ATHENS — An independent candidate says he’s secured the number of petition signatures needed for his name to be placed on November’s ballot to run against embattled Athens-Clarke District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez.
Kalki Yalamanchili said the petition has been turned in to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office in Atlanta.
Gonzalez is running for her second term in office. She did not have an opponent in the primary.
Critics of Gonzalez, including Gov. Brian Kemp and State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), have accused her of being soft on crime, incompetent and ineffective.
Gaines called Gonzalez’ job performance “unacceptable” in February during a visit to the University of Georgia, days after a 22-year nursing student was killed on campus. Police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan whom U.S. authorities say entered the country unlawfully, and charged him with murder.
Credit: Courtesy of Kalki Yalamanchili campaign team
Credit: Courtesy of Kalki Yalamanchili campaign team
Gonzalez defended her record during an April town hall on crime and safety, where she answered questions along with Sheriff John Williams and Police Chief Jerry Saulters. Overall crime in Athens was down 2% in 2023 from the year before, including a 7% drop in violent crime, while arrests increased 16%, according to data provided by the county.
“We wake up every morning and go into the courthouse or the community to get this work done because we care,” she said.
Yalamanchili qualified to run as an independent in March. His campaign team said he then needed roughly 5,400 signatures — at least 5% of voters eligible to cast ballots in the race — to secure a spot on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate. Monday, he delivered more than 14,000 signatures to the Secretary of State to be verified, the campaign team said. That process could take five to seven weeks, Yalamanchili said.
Yalamanchili previously worked more than five years as a prosecutor in the Western Circuit. He’s currently in private practice and is an adjunct professor of law at UGA.
Yalamanchili has described the district attorney’s office under Gonzalez as “a disaster,” pointing out staffing shortages and accusing the office of mishandling violent offenses.
