A recent campaign mailer from candidate Donna Sikes accused opponent Brad Smith of having let a Barrow County man go in a plea deal; the man was recently charged for murder in Florida. Smith strongly rebutted the accusation, saying that while he processed some paperwork, the case was not his and he had nothing to do with the plea deal (see comments about the mailer and Smith's response below.)
Smith and Sikes had just two minutes to address the Barrow County Republican Party faithful at a meeting last week. Sikes fired the opening salvo in the night’s confrontation between the two attorneys.
She said she was better qualified for District Attorney due to her 17 years of experience and because of her ability to restore public trust in the office.
“The problem with my opponent is that everything that went wrong in that office was because of Tim Madison and everything that went right was because of him,” she said. “You can’t have it both ways. He either was involved in running the office or he wasn’t.”
Sikes remained on the offensive, arguing that Smith’s experience was worthless without good judgment.
Sikes also said Smith, as head of the Barrow County office, needed to take responsibility for excessive spending after Madison left office and for thousands of unprosecuted cases.
“I’ve learned as an attorney that you can delegate authority, but not responsibility,” she said. Sikes vowed to prosecute cases aggressively and restore public trust in the office.
SMITH RESPONDS
But Smith rebutted the comments, saying Sikes was just mudslinging.
“Throughout her campaign, my opponent has consistently used mudslinging and baseless personal attacks," he said. "Since the election, there have been rumors and conspiracy theories running rampant. I am here to tell you now that these are not true. The things you have been reading about are not true.”
Smith said the negative campaigning was causing citizens to lose sight of the real issue in the campaign – who is better qualified to be the next District Attorney.
Smith said police and sheriff’s deputies risk their lives every day to get dangerous criminals off the streets.
“If the District Attorney is not qualified, these criminals will be back on the street,” he said. Smith spoke of a quadruple murder case currently pending in Hoschton. He reminded voters that whoever is elected as District Attorney will immediately be faced with prosecuting that case.
“I am the only candidate with any experience in the complicated world of death penalty litigation,” he said. “My opponent is not death penalty qualified.”
Smith said the defendants in death penalty cases are guaranteed representation by counsel that is death penalty qualified. If Sikes is elected, the defendant would have more qualified representation than the citizens of Barrow County, he said.
During arraignments and other hearings, it is regular practice for one ADA to sign the paperwork that is being presented to the court, regardless of who is assigned to the case. This case was never assigned to me, and I never had anything to do with any plea negotiations. They would have been performed by the ADA assigned to Judge Booth cases. My signature is on the accusation merely because I was standing at the bench when the case was presented. If Mr. Caylor had pleaded “not guilty” instead of “guilty,” I would still have had to sign the accusation. My signature simply means I was standing there, not that I had anything to do with it. I don’t know any of the facts of this case, since it was never mine, but the charges he pleaded to are all misdemeanors, and the sentences he received are in line with what judges hand out for these offenses. If the judge had not agreed with the sentencing negotiated by the ADA and defense attorney, he would not have sentenced the defendant to that.
I have dedicated my entire 12 career to keeping predators and other criminals off the streets. My opponent in her career has never done anything to put a single criminal behind bars. That she would use the pain of a victim’s family for political gain and her own personal ambition is reprehensible and just another example of the mudslinging she has resorted to in order to distract voters from her complete lack of qualification for the job. If anyone would like to discuss this with me, I can be reached at (678)350-6380. Thanks for your time and support.
Brad Smith, candidate
I find these attacks troubling because Sikes claims she has done criminal defense work. If this is the case, she would know it is possible for Smith's name to be on paperwork for a case even if it wasn't his case. If she did know this, then it shows a terrible lack of integrity. If she didn't, then how can she know how things are supposed to be done if she wins. Also, as a criminal defense attorney, how many criminals has she worked to keep out of jail? Smith has at least committed his career to prosecuting criminals, not trying to get them back on the streets. At the very least her attack is tacky and demonstrates terrrible judgment on her part.
Why would anyone want a unskilled, uneducated
offical in the DA public office, such as Sykes?
Note: If you reply to my comments in favor of Sykes, you obviously don't no the truth about Sykes bogus allegations about Smith and Bridgeman, so I incourage you to seek that truth before casting your vote. I already have.