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The Polk County Attorney seat is up for grabs for the first time in three decades. Democrat John Sarcone, who has held the position since 1991, will retire at the end of the year.Democrats Kimberly Graham, Kevin McCarthy and Laura Roan will face off on June 7 for the Democratic nomination for Polk County Attorney.The winning Democrat will face off against Republican Allan Richards, who's running unopposed for the GOP nomination.Laura Roan is a career prosecutor. She worked at the Iowa Attorney General's Office for over 20 years as the state violence against women prosecutor. "I bring the most expertise, but I also am an expert. I know the best practices. I know victim services. I know DHS and I have very deep and long-lasting relationships with community based services, which really is my focus. We have to be a community partner as members of the Polk County Attorney's Office and, if I'm elected, I will lead with that," Roan said."I know I can use my expertise to really address these issues in a way that focuses on safety and justice. And I also know because of the size of the county and the size of our problems, that the office of Polk County Attorney, it's not an entry-level position," Roan said.Kevin McCarthy spent 10 years at the Iowa Statehouse, some of which he spent as the Democratic Majority and Minority Leader in the Iowa House of Representatives. He also served as the First Assistant Attorney General of Iowa."I want to appeal to people who want a more progressive direction in the Polk County Attorney's Office, who recognize the importance of moving the office in a progressive direction and helping vulnerable Polk County citizens and Iowans. That's my message and I think my record makes me stand alone in that category," McCarthy said."I've done several pieces of criminal justice reform. I've got people out of prison in jail. And I've supervised the Attorney General's Office has 226 employees give or take. I can manage employees. I can manage large divisions. I can manage multimillion-dollar budgets. I think the breadth of experience is something that sets me apart and I get things done," McCarthy said. Kimberly Graham has spent 22 years as an attorney in Central Iowa representing low-income defendants, including abused and neglected kids and parents, in criminal and juvenile courts."Whoever holds that position needs to never forget that this isn't the justice system that belongs to the Polk County Attorney. This is the community's justice system and so we need to be listening to the community. And we need to be doing everything that we can to both end racial and income disparities and to keep people safe here in Polk County, and that's what we plan to do," Graham said. "Our campaign has the right priorities for both reform and safety. We are not afraid to talk about racial and income disparities in our justice system and confront those things so that we have the data to know in a year in three years in five years, are we making a positive difference?" Graham said.