Coty Wamp, who won the Republican nomination for Hamilton County district attorney general in the May 3 primary election, spoke to the Chattanooga Times Free Press about her plans for the office, including both her short-term and long-term goals. She will face Democrat John Allen Brooks in the Aug. 4 general election.
Q: Should you be elected, what does the 60- to 90-day plan look like?
A: It’s difficult in this race, because whoever wins in August only has about 20 days to prepare for office. The first week I’m elected, I’ve committed to return a child sex abuse prosecutor position to the Children’s Advocacy Center. That person’s only dedicated to child abuse prosecutions, specifically child sex abuse, but also major child abuse project prosecutions … That’s going to be restored within that first 30-day period.
I’m going to start putting together the gang and violent crime unit that I’ve been dedicated to since I started running for office. The purpose of the unit has sort of evolved over time, as I’ve talked to different members of the community … A lot of the funding will be what is currently the cold case unit funding, and I think the cold case unit has been extremely valuable, but it just can’t be one of our priorities right now. So within the first month, I’m putting that unit together. I want to hire investigators and detectives that have been in law enforcement in Hamilton County, in the city for years, that are ready to tackle some of our gang and violent crime problems.
Q: Will there be a complete re-staffing, under your tenure, should you win?