Kauai County Prosecutor Justin Kollar announced Wednesday that he will be leaving his county job at the end of the summer for a position at a nonprofit focused on setting criminal justice policy.

Kollar was elected to his position in 2012. He was previously a county attorney and deputy prosecutor.

“I am so proud of the team we’ve built, and all that we’ve accomplished on Kauai in creating a criminal legal system that protects our community and keeps us safe while also moving away from the failed mass incarceration policies of the 1980s and 90s,” Kollar wrote in a social media post announcing his departure.

Justin Kollar, Kauai, Prosecutor
Kauai Prosecutor Justin Kollar is leaving his position at the end of the summer. Brittany Lyte/Civil Beat/2020

Kollar said he’ll be taking a job as chief of staff for Fair and Just Prosecution, an organization that according to its website “brings together newly elected local prosecutors as part of a network of leaders committed to promoting a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion and fiscal responsibility.”

Kauai Deputy Prosecutor Rebecca Like will take the reins of the office once Kollar leaves, according to his announcement.

The Kauai County Charter requires that a special election be held 45 days after Kollar’s official departure from his position. A general election would then be held 30 days after the primary election.

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