Because of either mismanagement or staff corruption, there is agreement that the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office is in crisis.

The facts are stark. Keith Kaneshiro, the elected prosecutor who has served in that office in various stretches for almost 20 years, has been told by the federal government that he is the target of a federal investigation, and was forced to take a leave of absence.

Honolulu’s crime-fighting reputation is in tatters: The former deputy prosecuting attorney and her husband, the former Honolulu police chief, both now have “convicted felon” attached to their names. Their convictions mean the pair are expecting to spend years in federal prison.

The Prosecutor’s Office does not enjoy a reputation for either its ability to mete out justice or professional prosecution.

It is an elected office and there are now a half-dozen candidates; even the acting Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Nadamoto said Wednesday that he is thinking about running.

Of the major candidates so far, two have the most organized campaigns.

Former deputy prosecutor and now private attorney Megan Kau, 41, and former state judge and federal prosecutor, Steve Alm, 66, have different stories, but both now see the office in trauma, needing immediate aid.

Kau bluntly said her parents had addiction problems.

“I basically lived on the streets or at Hawaiian Brian’s. I worked in bars,” Kau said, adding that later she was a domestic violence victim and was homeless, living out of her truck. Kau graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree as a certified public accountant and then got a law degree at Santa Clara University, before returning to Honolulu and working in the Prosecutor’s Office for two years.

Former prosecutor and one-time Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle asked her to run for prosecutor, and Kau said “Yes.”

“Being a victim is going to shape my vision for the office. I want to lead the victims through the justice system, explain to victims, explain to witnesses; none of this has been done.

“Prosecutors need to be progressive. But our community is in shambles,” Kau said.

Also agreeing that Honolulu needs a progressive prosecutor is Alm, who announced his campaign last week, backed by the endorsement of the police union, SHOPO.

Also supporting Alm are Loretta Sheehan, chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission and a former prosecutor; former Hawaii Attorney General Margery Bronster; and retired Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Dan Foley.

Alm agreed the office was in crisis and compared himself to the other candidates by saying he has the experience they don’t.

“This campaign is about restoring trust to the Prosecutor’s Office. The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office is now in crisis; it has lost the confidence of the people of Hawaii. This is no time for on-the-job training, there is too much at stake. We need someone with a track record of leadership,” Alm said at a state Capitol news conference.

Alm has a record as a straight-arrow federal prosecutor, and as a judge, was an innovator in programs for drug offenders.

“We have got to put the violent and dangerous in prison … but that is the minority; the majority can be placed on probation. We have to use proven solutions like drug court, mental health court and HOPE probation,” Alm said.

The pair, Kau and Alm, represent new thinking for the Prosecutor’s Office and that’s a good thing — because as they both said, the current office has been left a mess.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.