HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Two men will face off in next month's Republican primary for Houston County district attorney.
Arthur Creque says his 20 years as Houston County chief assistant solicitor general make him qualified to be the next district attorney.
"Last year alone, I dealt with over 1,300 cases," he said. "When you talk about experience dealing with high caseloads, then certainly, I am qualified to deal with that."
Incumbent George Hartwig argues that, with nearly ten years as district attorney, nine more as an assistant DA, and several years as a law enforcement officer before that, he's the right man for the job.
"In the last nine-and-a-half years since I took over as DA, this DA's office has gotten 53 total life sentences for crimes committed in Houston County," he said.
Creque claims that Hartwig allowed a backlog of cases to build up.
"Many an officer has told me that they go to grand juries and it's 2020 and they're just now indicting cases from 2017," he said.
Hartwig acknowledged the backlog but argues that while defendants have a legal right to demand a speedy trial, prosecutors do not.
He added that the situation in his office is common.
"1,500 cases pending is not anything unique to my office or the Houston DA's office whatsoever," said Hartwig. "Every prosecutor's office in the state has a backlog of cases."
He argued Creque doesn't have the experience to serve as DA.
"My opponent has never tried a single felony case in his career," he said.
Creque acknowledged that's true. As a solicitor, he deals with misdemeanor cases but he argued the real issue is how the DA handles cases, not the type.
"I prosecuted over 1,300 defendants within a year," Creque said. "I think any lack of so-called experience in prosecuting the felony cases is just a bunch of baloney."
Creque alleged that Hartwig "lives with his secretary" and argued that creates "an appearance of impropriety."
Hartwig said Creque doesn't have "any personal knowledge" of the situation.
"I'm not going to discuss my personal life," Hartwig added.
The DA called Creque's decision to make the allegation "disgusting" and said it shouldn't have been made into a campaign issue.
"It's, frankly, something that he should not be discussing, but I can see why he is because he cannot have a conversation with me or come close to me on qualifications or experience for the job," said Hartwig. "So he's got to try to deflect and point the attention somewhere else."
Election day is June 9th. Early voting is already underway.
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