Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 7A
— Meet the Candidates —
Donna Golden Sikes, District Attorney
Rick Bridgeman, District Attorney (incumbent)
Please summarize your back
ground.
I grew up in Jackson County
on a cattle and chicken farm and
graduated from Jefferson High
School in 1972. I received my
undergraduate degree from the
University of Georgia and my
law degree from the University
of Georgia School of Law. I have
had my own law practice for the
past 17 years, representing cli
ents in all areas of the law, both
civil and criminal. I am a member
of the Jackson County Chamber
of Commerce and a graduate from the Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce leadership program. I have served as
a member and past chairman of the Jackson County Industrial
Development Authority, and as attorney for the Jackson County
Water and Sewerage Authority and for the City of Arcade. I am
a member of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit Bar Association and
I am licensed to practice in all Georgia Superior Courts, the
Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court and the
U.S. Federal District Courts.
How has your background prepared you for the seat you
are seeking?
I have successfully tried thousands of cases for my clients
and done so without a team of investigators or assistants to back
me up. I have had to manage my own office and work within
a budget. I also grew up here and have deep family roots in
this community. I understand what the people want from their
district attorney.
Why are you the most qualified person for this position?
Having 17 years as a practicing attorney admitted to practice
before every court in Georgia and having successfully tried
cases at the Georgia Court of Appeals and even the State
Supreme Court makes me the most experienced attorney in
this race.
What do you consider to be the key issues facing the
campaign? If elected, what would be your plans on how to
address these issues?
The most important issues are restoring public trust and
integrity in the district attorney’s office and removing the stench
of corruption left by Tim Madison. To achieve this, I will have
an “open door, open books’’ policy so that everyone will know
immediately how their tax dollars are being spent.
What is the greatest challenge being the person elected to
this position and how would you address it?
The greatest challenge will be reassuring the public that the
district attorney’s office works for them and is not used as a
vehicle for personal vendettas, unethical behavior, or outright
crime as it was under Tim Madison. As the only candidate who
never worked for him, I’m the only one who can restore that
trust.
What course would you like to see the county take as it
grows over the next decade?
The growth in population in our area will unfortunately
bring an increase in crime. The district attorney’s office needs
to address that by cooperating with and supporting our law
enforcement agencies and making sure they have the training
and resources they need to fight increasing crime rates. I will
make the district attorney’s office available for the training of
investigators and arresting officers anytime a sheriff or chief of
police needs that.
Brad Smith, District Attorney
Please summarize your back
ground.
Brad Smith has been leading
others since his college years at
The Citadel, where he served as
a Cadet Second Lieutenant and
Company Academic Officer.
After graduating with honors from
The Citadel, Brad attended one of
the nation’s leading law schools at
the University of Virginia, where
he graduated in 1996. He began
his legal career with the Piedmont
Judicial Circuit as an assistant dis
trict attorney for Jackson County
in January 1997. Within two years of hire. Brad was placed
in charge of supervising the Jackson County office. For the
next five years, he was directly responsible for the prosecution
of every felony case in Jackson County. In August 2004, Brad
moved to the Barrow County District Attorney’s Office as a
senior assistant district attorney.
Highlights of Brad’s service include:
•Assistant district attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit
for over 10 years.
•Served as acting chief assistant for the Piedmont Circuit.
•Lead counsel on more murder cases than any other ADA in
the circuit during his tenure.
•Experience with multiple death penalty cases.
•Has argued before the State Supreme Court.
•Past chairman of the Jackson County Child Abuse Protocol
Committee and Child Fatality Review Committee.
•Created and chaired the District Attorney’s Gang Task
Force.
•Assisted in the development of the criminal justice curricu
lum for Barrow County high schools.
•State Bar of Georgia Mentor for new ADAs.
•Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Georgia
and the State Court of Appeals.
•Current Secretary / Treasurer of the Piedmont Bar
Association.
Currently, Brad works at the Clarke County District Attorney’s
Office.
Brad has been dedicated to serving the Piedmont Circuit com
munity in his private life as well. He is a member of the board
of directors of the Tree House Child Advocacy Center and
serves as chairman of the center’s Fatherhood Committee and
is a member of its Community Outreach, Board Development
and Auction Committees. He and his family are also active
supporters and fundraisers for Peace Place and Relay for Life.
In addition, he is the voice of the Appalachee Wildcats serving
as the announcer for high school’s home football games for the
past seven years, a member of the Barrow County Chamber
of Commerce, Barrow County Republican Party, and past
president of his neighborhood homeowner’s association. Brad
and his family attend Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit Church in
Winder.
Brad’s experience and commitment to his community has
earned him endorsements from district attorneys Ken Mauldin
(Western Judicial Circuit) and Ken Hodges (Dougherty Judicial
Circuit), as well as the Police Benevolent Association of
Georgia.
How has your background prepared you for the seat you
are seeking?
In my 11 years of service to the Piedmont Circuit, I have
prosecuted every type of case from armed robberies and kid
nappings, to domestic violence and drug trafficking. I have
personally tried more murder cases than any other assistant
district attorney in the circuit. I have experience with multiple
death penalty cases, and have received national training in
death penalty litigation. However, being district attorney is
about more than prosecuting a case, it is about leading a staff
of over 35 in the prosecution of thousands of cases. My roles
within the Piedmont circuit as supervisor of the Jackson County
office, senior assistant district attorney in Barrow County and
acting chief assistant district attorney have given me significant
experience leading, supervising and training other attorneys,
investigators, secretaries, and victim assistance coordinators.
Why are you the most qualified person for this position?
I am the only candidate with significant experience both pros
ecuting cases and leading others in the prosecution of cases. In
addition, the vast majority of my experience comes from serv
ing Barrow, Banks, and Jackson counties. As a result, I am the
most familiar with the issues and trends facing our community
and have built the strong relationships with law enforcement,
victim services agencies and county government leaders that
are necessary to effectively manage the caseload of a rapidly
growing judicial circuit and the large staff responsible for pros
ecuting that caseload.
What do you consider to be the key issues facing the
campaign? If elected, what would be your plans on how to
address these issues?
As Jackson, Barrow and Banks counties grow, crime rates
are growing and the types of crimes are changing. The district
attorney must be prepared to anticipate and stay ahead of these
changing trends in crime. For example, criminal street gangs
are beginning to infiltrate our counties. The DA’s office must
establish a circuit-wide Gang Task Force, like the one I created
and chaired when I worked in Barrow County, that gathers and
shares information and intelligence and coordinates activities
between all law enforcement agencies. Only by acting aggres
sively now can we get ahead of the problem and stop gangs
at our door. Also, as our population ages, elder abuse, both
physical and financial, is on the rise. The district attorney must
take the lead in both prosecuting these cases and in educating
the community to help prevent these crimes. Finally, internet
predators are targeting both our children and financial identities.
The district attorney must embrace technology and innovation
to combat these cyber criminals.
In order to stay ahead of these trends, however, the district
attorney must address a key challenge within the DA’s office
- the high rate of attorney turnover. Since September 2007,
seven attorneys have resigned from the Piedmont Circuit’s
DA’s office. Such high turnover rates hinder the office’s ability
to efficiently and effectively prosecute cases. In order to attract
and retain the best and brightest attorneys and support staff into
the district attorney’s office, I will protect all employees of the
DA’s office by bringing them under the human resource policies
of the counties that employ them. Currently, attorneys and staff
are employed at the will of the district attorney and can be fired
without cause or due process. Bringing them under the protec
tion of established human resource policies will help eliminate
an environment of fear and distrust. In addition, I will create
formal training programs for all attorneys and staff within the
district attorney’s office. Such training will enhance employees’
ability to do their jobs, promote greater job satisfaction for
existing employees, and attract better qualified candidates for
open positions.
What is the greatest challenge being the person elected to
this position and how would you address it?
Bringing innovation and expanded services during an eco
nomic downturn. Taxpayers are overburdened and cannot
simply throw money at problems. The district attorney must
use the resources that are already in place to be more efficient
and productive. The district attorney must also work outside the
courtroom to promote programs that prevent crime and break
the cycle of victimization.
What course would you like to see the county take as it
grows over the next decade?
I would like to see open communication and coordina
tion between all of the various law enforcement agencies
in the county. Since working with the district attorney’s
office is something they all share, the district attorney
is in a unique position to foster and promote this coop
eration. With rapid growth but limited resources, law
enforcement must work together and pool their various
resources to stop our changing trends in crime before they
take hold. The district attorney must take a leadership
role in this.
SMITH
Storm continued from page 1A
Election cont'd
from page 1A
ning for the Democratic nomination
for Public Service Commission where
the winner will face the winner of the
McDonald-Davidson battle.
In the county Board of Education Post
1, incumbent Republican Neal Brown
will face Democrat John David Kennedy
in November as both are unopposed in
their respective primaries.
Whitfield said he was in the back
part of his home, which is located
behind the mobile home, and he
didn’t hear the tree when it fell. He
said, “The neighbors on the other
side of the mobile home came to
my house beating on the front door
and said a tree was on my mother’s
house. I went to her front door and
was able to get her out.”
Mrs. Echols, 85, was also in the
home when the tree fell. Mrs. Echols
said, “I was in the living room on
the couch and it didn’t touch me.
It didn’t even wet the couch where
I was at.”
Mrs. Echols said she climbed over
stuff in the hallway of the mobile
home to the bedroom door and
called for her husband, but there
was no answer. “I knew he was dead
then,” she said.
Please summarize your back
ground.
I obtained my B.A. degree in
Criminology from the University
of Maryland. While attending law
school in the evening, I served
full-time as an investigator with
the DeKalb County Solicitor’s
Office. I obtained my law degree
from Georgia State University
College of Law and was admitted
to the bar in June 1995.1 served as
an assistant district attorney in the
Piedmont Judicial Circuit from
July 1995 until July 1999.
From July 1999 until my appointment as district attorney by
Governor Perdue on September 6,2007,1 served as an assistant
district attorney in both the Northern Judicial Circuit and the
Mountain Judicial Circuit. It has been my privilege to serve as
district attorney in the Piedmont Circuit (Banks, Barrow and
Jackson Counties) for these past nine months.
How has your background prepared you for the seat you
are seeking?
My background as a prosecuting attorney and investigator,
as well as my degree in criminology, has enabled me to serve
effectively as district attorney for the past nine months. We
have made significant progress in overcoming the challenges of
the past and building a trustworthy office, dedicated to serving
the citizens of our community.
Because I have served in other jurisdictions during my career,
ranging from urban DeKalb County to rural Stephens County, I
have learned which practices are most effective in the prosecu
tion of criminal cases. Those experiences also provide me with
perspective on the issues facing the Piedmont Circuit. Having
seen the challenges in the criminal justice community that result
from increasing population and growth, I am better prepared
and equipped to anticipate and address future issues, such as
gang violence, proactively and effectively.
Why are you the most qualified person for this position?
As a career prosecutor, having personally prosecuted thou
sands of cases ranging from DUI to murder and having exten
sive felony jury trial experience, I have the level of relevant
experience necessary to train, mentor and lead others in the
work of a district attorney’s office. We assembled the most
seasoned, experienced and committed team of attorneys, inves
tigators and support staff in the history of this circuit who are
now working together with other talented but less experienced
professionals in our office to build a culture of excellence.
We have made significant progress in bringing necessary
improvement to the district attorney’s office, including resolv
ing a backlog of over 2,000 uncharged criminal cases, increas
ing the rate of successful prosecutions from 54 percent to 85
percent and reducing the dismissal rate from 24 percent to 15
percent. We now track and expedite cases where defendants
are held in jail. We now file criminal cases by accusation where
permitted, saving thousands of dollars in witness and grand juror
fees and keeping law enforcement officers on the street, instead
of in the courthouse. We seek to indict or accuse cases within
90 days whenever possible to ensure timely justice for victims
of crime and improve our ability to successfully prosecute
each case. We reopened dozens of cases of child abuse, sexual
assault and domestic violence that had been put on “hold” so
that we can seek justice for those victims. We now are seeking
justice on every case. I established a practice of regular meet
ings with law enforcement agencies and our other criminal
justice partners to improve communication, learn where we can
make improvements and discuss proactive and innovative ways
to prevent crime.While we have made great strides, we still
have work to do. Where we are successful, credit goes to our
entire team. Where there is failure, I accept responsibility. We
learn from our mistakes and seek daily to improve the quality
of the service we provide to our community. We have a track
record of significant accomplishment in just nine months and
we hope to have the opportunity to continue that progress.
What do you consider to be the key issues being the
campaign? If elected, what would be your plans on how to
address these issues?
There are several key issues facing the campaign. First,
the increasing growth of our community will likely bring an
increase in demand for services in the criminal justice system.
We must be prepared to handle the increased demand effective
ly and efficiently with limited resources. We must be smarter
in our approach to handling criminal cases. We should first
work to prevent crime to reduce the growing crime problem
in our community. Second, we must work to keep first-time
non-violent offenders from becoming repeat offenders through
appropriate supervision and treatment while under sentence.
Repeat offenders who commit non-violent offenses must be
handled through a progression of supervision, treatment and
increasing sanctions to include incarceration when appropriate
to require them to abide by the law. Finally, we must remove
violent offenders and those who abuse children from our com
munity through tough sentencing.
The second issue, closely related to the first, is the likely
change in the character of crime in our community with growth.
Gang violence is a problem that has plagued metro Atlanta
counties. We must be proactive to prevent gang violence but
deal with it appropriately when it occurs. We are currently
prosecuting the first gang violence cases in the history of this
circuit and one of those gang members has already been sen
tenced to prison. Gang membership begins at a young age.
Likewise, many others who commit crime begin making poor
life choices at an early age. Therefore, efforts to prevent gang
violence and other crime must begin with our children. Our
children must have the hope of a bright tomorrow, the love and
guidance of a strong family and the support and encouragement
of their community. We will continue to partner with the Tree
House child advocacy center, our schools, DFCS, juvenile court
and others to find effective ways to help children grow into
healthy, happy, productive and law-abiding citizens. We must
do a better job of partnering with the faith-based community in
serving at-risk children and families. As a former foster parent,
mentor and current adoptive parent, I have both personally and
professionally dedicated myself to providing hope and encour
agement for children in this community.
A third issue is the continuing problem with drug addiction,
particularly methamphetamine. Again, prevention is a key
factor in reducing the problem of substance abuse in our com
munity. Most who have drug and alcohol addictions began
their substance abuse at an early age. We will continue with
our partners to look for ways to prevent children and teenagers
from making those choices. However, for those defendants
who are using chugs, we must combine requirements for effec
tive treatment with certain and appropriate sanctions in order to
encourage them to overcome their problems with drug use and
become law-abiding citizens. Drug court can be effective, but
the cost per defendant is high and the number of defendants
who can participate is very limited. Drug courts can spend
a half-million dollars a year for just one hundred defendants.
Additionally, where drug court is used as a prosecution diver
sion program, it can take four prosecutions before a repeat drug
offender would ever have a conviction entered on their record.
We must look at how our limited funds can be spent most
effectively to reduce crime. For example, our circuit has seen
a reduction in the number of probation officers per offender
resulting in a decrease in the ability to appropriately supervise
offenders and an increase in the likelihood of recidivism. We
must also look at ways to require the offender to bear the costs
of treatment, rather than the taxpayer, wherever possible.
What is the greatest challenge facing the person elected to
this position and how would you address it?
The greatest challenge is to effectively and efficiently handle
a growing caseload of criminal cases without a corresponding
increase in resources. State budget cuts and difficult economic
times have resulted in a significant decrease in the funding
available to prosecute each criminal case. Additionally, an
increase in mandatory minimum prison sentences for some
crimes has increased the likelihood of trial for many of these
cases. That results in a significant increase in the amount of
time and resources that it takes to prosecute each of those cases,
compared to what it takes to prosecute a case which results in
an early guilty plea. Criminal cases are handled most effec
tively when they are prosecuted in a timely manner. The older
a case gets, the more difficult it is to prosecute. Witnesses are
harder to locate, memories fade and evidence can be misplaced
or destroyed with the passage of time. I have made the timely
prosecution of cases a priority and we have seen a correspond
ing increase in our ability to be successful in the handling of
those more recent cases. We spent thousands of hours work
ing on the backlogged cases we inherited and our success rate
on those cases has not been as high because of the difficulties
presented in prosecuting cases that were already several years
old at the time we inherited them. We will continue to focus
on appropriate and timely handling of criminal cases so that
dockets remain manageable, offenders are held responsible and
victims receive justice.
What course would you like to see the county take as it
grows over the next decade?
The county must plan ahead for the challenges of the future.
As district attorney, I hope that we will continue to see posi
tive results from the relationships we are building with law
enforcement, the court system, our criminal justice partners
and other public officials. If we continue to anticipate the
needs of our citizens, we can be proactive in providing high
quality services, utilizing the taxpayer’s resources effectively
and improving the quality of life in our community, instead
of reacting to issues after they occur. I hope to continue to
improve our technology capabilities by improving our ability
to electronically share data with our criminal justice partners
thereby increasing our effectiveness; by providing online
access to criminal case and docket information to victims,
witnesses and the public; by putting all of our public informa
tion online, including closed case files, budget and expense
information and other statistical information; and by explor
ing opportunities to go “paperless,” which reduces costs while
increasing efficiency.
1
Save money with our
multi-policy discount!
Hen you insure your car and home or mobile home
with us, through Auto-Owners Insurance Company,
we’ll save you money with their
multi-policy discount!
Mature policyholders can
earn even greater savings.
Contact our agency today!
cz/m/o - Insurance
Life Home Car Business
The.'No fio6£e*n fiopfk.**
PO Box 876 Office: 706 335 4185
30037 Hwy. 441 S. Fax: 706 335 4183
Commerce, GA 30529 bj_vankeith@winclstream.net
Auto • Home • Life • Health • Business • Annuity
11 if/
Insurance Agency