Preston McCollam is now officially the next Spokane County Prosecutor

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Preston McCollam has now officially taken over the top role in Spokane County’s law firm.

McCollam, who’s served in the role in the interim since former Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell resigned mid-July, was unanimously appointed to serve the remainder of his predecessor’s term by the Spokane County Commission Tuesday.

Raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon, McCollam earned his pre-law bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University before going on to earn a Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University in 2013. After a few years as a prosecutor in Benton County, McCollam joined the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office in 2015 during Haskell’s tenure. He was named head of the criminal side of the office in 2023.

“You have a unique opportunity to build bridges and try to find the common ground where it can be found, and you embrace that in your comments today,” Commissioner Chris Jordan said ahead of McCollam’s swearing in. “That’s important to me, and so I think you’ve earned the opportunity to continue serving out this term.”

Haskell’s July resignation triggered the process enshrined in state law by which outgoing officials are replaced. The outgoing official’s party, the Spokane County GOP, was tasked with advancing three qualified nominees for the county commissioners to select a top candidate within 60 days of when the vacancy took effect.

The Spokane County Board of Commissioners made its selection at the Tuesday meeting following public interviews with all three nominees: McCollam, Washington Assistant Attorney General Steve Garvin and attorney Marshall Casey. All nominees were given a list of questions ahead of time from which the commissioners took turns selecting and asking. Each candidate had 30 minutes to make their case to the board.

Casey entered his name into the ring to help the Republican Party round out its list of nominees, but he told the commissioners he also wanted to give them a choice for prosecutor from the private realm. Both Garvin and McCollam have spent at least a decade in the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office.

As for priorities, Casey said there is a need for more transparency from the prosecutor’s office. He believes that includes educating the public on their duties, keeping them appraised of their functions and working with regional partners in the criminal justice system to keep the public engaged.

Garvin spent 15 years as a county prosecutor in Spokane before leaving the office in 2022, and said that experience provided him a first-hand perspective of the changes that need to be made. He touted his experience prosecuting crimes in San Diego, Spokane and for the state of Washington, as well as his high success rate in case outcomes.

“Being an attorney is a skilled endeavor; it’s not something that you graduate from law school being naturally gifted at or good at,” Garvin said. “You have to practice the law. That’s why it’s called practice, and that’s why attorneys who are partners and have decades of experience charge the highest rates and often get the best outcomes in court.”

Garvin said the county is facing several challenges that he believes he could help address as top prosecutor. If he was selected, Garvin said he would be a fiscally responsible leader as the county addresses a projected $20 million budget deficit for 2026, a mentor to the office’s young staff to help them and the office improve in efficiency and case results, and undergo the difficult task of addressing the opioid crisis through regional partnerships. Litigation is also on the table, he said, if the partnerships fall short.

“I am eager to get in there and to work hard on those issues, to identify where we can collaborate, where we can compromise and negotiate,” Garvin said. “And if we can’t, I’m proposing to you that we bring effective measures, such as nuisance lawsuits, that have worked.”

McCollam said he is a collaborative yet decisive leader, and that he looks forward to continuing his efforts to improve the office. That includes advocating for the necessary resources for his staff to be effective, continuing to find ways to recruit and retain top talent and increasing transparency.

“That’s something that I bring to the table, is the ability to work with other organizations, with other jurisdictions, municipalities and departments,” McCollam said. “In order to achieve our ultimate goal of making sure that we are fulfilling the core responsibilities of the prosecutor and pursuing crime in our community, also preserving the rights of our citizens, validating the voices of crime victims.”

Last year, McCollam played a key role in securing better pay for county prosecutors and public defenders. The increases brought the county’s pay scale for prosecutors and public defenders from one of the lowest in the state to more in line with its peer jurisdictions.

As for other office resources for which he’d advocate, McCollam said he’s supportive of the county’s efforts to bring a more comprehensive addiction treatment, mental health and public safety facility into existence, and that he’s working with state legislators to elevate drug charges back to their former stature to allow his office to handle them.

McCollam said he looks forward to continuing to serve his neighbors.

“I’ve worked in this office for over a decade now, and this is my community,” McCollam said. “This is where I live; this is where I want to raise my family.”

Each of the commissioners thanked the three nominees for their willingness to serve and undergo the process of seeking the appointment. All were well-qualified and brought unique perspectives and experience, Commissioner Amber Waldref said. She appreciated that each saw a need for the office to continually improve, collaborate and increase transparency, although they disagreed on how.

McCollam simply earned her confidence to serve the remainder of Haskell’s term through 2026, Waldref said.

“I really appreciate that I’m hearing today that you have your own vision for the office, and so that includes the partnership, and you mentioned both local, state and federal partnerships, which are all critical, and that you’re already seeking,” Waldref said. “You have sought reforms, and you will continue to seek reforms in the system.”

McCollam’s selection does not come as a surprise. In addition to holding the role in the interim and securing the most support from the Spokane County GOP, McCollam was endorsed by Commissioners Kuney and Al French well before the Republican Party made its nominations.

French provided some insight into his support of McCollam at the end of the meeting decrying what he characterized as “negative comments” about Haskell in the local media. He looks forward to McCollam’s leadership, he said.

Garvin has been an outspoken critic of Haskell in the lead-up to the appointment, saying that a lack of leadership has led to a backlog of cases, an inhospitable work environment and a damaged reputation within the office.

“I just want to reiterate, from my standpoint, having known Mr. Haskell for 14 years, and having had an individual who served this country honorably, I regret that there was disparaging remarks made about him,” French said.

Both Garvin and McCollam have announced their intent to run for the position when it appears on the ballot next fall. Kuney noted that while the county commissioners made their appointment Tuesday, the decision now goes before the voters.

As someone who was appointed to her role before being elected commissioner, she said she appreciates Garvin, Casey and McCollam being willing to put themselves through the process to answer a call to public service. She closed the meeting by wishing McCollam well in his new role.

“I’m pretty confident that you’re going to be able to move forward and continue to work well with the county commissioners and with the county,” Kuney said. “And collaboratively – because it will take a lot of effort to make the changes that we need to make to the system.”