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Color Of Change PAC: Deborah Gonzalez Remains Right Choice for District Attorney in Georgia’s Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties

Ahead of Runoff Election, COC PAC Reminds Voters of Importance of Progressive State Leaders to Effect Change within Black Communities

New York, NY – Ahead of the state’s runoff election, Color Of Change PAC maintains that Deborah Gonzalez is the right choice for District Attorney in Georgia’s Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. In September, the PAC endorsed Deborah Gonzalez for District Attorney and now, as Gonzalez faces a crucial runoff election against James Chaffin on December 1, the PAC is doubling down on its endorsement of Gonzalez as the best candidate to improve the lives of Black voters.

“Georgia’s runoff elections are ground zero for the nationwide progressive district attorney movement that Color Of Change PAC has spearheaded,” said Arisha Hatch, Executive Director of Color Of Change PAC. “State representatives elected to local and national posts will be crucial to the direction and tone of Biden’s administration and its criminal justice priorities for years to come.”

Deborah Gonzalez is a former state representative running to end mass incarceration and increase transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system. Her criminal justice platform contains much-needed innovations for a county that has only had two district attorneys in the last 48 years.

“As we move through this critical moment in racial justice, communities nationwide are witnessing the power and purpose of local representation in real-time,” said Hatch. “Prosecutors are mostly white and male, and nearly 85 percent run for DA positions completely unopposed. Gonzalez’s policies would enact the level of change necessary for communities of color that have been unduly impacted by our nation’s criminal justice systems.” 

Color Of Change PAC, one of the nation’s largest Black-led racial justice organizations, has driven the national movement to elect progressive district attorneys and leads an education campaign that informs voters about the link between criminal justice reform and voting. One of the first-ever political organizing groups to figure out how to reach and engage its members online, Color Of Change PAC has ramped up its digital tactics, including digital ads, virtual phone banking, and town halls in response to the limitations COVID-19 has put on in-person advocacy and voter engagement. 

The PAC seeks to endorse candidates like Gonzalez that support the criminal justice demands which reduce an emphasis on arbitrary punitive measures and embrace restorative justice, bringing about essential reforms; these include ending money bail, reducing collateral consequences for immigrant defendants, protecting kids within the juvenile justice system, holding police accountable, and being more transparent with the public.

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Color Of Change PAC is a Political Action Committee focused on building independent Black political power, amplifying Black voices, electing candidates who share our values, and holding them accountable to our communities. For more information on Color Of Change PAC, visit votingwhileblack.com.

Paid Pol. Adv. paid for by ColorOfChange PAC,
1714 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612, independently of and not authorized by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate’s committee.