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April 28 - May 4, 2016 • Page 8A
Solicitor-general's race is between coworkers
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
The race for DeKalb County’s
next solicitor-general is pitting two
coworkers against each other.
Nicole Marchand Golden,
the county’s chief assistant district
attorney, and Donna Coleman-
Stribling, a deputy chief assistant
district attorney, answered questions
for approximately 20 minutes during
an April 12 forum sponsored by the
League of Women Voters of Atlanta-
Fulton County.
In describing the role of a
solicitor general and what she
would bring to the office, Golden
said, “The solicitor-general is both
a prosecutor and an administrator
and...policymaker. So you set the
tone for the office. The opinion of
how you look at crime passes down
to the people that you supervise.”
Additionally, the solicitor-general
manages a $6 million to $7 million
budget, Golden said.
“So I’m familiar with the office.
I’ve run the office. I did that as chief
assistant district attorney,” she said.
Golden said she plans to
address low level offenders, if
elected.
“These are the folks who have
just come into the criminal justice
system, quite a few of them, so it’s
important, it’s an opportunity ...for
the solicitor’s office to get those in
dividuals, put them through rigorous
programming as opposed to prose
cution and/or jail, and give them the
opportunity to rehabilitate...so that
they don’t progress to...more serious
crimes, like felonies,” Golden said.
“I’ve worked both as a
misdemeanor prosecutor and as
a felony prosecutor, so I know that
this is the opportunity to grab most
Nicole Marchand Golden
of those people and make some
changes in their lives,” she said.
Coleman-Stribling, who as
deputy chief assistant district
attorney oversees the Solicitor-
general’s Crimes against Children
Unit, manages and supervises
more than 400 cases a year,
three attorneys, four investigators,
two victim advocates and a legal
assistant.
“So I have the management
skills as well as the supervisory skills
to manage a group of individuals to
deal with these cases every single
day,” Coleman-Stribling said. “I deal
with cases that I consider to be
some of the hardest cases in this
county.”
In addition to working as a
prosecutor for a decade, Coleman-
Stribling has experience as a
defense attorney.
“And that brings a balanced
perspective to the office of solicitor-
general,” Coleman-Stribling said.
“I’ve worked on both sides and that
allows me to run this office in a way
to deal with alternative resolutions to
some of these cases.”
When asked to describe the
Donna Coleman-Stribling
differences between each other,
Coleman-Stribling said, “My
relationship with Nicole [Golden] is
that she is in fact my supervisor.
“But let me tell you what’s
different. I have been a defense
attorney. I have run an office as a
defense attorney. I have managed
an office as a defense attorney.
I have had to also deal with the
budget,” Coleman-Stribling said.
“My career is not just in
prosecution,” she said. “My career
is also with regards to defense.
And addition to that, I have worked
outside of DeKalb County, which
allows me to bring some leadership
skills that could [be],..positive.
“I have worked under a number
of district attorneys and [seen] the
good and recognized sometimes the
bad,” Coleman-Stribling said. “I can
bring a different perspective to this
office.”
Golden answered the question
by describing the candidates and
coworkers as friends.
“This has been a very cordial
election process and I am very
happy with that,” Golden said.
“The thing that sets us apart,
from my perspective is I have done
this job,” Golden said. “I’ve set
policy. I’ve managed people—large
numbers of people. I’ve managed
large budgets. And I’ve put together
a lot of the programs that we
have talked about—from low-level
offender [programs] to mental health
court [and] diversion programs. You
name it, I’ve been instrumental in
creating those programs, in not only
the solicitor’s office but the DA’s
office.
“I could start from day one,” she
said. “I could do this job. I have the
experience to do it.”
The candidates also were asked
to describe the strengths of the other
person.
Golden described Coleman-
Stribling as compassionate.
“What I’ve seen in Donna
[Coleman-Stribling], and what I’ve
always admired about her is her
compassion for children, and for the
work she does with the child victims
of DeKalb County,” Golden said.
About Golden, Coleman-
Stribling said, “She does have some
knowledge, working knowledge of
what goes on in DeKalb County. But
I’d actually prefer to take my last few
seconds to talk about myself.
“The day-to-day work that I’ve
done inside of these courtrooms is
significant,” Coleman-Stribling said.
“I am daily in court. I deal with
law enforcement officers. I deal
with child abuse protocol. I’m head
of the child fatality review team,”
Coleman-Stribling said, adding that
the relationships she has formed
will allow her to run the solicitor-
general’s office.
The two candidates will
face each other in the May 24
Democratic primary in the race to fill
the solicitor-general’s seat.
DUE Continued From Page 2A
careful we’re not being exclusive
and not inclusive.”
Jester agreed but said he
wanted to make sure DeKalb
County is doing that “for all races,”
stating “[the board] might be low
on Latinos and everybody else and
not just recruiting Black people.”
Morley said the word Black
did not come up and that Jester
missed the point of the discussion.
“We are going after people who
are going from good to great, to
better to best,” Morley said. “I don’t
care what color they are. If they
happen to be Black, we want them.
If they happen to be green, we
want them. If they’re good, we want
them ... We want Latinos, we want
Asians and we want everybody.”
Vickie Turner spoke to
“caution Jester not to be insensitive
or disrespectful.” Turner pointed
out how the board has entrusted
Green and his staff to seek out the
most qualified individuals and bring
them into the school system.
Green stepped in “to assure
the community and the board” that
DeKalb County School District
(DCSD) is an equal-opportunity
employer “keenly aware of where
their shortages are.”
“Regardless of race, creed
or ethnicity, our focus will be on
creating a balance that reflects our
population ... [We’re] recognizing
where our shortages are and
shoring up those shortages,
wherever they may be,” Green
said.
On April 22, Morley said
no further discussion occurred
between herself, Jester or Green
and that this sort of conversation
happens frequently at work
sessions. She reiterated how board
members should be careful, as
public officials and human beings,
about what they say.
“When you’re demeaning
a population and saying things
that could reflect negatively on
the children we serve, I’m greatly
disappointed,” Morley said. “When
we’re putting things out in the
public, it puts a value on people, a
value on where they live. That’s not
why we are there.”
Morley instead proposed
“intensely understanding” in an
effort to make positive growth
and make more effective
communication.
Jester released a statement
stating he remained “concerned
about [DCSD’s] procurement
process” in regards to storage
service due to a lack of competitive
bidding. He did not comment on
the language used during the work
session.
Jester also stated DeKalb
County was sued for employment
discrimination in Federal Court in
2010 and wanted to “make sure
that DeKalb complies in spirit and
practice with all relevant state and
federal laws on these issues.”
Jester also provided 2010
census data showing DeKalb’s
teachers are 23 percent male and
67 percent African American.
“My focus is to advocate for
hiring the best, most effective
teachers, for the over 100,000
students in DeKalb County,” Jester
said. “Our students and taxpayers
deserve nothing less. DeKalb has
the second highest percentage of
teachers that are African American
and the highest percentage of male
teachers. The district is significantly
below the county’s general
population for percentages of Asian
and Latino teachers.”