Voters re-elect Charlotte Tesmer as District Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit
Published 4:58 pm Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Charlotte Tesmer announced she would seek reelection as District Attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit in March 2022.
Crenshaw County and attorney Arlene Richardson ran for the office of District Attorney to offer District 2 residents a new vision and new voice.
Supporters of Democrat incumbent Charlotte Tesmer gathered at Camellia City Bakery to await election results.
Crenshaw County resident and attorney Arlene Richardson cast her vote and talked with voters on Election Day.
Alabama voters reelected Democrat incumbent Charlotte Tesmer Tuesday as the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court’s District Attorney, serving Lowndes, Butler, and Crenshaw counties.
Tesmer defeated Republican Arlene Richardson, gaining 57% of the votes to win her second term.
“It feels good,” Tesmer affirmed. “I’m ready to continue working and serving the people of Crenshaw County. I’ve got a wonderful group of people, and I couldn’t do it without them.”
Richardson, a Highland Home resident and owner of Richardson Legal Center, LLC, said she decided to run for DA because there was no other Republican opponent.
“I found that out several days before the last day to qualify,” Richardson said. “I just felt so strongly that our county is going in the wrong direction. There are cases that are not getting prosecuted. That’s what inspired me to run.”
Tesmer graduated from Jones School of Law in 1985 and began her prosecution career as an Assistant District Attorney in 1986.
“I have a bond with law enforcement,” Tesmer explained. “We work together to try to get our cases prosecuted. I think we’ve built a really strong prosecution team throughout the circuit. We can’t always fix the victim’s lives, but maybe we can make them better.”
During her 14 years as Assistant DA, Tesmer co-founded Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center, a cooperative effort between the DA’s office, law enforcement, the Department of Human Resources, counselors, and doctors serving abused children.
While Assistant DA, Tesmer also wrote the protocol for the Second Judicial Court’s Drug Court Program.
Governor Robert Bentley appointed Tesmer to serve as the DA in 2012 and she was reelected in 2016.
If elected, Richardson planned to begin reviewing unresolved cases.
Now that elections are finished, Tesmer is eager to keep working on behalf of the district’s residents.
“I am honored and humbled to have another term as the DA,” Tesmer exclaimed. “I’ve had so many supporters in Butler, Lowndes, and Crenshaw counties and I appreciate each and every one of them.
