Governor wants nominations for Columbus District Attorney after Jones jailed. What to know
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has asked local members of the state bar association to send him nominees for district attorney in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit based in Columbus.
The position currently is held by Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry, sworn in after District Attorney Mark Jones was suspended last year amid allegations of misconduct. Jones cut short his trial on those charges in November when he pleaded guilty and resigned.
Terry said Friday that she would have to talk with her family before deciding whether to apply.
“It’s a very serious position, and it’s a large undertaking,” she said, adding she just saw the governor’s notice. “I’m sure the governor will do what is best for the circuit.”
The governor’s office sent the notice out Friday morning. It said Kemp wants nominations submitted by Jan. 28, just a week away.
He asked anyone interested in the position to fill out an application and send it to Rhonda Barnes Wilson in his paralegal office.
Officials at the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the Georgia Secretary of State have said Kemp’s appointee will serve the remainder of Jones’ term, which ends in December 2024.
Jones took office in January 2021, after defeating incumbent Julia Slater in the 2020 elections, but he served only 10 months before the governor suspended him after his indictment on nine felony charges.
A jury was deliberating the evidence presented at his trial when Jones decided Nov. 15 to plead guilty. Visiting Judge Katherine Lumsden sentenced him to five years in prison with one to serve, and fined him $1,000.
Jones pleaded to these charges:
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 3:04 PM.