MADERA – When Sally Moreno raised her right hand to take the oath of office as the new Madera County District Attorney, it was to loud and sustained applause from the packed Board of Supervisors’ chamber.
Moreno, 51, was sworn in this morning, along with several other County officials who won reelection in the November 2018 general election.
After having met much of the staff at the District Attorney’s Office, including the 18 lawyers who serve as Deputy D.A.s, Moreno is confident they will all get off to a good start.
“I’ve been interested to hear the insights from the people in the office, and there are a lot of good ideas to make the office better.”
When asked what the first order of business will be, Moreno said that establishing a calm, quiet working environment is top of the list.
Sally Moreno sworn in by husband Sergio – photo Wade Wheeler
“These are good lawyers and they need tranquility to do their work, instead of the uproar that’s been going on for the last few years,” said Moreno in reference to the tenure of her predecessor David Linn who was defeated in the June 2018 primary.
“The office needs the chance to just settle down and settle in. There are lots of opportunities to make positive changes.”
Moreno says she is very grateful for the support of the people of Madera County, and that her office will be accessible to everyone.
“We understand full well that every day we are in service to the community. If people have a problem, they will be able to contact us.”
Moreno says she has been working toward this day for a very long time and is excited that it’s finally here.
“I am ready to get to work, and I’m not going to let you down!”
Sally Moreno graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno in 1985, then went on to earn a degree in history from UC Santa Barbara in 1990.
During her undergraduate years, she was involved in ROTC, and was commissioned an officer in the Army Military Police Corps in 1988. She is also a veteran, having been called up for service during Desert Storm.
After graduating UCSB, Moreno worked as a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, and was activated as an Army Reservist in 1991. By then, she had realized that her favorite part of law enforcement was the law itself, so she returned to the Valley and began attending San Joaquin School of Law, graduating in 1995.
She began her career as a prosecutor in Merced in 1996, after taking time off to have her children, and came to the Madera County D.A.’s Office an experienced prosecutor in 2011.
Moreno was the Supervising Deputy District Attorney in Madera when she left to join the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office in July of 2015.
Having first moved to the Madera Ranchos in the late 1990s, Moreno says she fell in love with the community, and although she left to follow career goals, she returned several years ago and is raising her children there. She and husband Sergio have been married for 24 years and have three daughters, ages 20, 18 and 12, and a son age 14.
