The responses to these questions were edited for length and clarity by the Georgia Decides team. Each candidate was allotted 150 words for each answer and some answers were trimmed in order to abide by that length requirement. Other edits were made to make sure readers can fully follow and understand the candidate responses.
Campaigning for: Cobb County Solicitor General
How does your background equip you for the job you are seeking?
I am the only candidate with experience in every aspect of criminal law – working as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge. With this unmatched experience, I will effectively execute the job as Solicitor General to keep Cobb County families safe while treating all who appear before the State Court with dignity, fairness, and respect.
What role should government have in the lives of Georgians? How would you apply that philosophy to the job you are seeking?
The job of Solicitor General is to keep people safe and I believe that is simply the most fundamental role of government. The Solicitor General is the Chief Prosecutor of Cobb County State Court, a position that actively engages with law enforcement, leads an office of 70 employees including 30 attorneys, prosecutes all misdemeanor crimes including traffic citations and ordinance violations, manages a budget of $8 million, advocates on behalf of victims. As Solicitor, I will work every day to uphold the rule of law and ensure the safety and security of those I am honored to serve.
If you are elected (or re-elected), what problems will you spend the most time solving and why?
As Cobb County’s next Solicitor General, I will uphold the law, protect our community, and ensure the ends of justice are served by treating every person with dignity and respect.
Georgia is a politically diverse state. How will you work to represent Georgians whose political views differ from your own?
My job will be to uphold the rule of law no matter a person’s political party or background. Everyone will be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect, but they will be held accountable for their actions or afforded rehabilitation when appropriate. That’s the difference in this race. My opponent wants to make the law partisan — picking and choosing which laws to prosecute and enforce. She should run for the Legislature. I am running to do the job and to keep Cobb families safe while ensuring everyone appearing before State Court are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.
Who has been the biggest influence on how you view government and politics? What have you learned from this person?
I am not running for Solicitor because of politics or a partisan agenda. We need a Solicitor who will uphold the rule of law with fairness and dignity. We need a Solicitor with the unmatched experience to execute the job in a way that protects the people of Cobb County while treating everyone with respect. Unfortunately, my opponent wants to pick and choose what laws to enforce like a lot of radicals across the country. That is not the job of Solicitor. To protect citizens, we must hold criminals accountable and second chances to those who deserve it.
Politics is often about compromise. How do you decide when to compromise and take small, incremental wins, and when to refuse compromise?
As Solicitor, I will not be passing legislation or deciding policy, so political compromise really does not apply to the job. My job will be to uphold the rule of law. Unlike my opponent, I understand that you either follow the law or you do not. Those who do not will be prosecuted accordingly. However, I believe in second chances and alternatives when appropriate so long as it does not compromise the safety of Cobb citizens.
There were politicians who questioned the outcomes of Georgia elections in 2018 and 2020. Do you think Georgia’s elections are secure and will you stand by the results?
Elections would not be under the purview of the Solicitor General of Cobb County. I believe the State Legislature passed election reform in 2021 that strengthened Georgia’s elections and addressed election integrity issues that existed in our elections process.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, state law and local enforcement authority will determine access to abortion. If elected, how will you use your authority to influence abortion access or enforcement of abortion restrictions?
The Solicitor General of Cobb County will have no say or authority in these decisions. I am running to uphold the rule of law and keep Cobb citizens safe. If I wanted to influence policy or law, I would run for the legislature or a law making position. The Solicitor General upholds the law and doesn’t pick and choose which laws to enforce.