DA candidate releases recording to prove truth

“Mrs. Williams you’re liar, plain and simple because I summoned you to my office in November about disciplining an employee, and you never addressed mismanagement or inappropriate relationships then. You said at that time I was different because I quit coming to office parties and lunches, etc. You’re a lie. You never addressed anything about an inappropriate relationship, so if you say you did it’s a lie.”

Those were the words that Houston County District Attorney George Hartwig (Republican incumbent) charged at Erikka Williams (Democratic candidate) last Thursday, at The Winning Church in Warner Robins, during a forum that showcased local candidates running for offices in Houston County.

Hartwig stated that Williams’ campaign was started by allegations and accusations of him and the office that were not true. He went on to explain that in October of 2019 he was served divorce papers by his now ex-wife and that not long after, on October 21, 2019, his now former investigator, Beverly Robinson, had filed a complaint in the county’s personnel office about him following where his ex-wife, on October 19, 2019, had filed a report through the Houston County Sheriff’s Office against him.

On Monday, October 12, 2020, Williams released an audio recording from November 20, 2019 of a meeting she had with Hartwig. Williams told the Houston Home Journal that initially the meeting was to address personnel issues with an employee. Later, when the employee was excused, Williams brought forth her concerns to Hartwig about mismanagement in the district attorney’s office and the matter of an inappropriate relationship with his assistant.

The following is a transcription of the recording:

Hartwig: “Whether she’s got a problem with it or not…”

Williams: “That’s the problem, that’s the problem, that right there is the problem. You point your finger at me and I will point my finger back….”

Hartwig: “Erikka do you want to be my chief in this office or not because if you don’t want to be my chief…”

Williams: “Do you want me to be your chief?”

Hartwig: “You don’t have to be if you don’t want to be.”

Williams: “Do you want me to be?”

Hartwig: “I don’t care if you’re the chief or not…”

Williams: “I can tell you don’t, George. You have your chief right there, whatever she wants, she gets, and that’s fine. What I am trying to tell you, George, is whatever it is that y’all are doing, I am trying to keep the office together and keep people from leaving and talking about what’s going on between you two. If I don’t know that we even have new potential employees, that’s a problem, George. You call me in when we have potential new hires or addressing discipline matters, as you have always done in the past. I say hey, that’s fine. Sitting here, I have worked under you for 10 years, supported you and done whatever you asked me to do…I have handled the cases for you. I can honestly say, George, that you are not the same person. I don’t know what’s going on in your life and I don’t really care, but what I am trying to tell you is that it looks bad. When people coming up to me telling me about changes going on and I have no idea they are, I am you’re chief. If I got upset and snapped at Jessica on Monday, I apologize, because you’re right, I shouldn’t have done it. That was unprofessional, but it’s a culmination of my frustration of what’s been going that’s suppose to be my office and I don’t know what’s going on.”

Hartwig: “Ok so… (recording ends).”

During the forum, Williams had responded to Hartwig stating that she did not appreciate being called a liar as she has open record documents for access on her campaign website and recorded meetings with Hartwig.

“I first said something about the relationship in November because we had so many problems in the office,” Williams stated during the forum. “My decision to run did not start in October, and I don’t believe you’re telling the truth. If someone asks me to plead the fifth, such as this behavior and I am married, there is no need to plead the fifth. You’re not telling the truth, and even if you were, the fact you are now married to your office manager and don’t see that as a problem in a government office, who the both of you are in charge of hiring and firing, and your chief assistant is not involved. It doesn’t look good. If you don’t see that, I can’t help you.”

Later, in a conversation with Houston Home Journal, Williams furthered shared that she recorded the meeting that day because she felt as though she was going to be terminated due to how other employees of the district attorney’s office expressed their feelings about certain matters and were either reprimanded or terminated.

“I had reached my fill with things that had been going on in the office prior to that meeting,” Williams said. “Yes, initially, we were addressing matters with an employee, but when they were excused that’s when I became angry and aggressive to try address some of the matters that had been going on. As Chief Assistant District Attorney, I am second in command, but I wasn’t being treated as such. When I heard days prior to that meeting we had hired a new employee, I didn’t know about, so I did make a snide comment to his assistant then about, ‘so we’re hiring people and not telling anyone now.’ Her response was that George gave her permission. Yes, some have said that I released the recording because I am disgruntled, but I believe the citizens of Houston County deserve to have transparency and I certainly did not appreciate being called a liar at the forum.”

The Houston Home Journal reached out to Hartwig for comment, but was unsuccessful. The audio recording of Williams and Hartwig’s meeting on November 20, 2019 is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRsWm5VUre0&feature=youtu.be.

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