Early voting started Monday for Augusta district attorney, superior court judge and sheriff, among other offices. Hopefuls wanting to keep or take the positions defended their records and promised change at a Saturday political forum.
Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree has two opponents on the May 21 Democratic primary ballot: Eugene “Rock” Brantley and Clarence “Bo” Johnson IV. The primary winner will become sheriff next year unless independent candidate Richard Dixon wins the Nov. 5 election.
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Brantley said he had over 24 years’ experience in law enforcement, but argued Roundtree’s three terms “may not always be good” if the experience was unfavorable, such as the arrests of about 40 officers, primarily jailers, during his latest term.
Brantley said crime in Augusta is “85% higher than the national average in Georgia,” countering the sheriff’s claims it has gone down.
The “administration may lie about numbers,” the popular special duty officer said.
Johnson, a retired U.S. Air Marshal who earlier served in local law enforcement, said he’d like to see a return to Augusta’s lower-crime days.
“What I’m looking at now is a rapid decline in our county,” Johnson said. “It’s a sad thing for me to see, for someone who grew up here and remembers the way it once was. I would like to see it get back to that or even better.”
Johnson said staffing issues “all fall under leadership.”
Roundtree listed his qualifications, which include attending the FBI National Academy in 2008, as well as those of the sheriff’s office, which is the largest full-service office in Georgia.
Roundtree said he takes a hardline approach to officer misconduct.
“We fire them and then we lock them up,” he said. With an agency of 700 employees, “there are going to be some that fall though the cracks.”
Asked about ensuring officers are assigned to high-crime areas, Roundtree said the office’s intelligence analysts look for trends, but need the public to report it.
Brantley said he’d seen as few as five deputies working the entire south side of Richmond County. Johnson said some 40 people died in car crashes last year while few deputies were assigned to traffic.
Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams, whose circuit includes Richmond and Burke counties, said he made history as the circuit’s first Black DA and recalled his grandmother being allowed to vote at age 18 due to the color of her skin.
“I inherited an office that until a month before the election, had no Black attorneys in the 30 that were in the office,” Williams said.
Challenger Amber Brantley, who faces Williams in the May 21 Democratic primary, said she wants to restore “hope for the criminal justice system for our victims, and restore relationships” among law enforcement and social services agencies.
Both Williams and Brantley said preventing the community’s scourge of gang violence and murder hinged on identifying problem youth at an early age.
“That is where we catch these young people before they even commit crimes,” Brantley said.
Williams defended his role as a plaintiff suing the state over creation of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Qualifications Commission. He said the commission arose after a number of prosecutors of color took office.
“Really, it’s about overturning the will of the voters,” he said.
Brantley said prosecutorial ethics prevent her from commenting on the pending litigation.
The three local attorneys seeking to replace Superior Court Judge Danny Craig, who is retiring, also spoke Saturday.
Charles Lyons said his law practice handled the exact type of cases that commonly move through Super Court.
“I know what this community needs because I’ve been in this community,” Lyons said.
Hopeful Willie Saunders, who serves as a juvenile court judge, said he wanted to see superior court’s “top-down” communication with other agencies improved.
Attorney Matt Matson said he’d like to see a return to judges specializing in types of cases, such as family law.
