Lanee Danforth was sworn in as Lincoln County’s top law enforcement officer this week, taking over the district attorney’s office from her former boss, Jonathan Cable.
Danforth is the third district attorney in the past 16 months, following the September 2019 resignation of Michelle Branam and the January 2020 appointment of Cable by Gov. Kate Brown.
Danforth won election to the job last May, defeating Cable in a hotly contested and expensive – she spent $50,000 of her own money to campaign – race. By winning in May, Danforth appeared alone on the November ballot and was sworn in Monday by Lincoln County Circuit Judge Sheryl Bachart. Her term is for four years.
Danforth has named Lynn Howard as her chief deputy, replacing Brian Gardner. Anna Semple replaces Anthony Rivers as office manager.
Cable is returning to private practice, including contracted defense work and as a temporary judge for the Siletz Tribal Court of Appeals.
Danforth had been a deputy district attorney in Lincoln County for two years, following shorter stints in Coos and Washington counties.
Danforth faces some of the same challenges as Branam and Cable – finding and keeping deputy district attorneys and a backlog of cases caused by the slowdown of the court system because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Danforth told the Newport News-Times on Monday that the district attorney’s office will now be open during the lunch hour, and that she plans a social media page and new website with regular updates from her office. She also told the Newport paper that she plans “virtual” town halls over the next few months to reach out to the public to discuss crime issues and the district attorney’s office operations.