Prosecuting attorney to run for reelection

Published 3:30 pm Friday, March 20, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Mark Nichols will seek a fourth four-year term as the Clallam County prosecuting attorney.

Nichols, 54, who was elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022, ran unopposed four years ago.

“I would be most honored to serve the people of this county again,” Nichols said Thursday. “My heart remains in prosecution, and I feel like I have more to give than ever.”

Nichols had not filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission by Friday, and he has yet to draw an opponent.

Filing week for the Nov. 3 general election is May 4-8. The last day for candidates to withdraw from a race is May 11. The primary election for races that have more than two candidates is Aug. 4.

Nichols said public safety remains his top priority with a focus on prosecuting the most violent offenders — particularly those who prey on the most vulnerable in the community.

“We have to be able to put our most dangerous offenders into prison,” he said.

He also plans to advocate for victims’ rights and continue his push for government transparency.

Nichols, who currently serves as the vice president of the board for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said Clallam is one of four counties statewide to publish data on a public-facing webpage. The quarterly updates can be found at https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/1981/Prosecutor-Data.

In 2025, there were 501 cases referred to the prosecuting attorney’s office from law enforcement agencies, and 265 resulted in charges. Of those, there were seven jury trials and 10 stipulated trials. Forty-six cases were declined, according to the data.

Similar numbers are available from 2020-2024. The data showed a six-year high of 408 cases charged in 2020. The number of cases charged has steadily gone down from there, the data show.

Nichols wants to take transparency to another level by adding a prosecutor data dashboard that would be a database of active cases and their status within the criminal justice system. He said King County and Snohomish County have similar systems, and Thurston County contracted with Measures for Justice to build out its dashboard with assistance from a $250,000 grant.

During the past four years, Nichols worked to stand up a mental health court, which is now operated by District Court 1 Judge Dave Neupert.

“I’m indebted to Judge Neupert and his willingness to take a leap of faith and take that program on,” Nichols said. “I think we had a little over 20 participants in the last month or two.”

Nichols cited both mental health and substance abuse disorder as underlying factors in the program, which aims for a restorative approach.

As of October 2025, 83 people were referred to mental health court and 39 had entered into a contract, according to county documents.

Nichols also advocated through the Charter Review commission to make the prosecuting attorney’s office nonpartisan, an amendment that voters passed with 66.4 percent of the vote in 2020. He ran successfully as a Republican in contested races in 2014 and 2018.

His position also included coroner duties until last year when Neupert accepted the coroner role on a temporary basis. The prosecuting attorney and coroner duties are in the process of being separated by the three Clallam County commissioners, who are working on an ordinance that will identify a process for an appointed coroner.

In the next four years, changes to the criminal justice system, including the Attorney General’s opinion on caseloads for defense attorneys, will affect how cases are prosecuted, Nichols said, calling it a textbook case of supply and demand.

Born and raised in Seattle, Nichols first came to Clallam County as a commissioned park ranger with Olympic National Park. After he earned a law degree, he returned to the county to work in the prosecuting attorney’s office in the early 2000s as a deputy prosecutor.

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Editor Brian McLean can be reached by email at brian.mclean@peninsuladailynews.com.