Kelsie McDaniel
District Attorney, Union County -- Former MESC Director/Chair (2010-2014)
Union County DA who filed a 31-page memo to disqualify Judge Wes Williams from all criminal cases in 2020 -- resulting in 5 years of blanket disqualifications and 170+ blocked cases in 2024 alone. Served on the Mt. Emily Safe Center board from 2010 through 2014.
Key facts
- Office
- District Attorney, Union County, Oregon source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.md
- MESC service
- Director / Chair, Mt. Emily Safe Center -- 2010 through 2014 source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.md
- Judge-disqualification action
- 31-page memo (2020) to disqualify Judge Wes Williams from all criminal cases source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.md
- Scope
- 5 years of disqualifications; 170+ cases blocked in 2024 alone; 3,889 of 5,179 2023 hearings flagged source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.md
- Bar complaint
- Anne Morrison filed bar complaint against McDaniel; dismissed Sept 2021 source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.md
Role narrative
Kelsie McDaniel is the elected District Attorney for Union County, Oregon. The Mt. Emily Safe Center 990 filings list her as a Director, later Chair, of the MESC board from 2010 through 2014 -- overlapping with other identified MESC board members Jill Boyd (Chair 2014-2016), Jared Boyd (Director 2014), and continuous Treasurer Dennis Burke.
In 2020, McDaniel filed a 31-page memo asking the court to disqualify Judge Wes Williams from all criminal cases in the district. The disqualification practice lasted approximately five years. In 2024 alone, McDaniel's office blocked Williams from 170-plus cases; in 2023, Williams was flagged in 3,889 of 5,179 hearings and handled only 673. Retired attorney Anne Morrison obtained roughly 250 pages of hearing transcripts and filed a bar complaint against McDaniel arguing the blanket disqualifications were politically motivated; the Oregon State Bar dismissed Morrison's complaint in September 2021. The corpus notes McDaniel also supported Williams's 2018 electoral opponent.
Williams's wife later pushed SB 807 through the Oregon Legislature creating a formal judge-challenge process. Williams lost his 2024 reelection bid to Jared Boyd and retired early in October 2024.
Boards & affiliations
Mt. Emily Safe Center
Director, later Chair
2010-2014
source: reports/subjects/baum-family--BAUM_DYNASTY_COMPLETE.mdRelated corpus files
These Markdown source files back up every claim on this page. They are public and citizen-auditable on GitHub.
Ask the Union County corpus
The Union County research engine can answer specific questions about Kelsie McDaniel and the broader term-limits story. Every answer cites a specific source file.
- “How many cases did DA McDaniel block Judge Williams from?”
- “Who was on the Mt. Emily Safe Center board 2010-2014?”
- “What happened to Anne Morrison's bar complaint against McDaniel?”
Valor Investigations -- levi@valorinvestigates.com