State Attorney Candidates Face Off in Open Forum
August 31, 2012
Willie Meggs and Pete Williams squared off in an open forum on Friday. Both hoped to prove he is the best candidate for State Attorney in the second judicial circuit.
"It was an important opportunity to try and get the issues out in this race," said Williams.
Williams has received a pretty big endorsement. He's been backed by the Police Benevolent Association.
The candidates were quick to cut to the chase.
"The challenger was more negative. And I don't think that went over well with this crowd. He seemed very angry," said Barney Bishop, a Tallahassee Resident.
Contrary to Mr. Bishop's remarks, Williams won the forum straw poll by 75 to 46.
Meggs is seeking reelection for what would be his eighth term. He's held the title for 28 years. Williams said it's time to end what he calls selective prosecution.
"I wanna move forward to the future and end the good ol' boy network. Which means it shouldn't matter who you know. Every case is handled the same. Every person's handled the same. No favoritism. No enemies list. Just everything by the book and professional," said Williams.
Meggs was quick to defend himself.
"I don't know anything about a good ol' boy network. What we do is try our best to do right and do justice to every case that comes a long," said Meggs.
Meggs said his office handles thirty to forty thousand cases a year and he's proud of the job he's done.
"Obviously we don't do em' all exactly as some people think we should. But day in and day out we do a good job with the cases," said Meggs.
The state attorney for the second judicial circuit covers a six county region, including Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties.
Helpful Links
Learn more about the United States Congress at
www.house.gov and www.senate.gov
Not sure which precinct to vote at?
Visit the Georgia Precinct Locator
Want to know what you need to do to register to vote in Georgia? Visit www.sos.state.ga.us/elections
Also visit the State of Georgia website
Find out more about elections in Georgia at the
Georgia Elections website
Know when to head to the Georgia polls by browsing
Georgia Voter Information
Know when to head to the Florida polls by visiting the
Florida Voter Information Page
Find out more about Florida Voting Systems
Want to talk to your elected officials? Visit Florida’s Contact Your Elected Officials Page
Get your Florida voter registration application at
election.dos.state.fl.us
Learn more about how Florida does elections at the Florida Division of Elections Web Site
Visit the State of Florida Web Site
CBS Political Headlines
-
Inside the IRS office that targeted conservative groups
Employee who worked in IRS Cincinnati office for 24 years says she doesn't recall any discussion of politics -
Video: McCain jokes to reporters: We'll "subpoena" you if you don't mute your phones
In a strange reference presumably to news that the Department of Justice secretly subpoenaed two months' worth of phone records from the Associated Press, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joked with reporters that "we're going to subpoena all of you if you don't go to mute on your phones." -
Video: Former employee of Cincinnati IRS office speaks out
Dean Reynolds speaks to Bonnie Esrig, a retired employee of the IRS office that's accused of political targeting. She says that in her 24 years in the office under two Democratic and two Republican presidents, she never heard anyone say, "The president wants this done." -
Video: Carney: U.S. to refer "more frequently" to Burma as "Myanmar"
As a "diplomatic courtesy," the United States "has begun to allow limited use of the name Myanmar" to describe the former pariah state of Burma as it inches closer toward democracy, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday - but official U.S. policy, he added, "remains that Burma is the name of the country." -
Video: Obama hosts Burmese president at the White House
In a photo op Monday afternoon with Burma's president, Thein Sein, President Obama repeatedly referred to the nation as Myanmar - new acknowledgement of a "diplomatic courtesy" allowing "limited use of the name" to describe the former pariah state, though official U.S. policy "remains that Burma is the name of the country." -
Burma or Myanmar? WH grappling with name game
President says "Myanmar" in meeting with the former pariah state's president, but official policy remains "Burma" -
Top Obama officials knew about IRS probe, says WH
Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and others learned of looming IRS report last month, but didn't tell the president -
Video: Senior WH aides knew about IRS probe, Carney says
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Denis McDonough, President Obama's chief of staff, was among a handful of senior aides informed of the Treasury inspector general's findings that the IRS was targeting conservative groups for heightened scrutiny in their tax-exempt application process - but insisted he did not intervene in the "ongoing" investigation, or tell the president.
