District Attorney candidate speaks out against attack ad from opponent
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A new ad created and aired by current New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson is calling her opponent Jason Smith “soft” on crime, an ad Smith says is misleading and needs to be taken down.
Zimmer Donaldson is the Democratic candidate while Smith is the Republican candidate, with Smith serving as an assistant DA in the same office.
The new ad claims Smith is soft on crime due to a plea deal he made that allowed an undocumented immigrant to be released from prison before the 13-year-old girl he raped graduated from high school.
During a press conference held Tuesday evening, Smith said its not uncommon to make a plea deal based on circumstances and the deal was made after he had consulted with the victim and her family.
Smith and 15 other attorneys out of 21 who work in the DA’s office signed a petition asking Zimmer Donaldson to remove the ad.
Smith said the ad is an attack on everyone who works in the DA’s office.
“It’s the best DA’s office in the state,” Smith said. “And be going after a specific DA for a specific case for political gain, it makes this whole office look bad and it creates distrust in this community that we have, we’ve tried for the last 20 years to build up.”
Smith said any ads that talk about the abilities of the candidate is okay because it doesn’t spread negativity.
“What we’re talking about are negative ads cherrypicked to do nothing more than try to gain votes by running negative ads. If you want to stand up here and talk about what you’ve done and how different you are than me, that’s part of a campaign and we understand that. That’s not negativity, that’s telling the public what’s different about you.”
Smith added that the DA’s office talked to both Zimmer Donaldson and himself about running on their abilities, something Smith said he’s done throughout the campaign.
WWAY received a statement from Zimmer Donaldson that said:
“Jason Smith has repeatedly claimed to have been the “mini-DA” in Pender County, where his work as a prosecutor has had significant, lasting effects on the people of both New Hanover and Pender Counties. For example, while he was the “mini-DA” in Pender County, 76.9% of all felonies were dismissed, and only 13.6% of drug felonies were found guilty (as opposed to the statewide average of 25.8%). Jason Smith cannot claim credit for being in charge while also avoiding responsibility for the decisions made under his watch. Which one is it? And why doesn’t he want voters to know the facts about his past?
The reality of the situation is that crime is an issue that our citizens are very concerned about. As District Attorney, I am making real changes to address these issues head-on. It is important for me as a candidate to highlight the differences between myself and my opponent to educate voters about their choice at the ballot box. That’s why we’ve launched JasonSmithFacts.com — a resource where voters can review some of his prosecutorial decisions and the consequences they’ve had on our community.
I look forward to continuing to earn the trust and support of the voters of New Hanover and Pender Counties and I hope that they will make their voices heard this election cycle.”
