Acting DA William Kendall intended for appointment by Governor Brian Kemp

On September 1, 2021, after a surprise mid-term retirement from former District Attorney George Hartwig, Chief Assistant District Attorney William Kendall became Houston County Acting District Attorney. According to a press release issued by the DA’s office, only a few short months later, Governor Brian Kemp has announced his intent to appoint Kendall in the coming months to the full position, until a special election can be held. According to Kendall, he is well prepared for the coming challenges.

As stated by the press release, “Kendall is a Marine veteran having served for over seven years on active duty.” After his time as a Military Working Dog Handler, Kendall spent the remainder of his five years as a Marine Criminal Investigator. After returning home and serving as an assistant district attorney in Cordele, Kendall began his work with the Houston County DA’s Office in April of 2020. He’s been working here ever since.

“To be quite honest,” Kendall explained, ”when a number of people left Houston County and went to Macon to serve as ADAs and support staff up there, I was actually offered a job too. There was just something in my heart, in my mind, that wanted me to stay here and continue what I was doing. I live here in Huston County, my wife, my stepdaughter, we all live here, we’ve lived for a while now, and I like Houston County. It’s a place that I call home. I love my job; I’ve worked for the state, federal or local government pretty much my entire adult life being in the military, being a criminal investigator. I realize what we have in Houston County are some of the most amazing people that a person can ever wish to work for in middle Georgia.”

Kendall was met with adversity immediately as he took his new position. With only three short weeks to prepare, Kendall was asked to lead an office with only 10 members on staff, four of which were assistant district attorneys. In addition to learning aspects of his new role, Kendall also had to deal with the daunting task of filling the emptied positions at the DA’s office.

“There just wasn’t a lot that I was accustomed to doing, and until you’re the district attorney, you don’t really run into a lot of those things. [Additionally,] I wasn’t just going to hire anybody at the beginning; they had to be the right people. Between hiring folks, getting the office back to full staff, and settling into my roles as acting district attorney, those two things were certainly the biggest challenges.”

After five months in position, Kendall has led the DA’s office to a full staff of 30 employees, 13 of which are attorneys.

A date for Kendall’s appointment has not been determined; however, he estimates it will be sometime in May. A date for a special election regarding the Houston County District Attorney position has not yet been set.

During his time as acting DA, Kendall has worked to open lines of communication between local law enforcement and news media, has nearly fully staffed the DA’s office and is currently preparing for 31 trial weeks in 2022. Moving into his appointment and potential elected position, Kendall says that he plans help Houston County develop and grow by “hold[ing] people accountable for their criminal actions,” providing services and notifications to victims and making the community safe.

“I am grateful of the governor’s decision,” Kendall said, “and will continue to work hard to serve the people of Houston County. I, and those who work with me, will continue to seek justice with honor and integrity.”

HHJ News