RE-ELECT PATSY AUSTIN-GATSON

I am Patsy Austin Gatson and I have the privilege of being your Gwinnett County District Attorney.  I am not just your DA, I am first a child of God, a mother, a wife, a grandmother, and a resident of this beautiful diverse county for 25 years.

Growing up in the projects of New York, my mother taught me the power of fighting for what I want. She raised me and my five siblings as a single mother. She worked so hard to take care of us and she is the biggest fighter I know.

You see, I never saw myself being where I am today. I never thought I would become a lawyer let alone go to college and law school. I did because of the support of my mother, family, mentors, and friends.

I moved to Georgia and stayed after going to law school at Emory University with no financial assistance, working jobs while studying to make ends meet.

I was blessed to have my first job out of Law school working for then Attorney General Michael Bowers. During my time there, I prosecuted some of the toughest cases and provided justice to many people across the state.

I then moved to Gwinnett County with my husband, Travis where we continued our lives and raised our 3 incredible children. I was a small business owner and also worked legally in private practice until I took a supervising attorney position with the Solicitor General’s office of Gwinnett County.

In 2020, I took the leap of faith and ran for Gwinnett District Attorney because I was tired of the status quo, and I was determined to be the difference.

And we won! I became the first African American and first women to ever hold this seat in Gwinnett’s history, beating out a 28-year incumbent.

In my tenure, I have been working hard for the citizens of Gwinnett County. I changed the culture of the Office of District Attorney by hiring over 70% of the office staff - some of the most talented and diverse assistant district attorneys, victim witness advocates, investigators, and legal assistants in the State - A phenomenal team that I am very proud of, and they are proud to say that they are working for all in Gwinnett County.

I have remained vigilant in protecting our young people from drugs and taking the wrong path. There have been over 74 cases of Fentanyl, Opioid, and Xylazine certified and uncertified deaths in Gwinnett County this year alone. My office was the first in the State of Georgia to begin charging drug dealers with murder who sell drugs laced with fentanyl because there is a serious

drug problem especially within our youth in the form of vaping and illegal substances and our community is suffering. I am committed to protecting our youth against drugs in our schools and community.

There have been several initiatives that I brought to the District Attorney’s Office that never existed before. The first is the RED program. The Rehabilitation Enables Dreams program is an initiative that reduces the rate of recidivism for our 17-to 28-year-olds. This program has been very successful with 36 graduates. The second is the RIZER program which provides a second chance for juveniles. I can’t tell you how many parents have come to me after these kids graduate to express their deep gratitude for having programs like this. I will continue pushing programs and initiatives like these in my office to give more opportunities to educate rather than incarcerate.

I have also established a cold case unit, a conviction integrity unit, an expansion of the Special Victims and Gang Task Force Unit. Along with these expansions, I added additional investigators and victim witness advocates. Many of the new investigators have come from our own communities. We have also made it a priority to train the community in gun safety and college sexual crime awareness.

My time as your District Attorney has been so rewarding and I thank the citizens of Gwinnett County for entrusting me to serve you for the last 3 years, but my work here is not done.

Growing up, I watched drugs and crime tear families apart. Our youth are dying at a rapid pace due to drugs and guns. I am committed to protecting our youth against drugs and bringing these dealers to justice. I am committed to setting our youth on the right track by providing programs to educate and building the next generation of leaders.

So, I ask you to join me again as I hit the trail, knocking on doors, talking to voters, and hearing your concerns. I want to continue being your voice and I look forward to earning your vote once again in 2024.

Thank you.

Patsy Austin Gatson