Municipal/Other Questionnaire – 2026 Revision
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Coreen Schnepf
Position Sought: Pierce County Prosecutor
Are you an incumbent for this position? Non-incumbent
Home Legislative District: 27
Are you a Democrat? unaffiliated with a party
Have you ever been a member of another party? No
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Josh Amato is my consultant-Please contact me directly for scheduling
List social media sites: coreenforprosecutor.com; https://www.facebook.com/coreenforprosecutor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreen-schnepf-b2a7b1a8/,
Part I – Candidate Background
1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience. What makes you the best candidate for this position or office? If possible, give practical examples.
I have 20+ years of experience as a prosecutor and currently serve as Chief Criminal Deputy responsible for roughly 180 professional staff and attorneys. I have a BA from University of Northern Colorado and JD from Seattle University School of Law. Before reaching management, I was a member of the Attorney’s Bargaining Unit at the Prosecutor’s Office.
No prior partisan political activity, but I have been involved in several boards/commissions related to the work for Prosecutor and have partnered/supported Senator Manka Dhingra, Senator T’wina Nobles, and Representative Mari Leavitt on legislation they have sponsored.
I am the best candidate for this office because of my actual experience doing the work. I have prosecuted dozens of cases, including murder and human trafficking. I lead a team of roughly 180 people. I’ve assisted in managing our office’s budget.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
Mary Robnett is retiring. She transformed this office from being politics and image focused to being a professional office. We need someone who will continue that tradition. I’ve never run for office. I have no partisan affiliations. I will not be running for any other office but this one.
3. What are your campaign’s most important priorities (three to five)? How do your priorities align with this position?
My priorities are aligned with the role of prosecutor. They are:
First: Running an effective organization that seeks justice in a nonpartisan manner to keep our community safe.
Second: Refocusing efforts on quality of life crime that makes life harder for our residents.
Third: Preparing our office to handle crimes using quickly advancing technology, particularly AI.
4. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
I hired a professional fundraising firm and am actively raising money. I retained Mary Robnett’s consultant. I have also been meeting with elected officials and organizations to receive their endorsements.
5. What is the code of conduct for your campaign?
We are just getting this campaign started and have yet to adopt a formal code of conduct.
Part II – Yes/No Questions, please qualify your answer if necessary
1. Do you support steps to build a fairer economy through tax reform and progressive taxes as wealth increases?
Choose Not To Answer
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not set policy. I am happy to be a resource to our County Council and State Legislators at any time to provide legal advice related to their efforts to reform the tax code.
2. Do you support robust investment in publicly owned housing/subsidized housing for elderly and low-income individuals/families, and zoning changes to support such housing?
Choose Not To Answer
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not set policy. I am happy to be a resource to our County Council and State Legislators at any time to provide legal advice related to their efforts to reform the tax code.
3. Developer impact fees are allowed under the Growth Management Act. Should they be increased to help pay for needed improvements to our roads, parks, and schools?
Choose Not To Answer
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not set policy. I am happy to be a resource to our County Council and State Legislators at any time to provide legal advice related to their efforts to reform the tax code.
4. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction?
Choose Not To Answer
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not set policy. I am happy to be a resource to our County Council and State Legislators at any time to provide legal advice related to their efforts to reform the tax code.
5. Do you support local investments to address climate change where applicable?
Choose Not To Answer
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not set policy. I am happy to be a resource to our County Council and State Legislators at any time to provide legal advice related to their efforts to reform the tax code.
6. Do you support women’s unrestricted access to reproductive healthcare?
Yes
7. Do you support laws regulating the purchase, ownership, and carrying of firearms?
Yes
8. Do you support the right of workers to unionize and bargain, including public employees and excluding the military?
Yes
9. Do you support due process for everyone including undocumented immigrants?
Yes
10. Do you support accountability for ICE activities?
Yes
11. Do you support Keep Washington Working Act?
Yes
Part III – Free Response – Please answer the following questions.
1. Why are you requesting Democratic endorsement? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?
I respect the Democratic Party’s efforts to create a sense of belonging and make the lives of all people better.
2. What public policy reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC and LBQIA+ individuals in our communities?
Answering from the position of a Prosecuting Attorney. Too often, prosecutorial discretion results in personal biases to create unequal treatment of people under the law. I believe it is imperative that prosecutors base their charging decisions on the facts of the case, not whether they believe the individual before them is a good person or not.
3. What steps do you think need to be taken to improve voter turnout and increase voter trust in our election process?
Compared to many states, we have very high turnout thanks to our amazing vote by mail system that brings democracy right to mailboxes. While there could be process improvements (e.g., more/clearer communication) to drive more turnout, I believe the biggest driver of turnout is from those running for office inspiring people to vote. To increase trust, something the PAO could do is conduct interviews with the media and work with influencers to talk about the fraud cases we’ve prosecuted and how safe and reliable the system truly is.
4. Please list at least three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.
While the Prosecutor’s Office does not set policy or create legislation, our work can have impacts on homelessness. Our office currently works with the Court and Department of Assigned Council to erase Court fines and debts that the legislature has authorized. Our office also supports alternative court programs, where appropriate, that allow treatment as an alternative to criminal convictions and time in jail. These two measures, while not directly targeted at homelessness, can have a positive impact on those experiencing homelessness.
5. What safety, law, or justice issues are currently facing your jurisdiction, and how will you address them?
My top priority has Prosecutor will be to focus the office on the cases that impact the community the most, violent crimes. This includes domestic violence and child abuse cases.
However, another areaa of justice I would like to focus on is quality of life crimes. These impact the price at grocery stores and inconvenience shoppers as they attempt to buy products that are now locked behind gates. Crimes such as car thefts create an emergency for families that need to get to work, kids to school, or to medical appointments, on top of the financial cost. These crimes may seem small or petty, but have a big impact on the victims.
Lastly, Fentanyl is a major area of concern for our office. We are seeing too many cases where young children are exposed to Fentanyl. I have continued to work with the legislature to bring changes to our laws around exposing children to Fentanyl and plan to continue these efforts.
6. What are the transportation/transit challenges which face your jurisdiction and how would you address them? What role does green energy play in your proposed solutions?
Our office does not have a role in these issues unless legal challenges arise, which may happen during the construction phase of projects.
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name: Coreen Schnepf
Date: 05/10/2026
