(Editor’s note: This is one of a series of articles in the months to come on candidates for statewide office.)
Charlie Bailey
Democrat Charlie Bailey says he will create a statewide civil rights division and a new unit to fight organized crime if elected as Georgia Attorney General in the 2022 election. Bailey ran against Republican incumbent Chris Carr in 2018 on the same issues and is looking for a rematch.
“We came close then, getting 49 percent,” Bailey told InsiderAdvantage in an exclusive interview. “I received the highest vote showing of any down-ballot Democrat in a statewide race that year — and I believe it was a result of my message which is based on values, justice, safety and fairness. I am running again to make our Attorney General’s office fight for the people of Georgia instead of powerful special interests and right-wing political causes. Also, I was the only candidate in the race who has been a prosecutor before, and I think it’s important that the state’s top prosecutor have experience as a prosecutor.”
Bailey believes the Attorney General “should have a strong focus on civil rights and protecting all Georgians.”
“Our current Attorney General does not have a civil rights division nor does he have an organized crime division that pursues that threat to the well-being of our people. This is 2021, and it’s way past time to focus on civil rights in the state,” said Bailey. “The people of this great state of Georgia need to know that their Attorney General will fight for their rights, fight for fairness.”
A “Double Dawg” Bailey earned both his Bachelor’s Degree and Law Degree from the University of Georgia. He says his background and experience as a prosecutor have helped him prepare to be Attorney General. He grew up in West Georgia — an 8th Generation Georgian — and went to work for Governor Roy Barnes at the Barnes Law Group. He later worked as an anti-gang prosecutor in Fulton County in the District Attorney’s office.
Bailey now works with Cook & Connelly LLC, a law firm founded by Bobby Lee Cook in 1959 in Summerville, Ga. Bailey opened the firm’s Atlanta office.
Bailey, who announced his intent to run early — last January — has endorsements from former Gov. Roy Barnes, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Hank Johnson, former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, and other current and former state legislators and local district attorneys.
