Race for county district attorney proving impossible to handicap

After listening to some of the key players involved in the selection of the next Clark County district attorney, I've reached one undeniable conclusion:

It would be far easier to handicap this race if one of Majority Leader Harry Reid's kids were in the running.

Alas, this time there's not a Reid in sight on the list of finalists. Determining the winner of the district attorney's job won't be as easy as it was picking the prevailing party in the Henderson city attorney selection process.

There's something else I've learned. Prevailing opinion to the contrary, as of late Thursday there appeared to be no consensus selection from a list that includes Drew Christensen, John Hunt and Steve Wolfson.

It begs the obvious to note that each brings strengths and weaknesses to the table. There are no slouches here. If high notes on a résumé were the chief criterion for winning the position, then it's likely City Councilman Wolfson would, as some contend, have this one in the bag.

He doesn't. At least, not yet.

Not long after District Attorney David Roger gave his departure date, Wolfson announced his interest in the job and immediately started to lobby the commissioners. Wolfson has strong credentials as a former county and federal prosecutor and longtime defense attorney, and he would be an articulate spokesman for the office.

But it's not that simple.

There's Christensen to consider. Based on the working knowledge of the mechanics of the DA's duties, he is clearly capable of bringing a veteran's credibility to the office on Day One. He has experience as a prosecutor and public defender and currently serves as the county's director of appointed counsel. (Whether that duty would create a costly conflict of interest should he be named the county's top prosecutor remains unclear.)

And, I've learned, Christensen impressed commissioners with his understanding of the scope of evolving responsibility of the DA's office. There's no question his stock rose Tuesday after the finalists' 4½-hour question-and-answer session at the County Commission.

Hunt, who has three decades of legal experience and also serves as a pro-tem judge, completes the list of finalists. Going by prosecutorial experience, he has the slimmest résumé. But Hunt brings a salesman's zeal to the game, is an accountant as well as a lawyer, and clearly surprised members of the citizens' panel that selected the finalists. (As a matter of disclosure, Hunt handled my daughter's adoption 15 years ago.)

Although Wolfson's lobbying activity has been widely noted, it's Hunt who is the most politically active of the three. He has been a dedicated Democrat, is a former county party chairman and ran as a game but substantial underdog for attorney general in 2002 against GOP juggernaut Brian Sandoval. Hunt has shown the brand of loyalty that's sure to impress die-hard Democrats, but that still doesn't mean Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Tom Collins will waste their votes.

All of the finalists vow to increase scrutiny of murder cases before pushing for the death penalty and further define the DA's role as it applies to the coroner's inquest process and fatal police shootings. Surely each thinks he's the man to improve morale around the DA's office.

Some call Wolfson aloof. Others find him confident and well-spoken -- just what they're looking for in the next district attorney. Is Christensen outgoing enough to do the very public job? Has Hunt shown he has more than the political skill set to run an office of 700 employees that processes more than 65,000 cases annually?

The good news is, county commissioners appear determined to let the process play out before making their final decision.

That's as it should be, but it's something that's never guaranteed around these parts.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.