The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

Election

August 20, 2010

Appeals court candidate wants law to be understandable

Antoinette “Toni” Davis is running for a nonpartisan seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals in part so she can make the law more accessible, she said during a visit to Dalton on Thursday.

“I wanted to (run for office) because I had this burning desire to do good,” said the Marietta resident who practices law privately after 14 years as an attorney for the Georgia Supreme Court. “I just didn’t want to go to my grave saying ‘I could have done this.’”

By “this,” Davis means making a difference in people’s lives through the court system, she said, from writing opinions that are understandable for people outside the legal profession to applying the law in a fair and unbiased way that takes personal opinion out of the picture.

Davis made an impromptu visit to the Whitfield County Courthouse on Thursday and planned to visit area attorneys and others in both Whitfield and Murray counties. This is her first time running for public office. She faces James Babalola, Stan Gunter, Adrienne Hunter-Strothers, Chris McFadden and David N. Schaeffer in the Nov. 2 general election for a six-year term. The winner will replace Judge Edward H. Johnson, who is not seeking re-election.

Davis grew up in North Carolina before moving to Georgia 30 years ago to work on her law degree at the University of Georgia.

Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said he first met Davis at a sheriff’s association conference. He said he invites visits from any of the candidates running for office and tries to notify courthouse employees in advance so they can meet them.

For more information about Davis, visit www.votetoni.com.

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