John,

On January 1st I'll take office as your next Wake County District Attorney. The job is simple: keep our community safe, fight violent crime, stand up for victims, and prosecute public corruption.

But I need to tell you about a decision made in Raleigh that's going to make that job much harder.

This year's state budget funded 18 new prosecutors across North Carolina. Wake County got zero — even though we're the state's largest county and, by the court's own formula, already one of the most understaffed offices in the state.

WRAL, July 3, 2026:
"'Playing politics with public safety': NC budget makes Wake DA office state's most understaffed" read the full story →

When I take office, I'll inherit the most understaffed prosecutor's office in North Carolina, with less than 65% of the prosecutors the state's own workload formula says we need. This wasn't an accident. House Republicans funded new prosecutors in districts above us and below us, and left Wake — the largest county in the state — with zero. You don't leave out the biggest county by mistake. Legislative Republicans in the House made a choice, and Wake County is paying for it.

Here's what that means in real terms. Wake County has 45 prosecutors. Mecklenburg — a smaller county — has 95. That leaves the average Wake prosecutor responsible for more than 2,600 cases a year, against just 1,080 in Mecklenburg.

No prosecutor can give every victim and every case the attention it deserves under that load. Ours work incredibly hard. They're just being asked to do too much with too little. When cases back up, victims wait years instead of months for justice, and repeat offenders stay out on our streets much longer. Justice delayed isn't just frustrating. It's a public safety problem for everyone in Wake County. And I'll be honest with you: when prosecutors are stretched this thin, things fall through the cracks. That's not a knock on the people doing the work. It's basic math — and it's the direct result of a choice made by Republicans in Raleigh.

So how did this happen?

Before the budget was finalized, I repeatedly asked Representative Mike Schietzelt to meet about the staffing crisis. He refused — wouldn't meet, wouldn't even take a call. Representative Erin Paré did speak with me, and I appreciate that. But when the budget became law, Wake still got zero.

Representative Schietzelt later gave a floor speech celebrating the 18 new prosecutors the legislature funded statewide. He left out the fact that his own county got none of them.

That leaves a simple question: if our state representatives won't fight for Wake County on something as basic as public safety, who will?

Public safety shouldn't be partisan. Victims aren't Republicans or Democrats. They're our neighbors, and they deserve a justice system that works for everyone.

This fight isn't over. I'll keep speaking out until Wake County gets the prosecutors our community needs. If you agree that public safety should come before politics:

• Forward this email.
• Contact Wake County's two GOP representatives, Mike Schietzelt and Erin Paré, and ask why Wake County got zero. Their party is in charge. It's their budget.
• Share the staffing graphic.
• Talk to your friends and neighbors.

Our families deserve a justice system that works for everyone. Together, we're going to keep fighting until Wake County gets the resources it deserves.

Thank you,
Wiley Nickel