VIENNA — Kathleen (Katy) Slone, 35, of Dixon, is running for prosecuting attorney to bring her law experience to the county where she and her family live.

Slone’s message for the Aug. 4 Republican primary is that she wants to be a voice for victims, hold people accountable and make the county a safe place to work and raise a family. She is challenging incumbent Tony Skouby for the seat.

She grew up on a cattle and tobacco farm in St. Clair County, where her father Michael Dawson was the county prosecutor and later an associate judge. She has two sons and is married to Dustin Slone.

Slone has an associate degree in general studies from Crowder College in Neosho and two bachelor degrees in elementary and K-12 education from Western Governors University, which she completed in the early 2010s. She also has two master’s degrees in administration and special education administration from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.

After teaching for six or seven years, she became an elementary principal. But as a teacher, she felt limited in her ability to help victims. So she decided to attend law school but delayed it while her children were young.

In 2022, she started pursuing her juris doctor from Washburn University, in Topeka, Kan., and in June 2024, she started interning for the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorneys, Kevin Hillman (now associate judge) and later Jeff Thomas, as a rule 13 attorney. This allowed her to practice law under the supervision of a lawyer.

During her internship, she started developing charge language to initiate cases and observed Hillman in court. As Slone started handling cases, she worked on misdemeanor and traffic cases, in which it was easier to correct mistakes that she made. As she became more experienced, she also handled felony cases. The prosecutor or assistant prosecutor would review her work and make sure it was correct.

After graduating in December 2024, the county hired her as a full-time rule 13 attorney. She took the bar exam in July 2025, and on Sept. 24, 2025, she was admitted to The Missouri Bar.

Now that she is fully licensed, Slone is the first assistant to the elected prosecutor. She has her own caseload that includes domestic violence, civil and criminal child support, adult sexual assault, harassment, felonies and misdemeanors against persons, violation of order of protection and sometimes drug cases. When necessary, she said she will also go to a jury trial.

In addition to her experience for Pulaski County, she said that she is willing to be present, approachable, do the work and support law enforcement. She said that Maries County needs more of a voice for victims and that she would consider cases based on the law and not outside influences.

“I’m very willing to get out there in the community and recognize any issues if there are and try to bridge those gaps because the prosecutor’s office does not belong to the prosecutor. It belongs to the people of Maries County,” she said.

In response to Skouby’s claim that lawyers need two or three years after graduating to know what they are doing, Slone said that for a long time, just she and Thomas handled 10 times the cases that Maries County does per year.

“Maybe he needed two or three years after graduating to know what he was doing, but I have been completely submerged,” she said.

Slone said that she and Thomas filed over 2,000 cases in 2025 in Pulaski County. According to a March 13 article in The Advocate, Skouby said there were 277 felony cases in 2025 and 419 in 2024 in Maries County. Therefore, she believes that her courtroom experience is “incomparable” to what Skouby’s is in a month.

She believes that her work ethic, support system, research ability and in-depth case experience has prepared her more than a typical lawyer who has graduated within the last two years.

She also said that prosecutors have been elected shortly after graduating law school. She named Park Stevens Jr., of Texas County, admitted 2013 and elected 2014, and Andrew Curley, of Dent County, admitted 2008 and elected 2012, as examples. She also mentioned her father Dawson, admitted 1989 and elected 1990 as the St. Clair County prosecutor.

In response to Skouby being unaware of Slone’s civil litigation experience, she said that she believes in researching any potential legal issue, whether it is about wrongful termination or the Vichy Solar project. She also said that she is Dixon’s attorney and has handled sunshine requests, employment issues and ordinances.

Slone also responded to Skouby’s comparison to Tom Tramel, whom Skouby said was elected as coroner in November 2024 without equipment, experience, a car or a driver’s license. She said that she meets the requirements under the law to be the prosecutor, including being licensed to practice law and living in the county. She also said that she has experience in managing staff, budgets, civil litigation and complex cases.

Skouby said that he has been aggressive with crime and that with 27 years of experience, he knows how judges are going to act, considering the details of the case. Therefore, he doesn’t recommend an 11-year prison sentence for a first-time felony offense when he knows that the judge will give probation.

Slone agreed with Skouby on knowing what the judge will do for certain sentences, considering first-time versus repeat offenders.

“I can understand that it took Mr. Skouby 26 years to learn that. It did not take me that long to learn that,” she said.

She also said that the sentence she recommends is dependent on the crime and the available facts. Furthermore, she said that she typically doesn’t enter open plea agreements to let the judge decide the sentence. Instead, she will agree on a sentence with the defense attorney or take the case to trial to let the jury decide the sentence.

As for potential conflicts with Sheriff Mark Morgan, Slone said that she does not have any conflicts with him, nor has she worked with him professionally. But when they have met, she said he was kind to her.

If elected, Slone said that she wants to meet with Morgan about how communication works to meet the county needs and see what areas have room for improvement.

As for her opponent Skouby, Slone didn’t say that she is more qualified than him and declined to share any concerns about him. But she did say that she wants to improve the reputation of the office.

Slone also said that there is there is room for improvement regarding communication with law enforcement, being a voice for victims and sentencing harsher penalties for repeat offenders. She believes that not every case needs probation.

“Mr. Skouby is the Maries County prosecutor. So really everything that comes out of that office is his. Right?” she said.

However, Slone declined to elaborate or name any specific examples, not wanting to “sling mud” on Skouby.

If Slone wins, she wants residents to know that her vision as prosecutor is being tough, accessible, fair, a partner with law enforcement and a voice for victims. She wants the county to be a safe place to live and raise a family.

If she loses, she said that she respects the voters’ decision and will continue to live in Maries County.

“I am glad they exercised their right to vote, and I solemnly respect that,” she said.