Chief assistant DA to challenge Superior Court judge

Alonza Whitaker has a story he likes to tell about the intersection of his public and private life.

As a prosecutor, he puts people in jail. As a preacher, he tries to save people the experience.

In announcing Monday that he will challenge Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins in the May 24 election for that seat in the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, Whitaker talked about a joint Thanksgiving church service he joined as pastor of the Rose Hill Memorial Baptist Church.

There a young man stood up and spoke directly to Whitaker, who as a prosecutor had sent the man to jail, though the defendant had sought probation.

Since serving his sentence, the man had turned his life around. For that, he thanked Whitaker.

"I was upset with you, but look at me now," he told Whitaker.

Whitaker, 60, pledged that if elected, he would "fairly and impartially" judge such defendants who came before him, to be "hard but fair" in showing mercy as well as strength.

Whitaker has worked in law for more than 30 years, serving as defense attorney, prosecutor and Columbus Recorder’s Court judge. "I love seeking justice," he said.

He has run for higher office before: In 2004, he challenged but lost to then-District Attorney Gray Conger, and in 2008, he ran for the open judge seat vacated by Kenneth Followill. He lost that race to Gil McBride, today the circuit’s chief judge.

As he’s now challenging an incumbent judge, he was asked whether he still would prosecute cases before Mullins.

Whitaker said he could, but would try not to, just to avoid the appearance of any impropriety. As a chief assistant district attorney, he has some flexibility in handing cases off to junior prosecutors, he said.

He also said that because he is a state employee, rather than someone who works for the city, he does not have to resign his position to run, as it presents no conflict of interest.

Whitaker has worked in the district attorney’s office a total of 19 years, the past seven consecutive.

A 1974 graduate of Jordan High School, he first obtained a degree in 1978 from Alabama State University in Montgomery before gaining his law degree in 1985 from the Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Neb.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Chief assistant DA to challenge Superior Court judge."