Chatham County District Attorney candidates square off during League of Women Voters forum

Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones and her Republican challenger Andre Pretorius squared off during a candidate forum on Monday night, hosted by the League of Women’s Voters of Coastal Georgia.

The forum, conducted as a moderated Q&A on Sept. 16, sought to encourage voters to get to know the candidates and their platforms before the election on Nov. 5. The questions were submitted by news outlets and the public, and the candidates were given one minute each to answer the questions.

During the forum, which was moderated by WJCL’s Shannon Royster, the candidates touted their respective backgrounds, prosecutorial experience and accomplishments. Jones and Pretorius sometimes disagreed on topics, but, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, also seemed to agree on multiple points throughout the mostly cordial event.

About 100 people attended the forum, which was held at the Coastal Georgia Center on 305 Fahm St. Those attending included District 6 Chatham County Commissioner Aaron "Adot" Whitely, Chatham County Coroner David Campbell Sr., and Chatham County Superior Court Judge Chris Middleton.

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What did the candidates say at the forum?

At the forum, Jones said she resurrected the criminal justice system post-COVID-19. Despite fewer resources, Jones said, her office had been able to start and establish diversion programs, community-based strategies, including the Show Us Your Guns Program, mental health diversion, and a mentor's program. Her office, she said, has also been able to implement a cold case unit, which she said has successfully prosecuted 20-year-old cases, and the Conviction Integrity Unit.

“We never give up on our victims, no matter how old the case,” said Jones. “And we'll continue this work in the next term."

Pretorius said that, when he first started at the DA’s Office in 2013, the office faced a “massive backlog.” He said he tried cases that were sometimes more than a decade old, in efforts to move them through the system. Pretorius said he “went through and looked at” 3,100 cases on the backlog project Jones’ office did, and found that 3,000 were dismissed.

“So, that means only 100 of those cases were filed,” said Pretorius. “I will not do that kind of work.”

Jones said Pretorius was not qualified to provide comment on the backlog because he has never tried a felony case nor worked in a felony court. Pretorius, however, denied that claim, saying that he tried felony cases as a Hall County Solicitor and is currently handling a felony caseload.

When Pretorius was in the DA’s office, he added that the office had diversion programs for drug offenders. First-time offenders were allowed to receive substance abuse treatment, Pretorius said. When he was in the office, Pretorius also said that ADAs spoke to police officers, to ensure that they were trained in areas such as obtaining search warrants.

Another issue brought forth at the forum: Staff retention. At least 44 ADAs have resigned under the current administration, said Royster.

Pretorius said prosecutors choose their profession to “make a difference in people's lives,” and many “don't care about the money.”

Jones said that her office has hired 41 prosecutors in those positions, and said she is “grateful” that the Chatham County Commission agreed with her that “turnover was the issue around the state,” not just her office. Jones said she has advocated for retention bonuses, higher salaries, and “costless benefits.”

Both candidates spoke to the importance of plea bargaining, treating unhoused offenders, and rehabilitative and preventative programs to prevent repeat offenders. Both candidates also agreed that abortion cases should not be prosecuted at the Chatham County District Attorney’s office.

The candidates also defended themselves against alleged ethical violations, including references to an active lawsuit against Jones by a former assistant district attorney and allegations by Jones against Pretorius for having "unlawfully represented himself as an employee of this office and inserted himself in a confidential [Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team] wiretap investigation and asset forfeiture case."

“What I have is an office that I worked in where we were ethical. We made sure that we did everything correctly. We did not put in place non-disclosure agreements so that nobody can talk about what goes on in my office,” Pretorius said, seemingly referencing a “confidentiality agreement” that Chatham County DA’s Office employees were required to sign in an effort to protect sensitive work in the office, which forbid attorneys from speaking on active cases with the press, speaking on personnel matters, and open records.

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Closing statements

In his closing statement, Pretorius said he is running for District Attorney because he has a family, three children and he is "concerned about their safety." Pretorius criticized Jones’ office for giving bonds to offenders. He claimed that there are 35 people charged with murder out on bond.

“I didn't want to run for DA, but now, when I heard what was going on in that office, and I worried about the safety of my kids and the amount of mass shootings that happened, I want to be able to take my kids downtown."

Jones, meanwhile, said she ran for office because she wanted a "smarter, better and stronger" criminal justice system. She said she found it "egregious" that a person committed murder, but said Pretorius may be better fit to run for judgeship because bonds are determined by judges, not district attorneys.

"We need somebody who's qualified and who understands that, who understands what the role of a district attorney is versus the role of a judge or the role of another actor in the criminal justice system," said Jones. "I represent the people, the underdog, the victims, defendants, and you the public, and I'm asking the people to send me back to the courthouse."

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Candidates for Chatham County District Attorney face off in forum