Holly McKeen announces candidacy for prosecutor

Cathlamet native Holly McKeen this week announced she will be a candidate for Wahkiakum County prosecuting attorney.

McKeen is a 2003 Wahkiakum High School graduate. She is now a deputy prosecutor in Cowlitz County and resides in Cathlamet.

“My step-father, Fred Johnson, is the former prosecutor of Wahkiakum County,” she said in her announcement. “My son, Maddox Moore, is a freshman at Wahkiakum High School.

“I moved back to Cathlamet last fall to be closer to family. I am excited about the opportunity to serve the citizens of the county I was raised in.

“I am probably one of the only candidates in the state who has worked every position within a prosecutor’s office. From legal assistant and victim-witness coordinator to deputy coroner and deputy prosecutor, I’ve done it all. My entire career has been dedicated to public service.”

In the Wahkiakum prosecutor’s office, she worked as Victim-Witness Coordinator; Administrative Assistant; and Deputy Coroner.

In 2009, she moved to Port Angeles to work in the city attorney’s office as a legal assistant to the city prosecutor, performing a variety of tasks--legal research, drafting pleadings, offering system based victim advocacy, and trial preparation. She earned a bachelor degree and participated in the APR 6 Law Clerk Program while employed with the City of Port Angeles.

“In 2017, I was granted a limited license to practice law (APR 9 - Legal Intern),” she said. “Under the direction of the Port Angeles city attorney, I performed legal research and provided legal guidance to various city departments on a variety of legal issues, including public records requests.

“In 2018, I was hired as a Rule 9 Legal Intern by the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office. In this position, I was essentially a deputy prosecutor, assigned my own caseload in district court, where I handled cases from charging to disposition, including jury trials. I was also a deputy coroner.

“In 2019, I passed the bar exam and became a fully licensed attorney and was promoted to deputy prosecutor. I continued to handle a district court caseload until my departure in 2021.”

McKeen joined the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 2021 and handles a caseload that includes all classifications of felonies.