Attorney General Chris Carr stops in Albany while conducting business, campaigning

ALBANY — Running for elected office is a large enough challenge in and of itself. To do so while carrying out the duties of that office adds layers to the degree of difficulty.

But Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Wednesday during a visit to southwest Georgia that his focus on the duties of his office does not change when he’s on the campaign trail.

“I enjoy campaigning, but you have to find the right balance,” Carr, who met with The Albany Herald at Elements Coffee on Ledo Road for a one-on-one before heading to “a little work and a little campaigning” in Moultrie, said. “This is a big state — the largest east of the Mississippi — and setting up (campaign staff) in all 159 counties definitely keeps us busy.

“Today, we’ve met with some sheriffs in the region, went to a fundraiser in Tifton, visited Lee State Prison, and we have a meeting with one more sheriff and a fundraiser in Moultrie. You do a lot of planning.”

Carr, who came to southwest Georgia with his wife, Joan, a former journalist and Senatorial staffer, was celebrating a big law enforcement victory Wednesday. The state Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit got a guilty plea and 20-year prison sentence for Jevarius Torel Wisdom for charges of human trafficking, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A Greene County Superior Court Judge accepted the plea Monday.

This case involved a 17-year-old female victim and a 21-year-old male defendant.

“That was huge,” Carr said of the plea deal from the 2016 incident. “That unit was organized about the time COVID hit, so a lot of their work has been curtailed. But they made that sex trafficking case here in Albany and made 14 more arrests in the metro (Atlanta) area for labor trafficking, which involved gang members sending kids out to do things like sell candy in support of fake charities.

“This guilty plea was big, and now we’re set to hold the first human trafficking trial in Cobb County. That case was set to be tried about the time COVID — which has forced a large backlog across the state — hit and was finally set for Aug. 2. Then the delta variant pushed things back, so we’re hoping to get that trial going in a week or so.”

Carr said that, despite the fractious political scene that has engulfed the state in the past few years, his job remains constant.

“Look, I’m somebody who believes in staying in his lane,” the attorney general said. “I am a Constitutional officer elected to do the will of the people of the state of Georgia. The duty of our office is to provide legal advice, the best legal advice possible. And in this office, we do our job.

“Professionally and personally, I believe in the rule of law. Any elected official who is not doing that is not carrying out the duties of his or her office, is guilty of dereliction of duty, of violating the oath of office.”

That, Carr said, is why he has vocally and officially opposed the mask mandates that President Biden said he plans to impose upon businesses. The president does not have that authority,” Carr said.

“Look, I’m pro-vaccine, and I encourage everyone to get the vaccine,” he said. “But for any individual to assume that, with the stroke of a pen, he can mandate that people do so is just wrong. Constitutionally, he can’t do this.

“The way the constitution is set up, decisions of this sort are made by the individual states. Congress may be able to debate this, but the president does not have the Constitutional right to make such mandates.”

Carr said that history will judge the impact of each individual state’s response to the COVID-19 virus, but he said he believes Gov. Brian Kemp and other state officials have “taken the right approach” in response to the pandemic.

“I think history is going to judge Gov. Kemp and the state favorably,” he said. “In circumstances like this, there is no playbook. But what has to be weighed is the health of the state’s citizens and their right to earn a living. To lose either is tragic. I think the approach the governor and other state leaders have taken is the right one.”

Carr also reiterated his support for the state’s law enforcement officers who continue to do their jobs under adverse circumstances.

“Defund the police didn’t really take hold here, but our law enforcement officials have been demoralized,” he said. “So many officers now are afraid to do their jobs; they’re afraid they’ll get sued, afraid, essentially, to do what they have been hired to do. That’s hurt retention and recruitment all over the state.

“What’s got to happen is public officials — yes, that includes me, but also mayors and commissioners and other officials — have got to stand up in support of law enforcement. Safety is a fundamental human need, and citizens have a right to expect their property to be protected. We have to support our law officers, get them better training, better technology. If we train them well and support them as they do their jobs, we’re going to see better outcomes.”

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher