As Fulton DA Race Heads to Runoff, Candidates Spar on Corruption Claims & Police Prosecutions
With most precincts counted, veteran prosecutor Fani Willis' lead is still short of avoiding a runoff with her former boss.
June 10, 2020 at 07:38 AM
4 minute read
Now facing a runoff against Fani Willis in the race for Fulton County district attorney, incumbent Paul Howard signaled Wednesday that he intends to cast his Democratic opponent as an ally of police unions and Republicans.
But Willis, a veteran prosecutor who worked for Howard for 16 years, countered Wednesday that she is "a proud Democrat and the daughter of a civil rights leader." Willis also called out Howard for "incompetence and corruption."
With 360 of the county's 366 precincts completely reported, Willis had garnered just under 41% of the vote compared with Howard's nearly 34%, out of more than 92,000 ballots counted. A second challenger, Christian Wise Smith, was trailing with nearly 26% of the vote.
Willis must secure 50% plus one vote in order to avoid a runoff with her former boss.
On Wednesday, Willis said about 70,000 Democratic ballots that were mailed in or deposited in drop boxes at designated precincts on Tuesday in Fulton County must still be tallied.
"I look forward to earning each and every vote as we continue the campaign," Howard said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, Fulton County and Atlanta have now for the time in our histories, joined several urban cities that are seeing police unions taking major roles in the outcome of local political races."
Howard has been criticized by Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers over his decision to charge six police officers for the violent arrest of two Atlanta college students who were tazed and pulled from their car during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Howard, in turn, accused the IBPO of "being out of touch with reality" and engaging in a politically motivated plan to influence Tuesday's primary in order "to end police prosecutions in Fulton County."
Howard's campaign also has been challenged by accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation raised by two women who worked in his office—claims he has denied. He is also under investigation by the state ethics commission over alleged campaign financial disclosure law violations.
Howard said the Atlanta Police Union and former Atlanta City Council member Mary Norwood, a Republican and two-time candidate for mayor, have both endorsed Willis. "I do not believe that Republicans like Mary Norwood should interfere with or attempt to influence a Democratic primary," he said. "Democratic candidates should not take the donations, particularly, when this interference is taken to support police misconduct. I believe this attempt to influence the district attorney's race represents an extreme union and Republican position, inconsistent with the views of most of the honest, hardworking police officers and citizens of our county."
Willis said she is gratified that voters demonstrated support for her plans for reform. "They overwhelmingly rejected Paul Howard's corruption and divisiveness last night, giving him only a third of their votes," she said. "It is no surprise he would resort to the same desperate lies he has been using the last few weeks."
She also contended that Howard, instead of focusing on progressive criminal justice initiatives, focused instead on "avoiding accountability" for bolstering his salary with nonprofit funds in a potential violation of state campaign finance laws and in efforts to defend two sexual harassment complaints.
Howard, a Fulton County prosecutor and the county's former solicitor general, took office as the county's first African American district attorney in 1997. Willis, a veteran prosecutor who worked for Howard for 16 years, rose to become executive assistant DA in charge of the complex case division before leaving to open her own practice in 2018. If Willis—who stepped down as chief judge of South Fulton's municipal court to challenge Howard—wins, she will become Fulton County's first African American woman to hold the office.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllCOVID-19 Death Suit Against Nursing Home Sent to State Court, 11th Circuit Affirms
Georgia Judge Rejects GOP Lawsuit Trying to Block Counties From Accepting Hand-Returned Mail Ballots
3 minute readCobb County Says Over 3K Absentee Ballots Mailed Late, Just Days Before Election
2 minute readGa. High Court Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Protests at State Capitol
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Guarantees Are Back, Whether Law Firms Want to Talk About Them or Not
- 4Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
- 5Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250