Local & State Headlines

Hodges won't seek new term

• Chief Assistant District Attorney Greg Edwards has emerged as the only candidate vying for the District Attorney's office, authorities said.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — The district attorney for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit said Wednesday that he will not seek another term as the circuit’s top prosecutor, pledging instead to do everything he can to ensure his top deputy takes the reigns.

Ken Hodges says that he will step down from the post he’s held for most of the last 12 years when his term expires in January after saying he’s accomplished the goals he made when he first took office.

“When I ran 12 years ago, I ran to make changes in the office and get it moving in the right direction,” Hodges said from his home Wednesday evening. “We’ve accomplished those changes and now I feel that I can leave the office in Greg’s (Edwards) very capable hands.”

Hodges said that he will likely get back into private practice with his goal to get into the civil arena, although he’s still sorting through the possibilities of either joining a firm or starting his own.

During his tenure, Hodges said that he made it a priority to eliminate the backlog of death penalty cases that were in limbo when he took office, giving Albany the dubious distinction of having the most such cases pending in the state at time.

Hodges also worked to develop a pre-trial intervention program through a partnership with Albany Technical College that provided non-violent offenders with educational opportunities. He worked with the Dougherty County School System to strengthen their truancy program, began community education initiatives to combat ID theft and sexual assaults and brought white collar criminals to justice using racketeering statutes.

But Wednesday, Hodges downplayed what he called his sabbatical from public life, to underscore Edwards ability to take over.

“Greg is simply the perfect fit for the job,” Hodges said. “He’s been right there by my side helping me prosecute cases and run the office. He’s a bright and articulate attorney and a community leader and I think he’s the person who needs to continue to carry the office in the direction it needs to go.”

Edwards said that he feels he’s ready to accept the reigns from Hodges and says that he has his own ideas for the office, should he be elected.

“I’m ready and I have some ideas that I think will move the community forward,” Edwards said. “The role of the district attorney is multi-functional in that it involves being a prosecutor, administrator and a community servant. I think I would be a good fit.”

The president of the Dougherty County Bar Association, Edwards has been an attorney for 25 years with 12 years of what Hodges said was management experience working the Dougherty District Attorney’s Office.

In 2006, he was named Georgia’s Assistant District Attorney of the Year, has taught at Albany State University and is an instructor for both the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia and the National Advocacy Center through the National District Attorney’s Association.

Edwards said it’s important that elected officials “remain committed to improving the quality of life” for their constituents saying that the main component of ensuring that is to protect the population.

“We have to continue to protect our children; our elderly population and the disabled,” Edwards said. “I feel we can prevent some of the crime by increasing our interaction with the youth of the community by working to help young people make the right decisions before they get in trouble.”

The state ethics committee currently shows only Hodges as having filed the necessary paperwork to begin raising money for the office, but should someone make a race out of it with Edwards, Hodges said he will throw his considerable political weight behind him.

“My number one objective now, as far as the race is concerned, is to do everything I can to ensure that Greg Edwards, if he faces opposition, wins,” Hodges said.

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