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Politics & Government

Alexander Brings Passion for Family and the Law to House Race

Oconee County attorney stresses experience as a parent, business owner and veteran.

Leading up to the June 21 special election, Patch is profiling each of the candidates for the 113th District State House seat, which represents Oconee and part of Clarke County. was profiled Tuesday, on Wednesday and Chuck Williams on Thursday.

The first thing you see in Alan Alexander's office is the pictures of his children, school photos, sports teams, and a few more candid shots. Alexander, an Oconee County attorney, is one of four candidates running to replace Hank Huckaby in a for the Georgia House of Representatives. 

For Alexander, running for office is a way of giving back to the community and its classrooms. 

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"I've lived here a long time," he said, "and I've been able to take advantage of a lot of the things, the schools, the roads, all the great things this community has to offer."

With his children growing up, Alexander finally had the time to run for office.

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"I've got six children," he said. "Two of them are still rather small - my daughter attends and my son attends . I spent a lot of my life coaching youth sports and Little League. Now, they're beyond dad's coaching, so I don't have as much call to do that as I once had. I've got the time to pay back a debt I feel like I owe."

Athens attorney John McArthur, who has been friends with Alexander for over 30 years, spent a season last year on the sidelines with Alexander as a coach in Oconee County youth football.

"I was really impressed with Alan's leadership abilities," McArthur said. "His two older sons also helped coach, and it really impressed me how well they work together. Alan is a good father and he has great kids."

Alexander was born in New Orleans, to two native Georgians, while his father was stationed in Louisiana during World War II. He earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Georgia. 

After law school, Alexander served as a Captain in the Army's JAG Corps, the military's legal arm, for seven years. He is the only military veteran in the race.

Alexander has been practicing law for over four decades, including stints as a Winterville municipal judge and city attorney for the city of Crawford in Oglethorpe County.

If you ask him about memorable legal work he's done, the first thing that he mentions isn't a murder trial, a class-action lawsuit, or some other high-profile legal action. Instead, it's sewer pipes.

Earlier this year, in his job as city attorney for Crawford, Alexander was instrumental in getting Oglethorpe County a $4 million federal grant to build a wastewater treatment plant and sewer lines connecting Lexington and Crawford. The project had been on hold for months, due to a lack of funds.

Crawford Mayor Jimmy Coile first met Alexander more than 20 years ago.

"I hired Alan as city attorney in 1990," Coile said. "He has the best interest of the city at heart. He was a big help in getting this grant; I had to depend on him and the city engineer to guide me."

"I didn't do anything I didn't run by Alan first," Coile said. "I trust his judgement." 

In his private law practice, Alexander has represented, among others, sheriffs from Hancock and Oglethorpe Counties in lawsuits to secure more funding for their departments.

He also represented three plaintiffs in a high-profile lawsuit against the when the district decided to tear down the old Cedar Shoals High School and build a new one in its place. Opponents of the project, including Alexander's clients, wanted to see the existing building repurposed, perhaps as a vocational training facility.

The Georgia Supreme Court eventually ruled against Alexander and his clients, and the old school was demolished.

Alexander himself has been on the wrong side of the law once. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges – simple assault, battery, and criminal trespass – in connection with a 2004 incident where Alexander and another man entered an Athens house in search of his daughter's then-boyfriend. Police reports indicate that Alexander threatened one of the men in the house, and punched him.

The boyfriend, who was not at the house when Alexander arrived, had been arrested earlier in the day for threatening Alexander's daughter, but posted bond and was released from jail. Alexander says he was worried about his daughter's safety.

“I was in a situation where I was called upon by my daughter when she was being victimized,” Alexander said. “She contacted me and she was in imminent danger. I acted as I think a father under those circumstances would act. I tried to protect her. I regret the incident occurred, but I did what I felt like I had to do.”

As part of his 2007 plea bargain, Alexander paid a fine and served four years of probation.

Alexander faces fellow Republicans Chuck Williams and Sarah Bell, as well as Democrat Dan Matthews, on June 21. The district encompasses all of Oconee County as well as parts of Clarke, Morgan, and Oglethorpe Counties. All four candidates live in Oconee County.

If no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote on June 21, the top two vote-getters will square off in a runoff election on July 19.

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