Assistant DA Jason Smith runs to lead sixth district

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Ben David, the District Attorney for New Hanover and Pender Counties, will be stepping down in early September after over 19 years in office.

On Wednesday, WWAY sat down with the Republican candidate running for David’s seat, Assistant District Attorney Jason Smith.

A native of Alabama, Smith has served as an assistant DA since 2010 and has been mainly in charge of cases in Pender County since 2014.

Before becoming a lawyer, Smith attended the Virginia Military Institute and retired as a captain in the Army in 2005.

Before joining the DA’s office, he began his career as a lawyer practicing business, tax, and estate law.

“So for 8 and a half years, I practiced in the civil world doing that type of law,” Smith said. “At some point, something just stirred in me and said this is not for me, I want to do something else, I want to do something meaningful.”

Along with cracking down on fentanyl and sex crimes against minors, Smith said he will also focus on youth violence.

“You’ve seen an uptick in youth violence, youth gun possession cases, where but for the Grace of God, we would probably have more murders if they were more accurate shooting,’ Smith said. “So we’re going to focus on that. You know why? Because that affects community members and where people live.”

Smith said his leadership experience is what sets him apart.

“I have leadership in the office, I mentor young attorneys that are coming up through the ranks. I have been a leader in this community, I’ve been a leader in the courtroom, I’ve been a leader in a peacetime military as a captain, I’ve been a leader in a wartime, in the battlefield.”

Smith said he is driven to prosecute issues like fentanyl and sex crimes against minors because of the impact he’s seen them have on families and victims.

WWAY also sat down with the Democratic candidate for DA, Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson on Tuesday.