Andrea Alabi, who worked for Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson during her first months in office, is planning to run against her former boss in next year’s Democratic Party primary.
Alabi, who also previously worked as a prosecutor under former Gwinnett DA Danny Porter and is currently the No. 2 person in the Fulton County Solicitor’s Office, announced her plans to run against Austin-Gatson for DA during a press conference on Tuesday.
Alabi, 41, said she is running because she feels the DA is “in over her head” and not doing enough to address key crime-related issues.
“If a prosecutor isn’t doing their job, it’s time to hold them accountable,” Alabi said. “That’s what this election is about, and that’s why I’m running for DA.
“My opponent was elected by making big promises about how she intended to reform the District Attorney’s Office. Voters went to the polls. They asked for change. (Three) years later, we have a prosecutor’s office that is not serving the people or doing the actual work.”
Alabi is the first person from either political party to announce plans to challenge Austin-Gatson, who is in her first term office. The current DA defeated Porter in 2020 and, as a result, became the first Black person to ever hold the office.
Next year’s election cycle will see the Democrats who rode a blue wave into office in 2020 face their first re-election bids. This includes not only Austin-Gatson, but also several other high-ranking officials, including County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson, Commissioners Kirkland Carden and Jasper Watkins, Clerk of Courts Tiana Garner and Sheriff Keybo Taylor.
Alabi is a Baltimore, Md. native whose family moved to Gwinnett County when she was 12. She attended Berkmar and later Meadowcreek High Schools. She earned her bachelor’s degree from DeVry University and her law…
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