Cannon Ends DA Bid for Judge's Race

There's another shakeup in the race for Cherokee County Superior Court judge.

has a new challenger:  David L. Cannon Jr.

Thursday night, Cannon told a BridgeMill crowd that he was abandoning his bid for district attorney for a spot on the bench.

“My phone basically blew up with calls from people, both in the legal profession and business community, asking me to consider running,” Cannon said in a news release.

The race for superior court judge has been full of twists and turns this week. It started Monday morning when Judge Frank Mills' announced that he wasn't going to seek an eighth term.

. But less than 24 hours later, he .

That left Shriver as the lone man standing.

And then Thursday evening came.

“With my combination of private practice defense attorney experience and my almost 10 years as a prosecutor, I feel that I am uniquely qualified to bring a fair and balanced approach to the bench,” Cannon said. “I hope to serve Cherokee County as faithfully as Judge Mills has.”

Cannon not only told the BridgeMill crowd that he wanted Mills' job, he endorsed his former opponent in the district attorney's race, Chief Assistant District Attorney Shannon Wallace.

Garry Moss, Cherokee's district attorney since 1989, announced in February that he would not seek re-election and would throw his support behind Wallace, who also .

She wished Cannon well.

“It is vital for our county to have qualified judges on the bench,” Wallace said. “The citizens of Cherokee County would be well-served with David as a superior court judge.”

A 1988 graduate of , Cannon received his bachelor's degree in management information systems from the  in 1992. He got his law degree from Mercer University School of Law in 1995.

Cannon has been the chief prosecutor for Cherokee County State Court since January 2003. In that capacity, he has overseen the prosecution of misdemeanors such as shoplifting and driving under the influence. Cannon also helped establish a DUI Court and Marijuana Court program that treats and rehabilitates repeat offenders at their own expense. And he instituted the county’s first pre-trial diversion program for teen offenders.

It was work with that program that landed Cannon in the news in September 2011.  as a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Days after the ceremony,  while teaching participants in the county's pre-trial diversion program the importance of community service.

There was just one problem:  about the cleanup efforts and said the flags weren't properly retired.

Cannon  and said his intentions were pure.

Open the attached PDF for the text of Cannon's announcement.

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