Hodges deserves community’s support

There is, it should be noted, a sort of homespun nobility to the notion of supporting a political candidate who is a native son. All things being equal, why not cast a vote for the candidate who’s walked the same streets, maybe even met the same people along the way?

But in the race for the vacant seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals, all things are not equal. And while there will no doubt be an additional touch of pride for southwest Georgians who cast a ballot for Albany native and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges, hometown pride is not the reason Hodges should be this region’s choice for the seat on the court.

Ken Hodges is simply the better candidate.

The people of Dougherty County remember the brash young assistant district attorney challenging his boss in the 1996 election, how Hodges, angry that an accused Dougherty County murderer who faced the electric chair was allowed to walk free because the sitting district attorney allowed the case to languish with no action, ran on the promise that he’d never allow that to happen again. In his 12 years as Dougherty’s DA, it never did.

Hodges earned his bona fides as a tough-on-crime prosecutor by aggressively seeking justice for victims in Dougherty County courtrooms, and his concern for the most vulnerable of the community’s victims — its children — led to the formation of the Lily Pad domestic violence center and turned a conviction rate for crimes against children that languished at less than 50 percent to near 100 percent.

Having a reputation as a hard-nosed prosecutor is not a bad thing for a potential Court of Appeals justice to have on his or her resume. But Hodges’ career did not stall in the district attorney’s office. When he left in 2008 to enter private practice, he focused primarily on commercial litigation, protecting the rights of consumers, but he’s also represented and claimed victories for a number of high-profile individual clients.

Hodges, who previously served as president of the District Attorneys Association and chairman of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, now serves as president of the State Bar of Georgia, and he’s received numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious Robert Benham Award for Community Service.

A graduate of Emory University and the University of Georgia Law School, Hodges and his family have built a home in Albany, and he’s one of the rare professionals who’s managed to maintain a successful practice in both the state capital and in his hometown.

Hodges’ opponent, Ken Shigley, who has publicly stated that a seat on the Court of Appeals would be a nice way to settle into retirement, has only the experience of having been a defense lawyer in Atlanta to list as his qualification for this important position.

Hodges has earned the endorsements of a number of prominent Georgia leaders, among them Saxby Chambliss, Johnny Isakson, Thurbert Baker, a number of sitting sheriffs and district attorneys, as well as former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, who while in office appointed Hodges to serve on statewide committees that sought alternative sentencing guidelines and a loan forgiveness program that led to more attorneys serving as public defenders and prosecutors.

Hodges earned these prominent Georgians’ endorsements by carving out a career that has been built around the concept of equal justice under the law. He deserves the support of his hometown and region, not just because he is “one of us,” but because he is the better man for the job.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board