Chris Gaal
Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Gaal today announced his campaign for re-election. “It has been an honor to serve as your elected prosecutor for the past three years,” said Gaal. “I have worked hard to enforce the law and hold criminals accountable while pursuing justice in a fair and even-handed manner.”
Gaal has been the driving force behind several ground-breaking community initiatives that have built partnerships to address important public safety issues.
Chris Gaal organized the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), helped create a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program at Bloomington Hospital, and developed a rape prevention educational campaign involving Indiana University students and administration.
Chris Gaal also established an Elder Crimes Task Force to focus on safety issues affecting the elderly, which produced public education materials designed to prevent financial exploitation, home improvement fraud, and identity theft.
Chris Gaal proposed the new Truancy Court to better respond to youth at risk of dropping out of school. This effort won the 2009 Educator of the Year Leading Light Award as an outstanding and innovative program. Gaal also created the “Live Better!” campaign to help young people appreciate the many benefits of high school graduation. He helped organize a local dropout prevention summit, and an ongoing community coalition to better coordinate resources serving youth and to boost local graduation rates. Gaal believes that over the long run the best way to enhance public safety is to invest in kids and education.
Chris Gaal produced the effective “Get a Ride!” campaign to discourage drinking and driving, and developed an expedited blood-alcohol testing protocol with Bloomington Hospital to better enforce drunk driving laws.
Chris Gaal received the 2009 Visionary Leader Award from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, and the 2008 Outstanding Service Award from the Campus-Community Commission on Alcohol.
Chris Gaal’s highest priorities for a second term are to prevent crimes of violence, including domestic violence, to deter crimes against children and the elderly, and to improve the criminal justice system’s response to people suffering from mental illness.” Although we have accomplished much by working together as a community, there is still more that needs to be done,” said Gaal. “That’s why I’m running for re-election.
As prosecutor, Chris Gaal pledges to continue his commitment to:
• Fair and equal justice before the law
• Proactive crime prevention
• Community-based public safety
• Defend the rights of crime victims
Chris Gaal’s campaign committee is chaired by Richard McKaig, with Charlotte Zietlow serving as treasurer, and includes several other community leaders supportive of Gaal’s re-election. More information about Gaal’s campaign, accomplishments as prosecutor, and experience is available at www.chrisgaal.org .
