Deborah Gonzalez
District Attorney of the Western Georgia Judicial Circuit
Assumed office
January 2021
Preceded byBrian Patterson
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 117th district
In office
November 27, 2017 – January 14, 2019
Preceded byRegina Quick
Succeeded byHouston Gaines
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic

Deborah Gonzalez is an American attorney and politician from Georgia. Gonzalez was elected as a District Attorney for Georgia's Western Circuit district on December 1, 2020, and is a former Democratic member of the Georgia General Assembly. She served as a state representative for Georgia House District 117 from November 27, 2017, until January 14, 2019.

Gonzalez is a practicing attorney, with more than 20 years experience. Her practice has concentrated in the area of media and entertainment and social media and technology.[1]

On June 10, 2017 Gonzalez announced her intention to run for District 117 in the Georgia House of Representatives. She subsequently won with 53 percent of the vote in a November 2017 special election.[2] The vacancy in the seat was created when her predecessor was appointed by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to serve as a Superior Court Judge.[3]

In the November 2018 general election, Gonzalez was defeated in her attempt to win a full term when Houston Gaines reclaimed the seat for the Republican party.

On July 11, 2019, Gonzalez announced her candidacy to run for district attorney in the Western Judicial Circuit, which serves Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, to succeed incumbent Ken Mauldin who announced his retirement effective February 29, 2020, 10 months prior to the end of his term.[4] However, Governor Brian Kemp refused to announce by May 3, 2020 an acting replacement for the remainder of Maudlin's term, which under House Bill 907 (passed 2018) would delay the primary and election for the office to 2022. Gonzalez filed a federal lawsuit against Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the law in order to force the special election to take place,[5] with Judge Mark Howard Cohen of the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruling in Gonzalez's favor. The state appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, who referred the case to the Georgia Supreme Court. On October 11, the Court ruled in Gonzalez's favor, finding that HB907 unconstitutionally allows the governor to appoint an acting district attorney to serve beyond the term of the prior incumbent rather than the remaining time left in the prior incumbent's term.[6] The state relented and scheduled a blanket primary for the office for the November ballot.

A special election was held on November 3, 2020 and went to a runoff on December 1, 2020. Gonzalez defeated her opponent in the runoff, James Chafin, with 51.7% of the vote.[7] She was the first Latina to be elected District Attorney in the state of Georgia.[8]

Electoral history

2017 Georgia House of Representatives 117th district special election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Deborah Gonzalez 3,999 53.15%
Republican Houston Gaines 3,525 46.85%
Total votes 7,524 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican
2018 Georgia House of Representatives 117th district election[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Houston Gaines 13,164 53.55%
Democratic Deborah Gonzalez (incumbent) 11,418 46.45%
Total votes 24,582 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. ↑ Jim Thompson (July 15, 2017). "Athens attorney announces Democratic run for state House". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ Erin Schilling (November 27, 2017). "Georgia representatives Gonzalez, Wallace to be sworn in today". The Red and Black. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  3. ↑ Grace Walker (November 7, 2017). "BREAKING: Democrat Deborah Gonzalez wins district 117 state house seat". The Red and Black. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. ↑ Francisco Guzman (July 14, 2019). "Former Athens Rep. Deborah Gonzalez running for district attorney". The Red and Black. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ Lee Shearer (May 20, 2020). "Athens' Gonzalez, ex-state rep, sues over canceled district attorney election". The Red and Black.
  6. ↑ "High court: Special election for Georgia DA seat can proceed". Associated Press. October 11, 2020.
  7. ↑ Aued, Blake (December 1, 2020). "Deborah Gonzalez Wins Athens District Attorney Race". Flagpole Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Latino Victory Fund Congratulates Deborah Gonzalez for Winning Historic Race for District Attorney in Georgia Runoff Election". Latino Victory. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  9. ↑ "2017 Georgia Special Election 11/07/2017".
  10. ↑ "2018 District 117 Election Results 11/06/2018".
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