Election 2020: Columbus lawyer faces district attorney in Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit race
.png "Columbus lawyer Mark Jones (left) is challenging District Attorney Julia Slater (right) in the June 9 Democratic Primary in the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit.")
The chief prosecutor for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit based in Columbus has only one challenger this year.
Incumbent District Attorney Julia Slater faces Columbus attorney Mark Jones in the June 9 Democratic Primary. No Republican qualified to seek the post in November.
Jones, 38, has made headlines recently because of his arrest stemming from the May 17 filming of a campaign ad at the Columbus Civic Center, where he’s alleged to have recruited two custom-car enthusiasts to cut doughnuts in the parking lot. Authorities claimed the tire marks left there caused more than $300,000 damage.
Jones also has been in the news for representing protesters police arrested after a May 31 downtown demonstration against racial injustice.
But he has not responded to a Ledger-Enquirer candidate survey sent to him and to Slater, despite repeated requests from the newspaper. So, only Slater’s responses are included in this story.
Slater, 53, has been practicing law for 25 years, 20 as a prosecutor, with 11 of those years as the district attorney. She was in private practice for five years, in criminal defense and also serving as a guardian for abused and neglected children and occasionally as judge pro-temp for juvenile court.
A Columbus native and Hardaway High School graduate, she attended Stephens College in Missouri for an undergraduate degree in musical theatre. She got her law degree from Washington and Lee University before starting in 1994 as an assistant district attorney in the circuit that besides Muscogee County includes Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Talbot, and Taylor. Her primary focus then was on crimes committed by and against children.
Here are her answers to the Ledger-Enquirer candidate survey.
Why should you be district attorney?
“I am the only candidate with criminal prosecution experience. I understand how the DA’s office works. I have made many positive changes in my first 11 years and I look forward to continuing to make the office more efficient while maintaining our emphasis on justice.
“My vision is demonstrated in the seven major initiatives I have implemented since taking office. These include being a part of the small team that created the Rapid Resolution Program, which has contributed to a large decrease in our jail population, and bringing the DA’s office onto a web-based case tracking system, which has increased our efficiency. My energy is shown by my visibility in the community, speaking to countless groups about the criminal justice system. My passion can be seen in my office’s concentration on being the voice for victims of crime and protecting the community in which I live.”
What do you believe is the most pressing issue facing the office, and how would you address it?
“The most pressing issue facing the DA’s office will be maintaining quality staff during the upcoming budget season. Because of the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, we are facing a severe shortage of revenue on both the state level and the local level. I manage four budgets totaling over $5 million. I have gathered a staff of assistant district attorneys with a combined 500 years of legal experience and 400 years of prosecutorial experience. A staff that talented is only maintained by concentrating on office morale and steady pay. The state has already told us to cut 14% of our budget, and my state budget is over 99% personnel. With pay almost certainly facing cuts, maintaining an office of quality, experienced attorneys and staff will be the biggest challenge for the next few years. It will take strong, steady leadership to guide the office through the lean times ahead.”
In light of complaints that some cases linger too long, have you any ideas for speeding the process?
“The office of the district attorney is constantly working to improve the efficiency with which we prosecute cases. The implementation of the Rapid Resolution Program has certainly reduced the length of time those cases remain pending, and that has in turn decreased the age of our cases overall. The severity of the cases we prosecute often requires us to obtain forensic evidence before proceeding, which limits our ability to speed up the prosecutorial process. I have recently hired an additional investigator and reorganized the investigators in a way that will help them get the files to the attorneys faster, which will allow the attorneys to indict the cases sooner. This year we will be moving to a case management system that allows law enforcement, the jail, the courts, and the attorneys to share information more quickly. These measures will help speed up the judicial process while still focusing on justice.”