ATHENS, Ga. — The Western Judicial Circuit will have a new district attorney in the new year.
Voters in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties voted to oust Deborah Gonzalez and elect Kalki Yalamanchili.
Embattled incumbent Gonzalez faced a narrow loss on Election Night, losing the Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney race by less than 2%.
Gonzalez, who assumed office in 2021, was the first Hispanic to be elected district attorney in the area. However, her term was quickly plagued by a lawsuit, loud critics and complaints. Her harshest critics spotlighted staffing woes and instances in which she violated victims' rights.
As issues mounted and voters expressed their lack of faith in her leadership, they took these sentiments to the polls, making her a one-term district attorney.
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Come 2025, Yalamanchili will assume office.
The independent brings experience as a former prosecutor in the circuit. Oconee County voters voted overwhelmingly for the independent, where he took 76% of the vote. In Athens, his win was narrow, with less than 1,400 votes separating him from Gonzalez.
During his campaign, Yalamanchili pointed to victims' rights violations that made Gonzalez's office notorious. Just last month, the Georgia Supreme Court decided that a lawsuit accusing Gonzalez of failing to do her job properly can proceed.
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Though Gonzalez faced much scrutiny during her campaign, she pointed to efforts to increase staff, create diversion programs, and drop crime during her tenure. According to data released by the state, crime rates in almost every category have decreased in her jurisdiction since she took office in 2021.
Yalamanchili will now have an opportunity to build upon Gonzalez's work.
