a0Common themes in this area include homelessness, property crimes and hot checks.\u00a0We have established protocol with the property crimes detectives to prioritize the related cases they send over so they do not get lost in the mix.\u00a0These conversations allow for names to be flagged, high bonds to be set and provisions for money to be recovered with victims being compensated.\u00a0Because many of these issues go hand in hand with mental health and drug issues, we\u2019re actively involved in the Lubbock County Specialty Courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the biggest challenge for the District Attorney office, why and what would you do about it?<\/p>\n

One of our biggest challenges is the recruitment and retention of quality prosecutors.\u00a0Lubbock County is consistently behind the eight ball on lawyer salaries and is not currently fully staffed.\u00a0Receiving over 150 cases per week mandates we have a full staff of experienced attorneys.\u00a0We work closely with the Commissioners Court to educate and advocate on this issue.\u00a0We are also working alongside the local law school to encourage career prosecution and interview third-year law students before they graduate.<\/p>\n

Outside the office you are seeking, what are the ways you have participated in the community, for example: boards, volunteer positions, or other offices you previously held?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Past president of the Junior League of Lubbock, Junior League of Lubbock Sustaining Member, Leadership Lubbock Steering Committee Member, Lubbock\u2019s 20 Under 40 Award Winner, Ronald McDonald House past board member and volunteer, Lubbock Area Bar Association past board of directors and current member, Texas Tech School of Law adjunct professor, Lubbock County Care Coordination Team Advisory Council, South Plains Food Bank volunteer, Lubbock Area Republican Women member\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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