Todd Williams (North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney, North Carolina, candidate 2022)

Todd Williams

Democratic Party

Candidate, North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 17, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1992

Personal

Profession

Lawyer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Todd Williams (Democratic Party) ran for election for North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney. Williams was on the ballot in the general election on November 8, 2022.^[source]

Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

General election

General election for North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney

Todd Williams ran in the general election for North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate
		Todd Williams (D)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney

Courtney Booth, Joe Bowman, Doug Edwards, and Todd Williams ran in the Democratic primary for North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Courtney Booth
	Submit photo	Joe Bowman
	Submit photo	Doug Edwards
		Todd Williams

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

To view Williams' endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Todd Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Williams' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Todd Williams, 52, is a North Carolina native. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill, graduating in 1992 with a BA in English. While attending Northeastern University Law School, an internship in the law firm of a renowned civil rights attorney turned Todd toward criminal justice law. Todd worked for nearly 15 years as a public defender and as a capital defender. By 2014, the integrity of the Buncombe County justice system was at an ebb and Todd ran for DA to restore it. Todd defeated a 24-year incumbent and took office as Buncombe County DA on January 1, 2015. As DA, Todd resolved heinous crimes while concurrently working to reverse questionable past convictions and to remove two men from NC’s death row. Todd helped create wraparound services for victims through the Child Advocacy and Family Justice Centers, add services for offenders through the Justice Resource Center, the Adult Drug, and Juvenile Misdemeanor Diversion Programs, Veterans’ Treatment Court, and offered expungement clinics and amnesty days, all focused on offering pathways for non-violent offenders to achieve employability and recovery without the stigma of a conviction. Todd is a NC State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Law. He lives in Asheville with his family.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I have focused on victims, creating trauma informed services such as the Child Advocacy Center and the Family Justice Center where special victims can receive wraparound care.
• I have prioritized police accountability by creating the County’s first uniform policy for reporting and investigating police misconduct. To be clear, we had no such policy before I drafted it, negotiated it, and got everybody to the table to sign it.
• I’ve offered programs for non-violent offenders second chances. Second chances include treatment courts, amnesty days, and expunction clinics (clear your nonviolent record without paying attorney fees).

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about creating sustainable justice reform. My goal has always been to ensure reform is sustainable because there remains so much work ahead of us to achieve justice and equity. Reform is sustainable only when we prioritize public safety through effective enforcement and prosecution of violent crime. I have done so. Specifically, while our community has collaboratively achieved reductions in violent crime – the opposite of the national trends – my office has successfully prosecuted crimes among the most heinous in Buncombe County history, including multiple murders of women and mothers and children, and received national recognition for achieving reform within the system. My record shows that we can ensure both reform and public safety and that is what our community wants.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

My legal philosophy is something I live every day in my service as DA and also through my service on justice reform: government should 1) ensure the rights of all people, 2) do justice, 3) and meaningfully improve the lives of people facing systematic disadvantage and injustice.

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Candidate

North Carolina 40th Prosecutorial District Attorney

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