Race to be Spokane County prosecutor heats up with third, Independent, candidate entering the fray

Another attorney with experience in the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office is hoping to take over the top spot this fall.

Gonzaga Law graduate and military veteran Danielle "Danny" Tarkenton announced Monday her intentions to run for Spokane County prosecutor in the August primary.

Longtime former Prosecutor Larry Haskell resigned from the position last July, and the Spokane County Commissioners appointed Preston McCollam, who had led the criminal side of the office since 2023, to serve the remaining year and a half of Haskell's term.

Tarkenton, who was raised in Spokane, is the third candidate to enter what is expected to be a contentious race; McCollam was challenged during the nomination process to replace Haskell by Steve Garvin, an assistant Washington attorney general who spent 15 years as a county prosecutor before leaving the office in 2022. McCollam and Garvin were critical of each other as they lobbied hard for support from the Republican Party during the weekslong process, have expressed their intent to run this fall and already raised over $66,000 and $23,000, respectively, for their campaigns.

In an interview, Tarkenton said she decided to enter the race as an independent candidate to avoid partisan politics and focus on serving the community.

"I swore to the Constitution when I enlisted, and I swore to the Constitution when I became an attorney," Tarkenton said. "I feel that this office should not be run by a political party. We should be remaining neutral, and my loyalty's to the Constitution and every single member in Spokane County."

She listed accountability and integrity within the prosecutor's office, community-centered prosecution and using evidence-based approaches to reduce recidivism, jail overcrowding and the county's ongoing behavioral health and drug crisis as her top issues in a news release announcing her campaign.

That second pillar will do a lot to reach the third, Tarkenton said. She would like to bring a restorative justice approach that, rather than focusing on prosecuting everything, meets individuals on a case -by -case basis to address the issues that are leading to run-ins with the law, whether it's struggles with addiction, security or finances.

"So we're actually able to look at some of these cases and be able to understand the behavior to ask ourselves, 'Would this cause more harm if we prosecuted this versus referring them to diversion or to mental health court or to DUI court or even veterans court' instead of just throwing them through the system

," Tarkenton said.

Tarkenton holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Gonzaga University, a bachelor's in psychology from Eastern Washington University and is on track to soon earn a master's in forensic psychology from Arizona State University.

After completing her undergraduate degree at Gonzaga, Tarkenton spent six years in the Army National Guard, including a deployment to Iraq as a vertical engineer in 2016, according to her campaign website.

"I feel compelled to run this race because of my understanding, both with my education and professionally," Tarkenton said. "I really feel like I can bring something new to the table with my expertise."

She served as a deputy prosecutor for the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office shortly after becoming an attorney in 2025, and after spending months with the office as a practicing intern allowed for under a state license for those yet to pass the bar known as a Rule 9 license.

Spokane County is ready for a change, Tarkenton said, and she hopes her education, experience and approach sways voters to instill her as the prosecutor to bring about that change.

"As an independent whose loyalty's to the Constitution, into every single manner of Spokane County," Tarkenton said. "What I want to ask every time is, 'How can I restore the community that was just harmed without contributing to more harm?' "

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