He was elected in 1994, at the age of 32, making him one of the youngest elected prosecutors in the state. Greg won his first four year term of office in November of 1994 with a focus upon offender accountability, victims’ rights, and improved office operations, including the development of an actual civil division to take legal matters that had been farmed out to private outside attorneys. Zempel
has since been re-elected five times and is very popular and well-respected in his community. In his role as prosecutor, Zempel has never lost his focus on victims, constantly striving to assure that their statutory and constitutional rights are held to be as important as the rights of defendants. He has handled almost every type of criminal case. He has also handled almost every type of civil matter that could face a county. He has practiced at every level of court in our system, from district court to the Washington State Supreme Court. He has tried well over 100 jury trials as a defense attorney (his former career) or prosecutor. Zempel was instrumental in creating the Sexual Assault Interagency Coalition and specialized sexual assault interviewer position. He was instrumental in creating a Group called Protecting Our Children, which is a community group that educated parents on protecting their children from molesters. He created a bad check enforcement program to assist business while providing offenders a way to avoid criminal prosecution for their actions if successful with repayment and education. Zempel also assisted in creating the Kittitas County Drug Court which functions to change the lives of drug addicts whose criminal conduct impacts our communities. He resides in Ellensburg with his wife and four children.
