AJC Photo: Christian Boone
She discussed her question to office during a recent interview.
“I got calls from South Fulton, North Fulton, Buckhead and just begged me to run,” she said. The office led by Howard has been broken into, she said. “I believe I’m the right person to fix it.”
A graduate of Emory Law School, Willis was hired by Howard and worked for 16 years in the Fulton District Attorney’s Office. During that time she was promoted to the Major Case Division and later appointed Deputy District Attorney of the Complex Trial Division.
Willis served as attorney general in the trial of 12 Atlanta Public School teachers accused of correcting standardized test answers by their students. All but one of the suspects were found guilty of racketeering.
Howard, the first African-American to win elections as a district attorney in Georgia, had not faced a serious challenger since 2000. When Willis formalized her candidacy in March, she made it clear that holding and carrying Howard to office would be a major issue.
Howard opposes federal lawsuits alleging discrimination or sexual harassment by subordinates past and present. The GBI is investigating its use of a nonprofit to truncate nearly $ 200,000 of funds from the City of Atlanta into its personal bank accounts.
Last week, he agreed to pay a $ 6,500 fine for state ethics for failing to play his role as CEO of two nonprofits, one of which reimbursed him $ 195,000 in city permit money. Howard was charged with 14 offenses, of which he admitted in the consent agreement.
Howard has charged Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe with felony criminal mischief for 11 counts of felony criminal mischief, including felony murder, following the June 12 shooting of Rayshard Brooks. Officer Devin Brosnan faces charges of assault and breach of office. Both are free on tape.
Critics accuse Howard of politicizing the case, noting that he had 43 former police officers on his desk who have yet to be reviewed. The GBI has expanded its investigation and is now conducting a new probe into whether the DA’s office could issue legal jury lectures to obtain information about Rolfe.
Willis was the top vote-getter in the primary June, but dropped the 50 percent not needed to prevent a runoff. Howard took an aggressive stance before the runoff, and singled out her distinctions through two-time mayoral candidate Mary Norwood, a political Independent, and the Atlanta Police Union.
“I do not see how you can serve as a gatekeeper for criminal justice in our community if you have made an agreement with the union not to prosecute police officers,” Howard said during a debate in June.
Willis’ response: “I’m dealing with a very desperate man who knows he’s losing.”
