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As the First Latina District Attorney in Georgia, Deborah Gonzalez Seeks to Uplift Young Latinos Across the Country.
As the First Latina District Attorney in Georgia, Deborah Gonzalez Seeks to Uplift Young Latinos Across the Country
Jimena Somilleda
Deborah Gonzalez speaks at a panel at the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition's Youth Voter Power Summit, encouraging young voters of color to vote in the upcoming 2022 Georgia midterm elections. Appearances and talks are part of her everyday routine.
Deborah Gonzalez stands up from her giant oak desk in her office to come to greet me with a hug. Walking back to her desk, I pointed out the painting of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and, next to it, a framed picture of her shaking hands with the late RBG.
She enjoys telling anyone who will listen about all the knick-knacks that adorn her office space. Most of the art is created by talented students of the Clarke County School District. As a connoisseur of the arts, Gonzalez always likes to surround herself around art, which is representative of her outlook on life, career, and culture.
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Gonzalez was elected District Attorney of Georgia’s Western Judicial Circuit on Dec. 1, 2020. In doing so, she became the first Latina to be elected to this seat in the state of Georgia. Gonzalez also made history by becoming the first woman to be elected DA in the Western Judicial Circuit and the first Puerto Rican to be elected DA in the country.
But this didn’t happen without a fight. During her campaign for DA, Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against Governor Brain Kemp after he tried to cancel the election by proposing the passing of HB907, which previously granted the governor the power to cancel elections for DA in Georgia constitutionally. Her legal battle with the Governor was just one of the many obstacles Gonzalez faced during her political career.
Before she even became DA or an attorney, Gonzalez expressed a passion for the advancement of the Latino community in all realms of personal growth and professionalism. After being elected DA, this passion served as the perpetual fuel to do what she does. Being one of the few Latinos in the political and government sector has motivated Gonzalez to encourage young Latinos to pursue careers in law to represent the currently underrepresented Latino community.
According to the American Bar Association, in 2022, the percentage of lawyers that are Latino sits at a small 5.8%, while the Latino population in the United States is 18.5%. Gonzalez thinks this disproportionality in representation is due to a cultural element in the Latino community. “We are very humble and shy, and you know, we don’t think of ourselves as being worthy of being elected to office, and so we just don’t put ourselves out there,” Gonzalez said.
To combat the issue of underrepresentation, Gonzalez advises and encourages young Latinos thinking about pursuing a career in law and politics to go for it and get involved. “So I would like Latinos to become lawyers. I would like them to become judges. I would like them to become DAs, to get out there and to look at this area as a potential career path that many don’t look at,” she says.
Gonzalez practices what she preaches. She follows through and works to serve her community. She has made sure to open the door and hold it open for those that will follow. Just recently, Mi Familia Vota Georgia recognized Gonzalez as a Latina trailblazer and even founded an award in her honor. The Deborah Gonzalez Latinx Trailblazer Award was designed to spotlight a young Latino fighting to make a change in the community, being an advocate, and representing the vibrancy of the Latino culture.
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Gonzalez sits in her office on Veteran's Day to chat about the importance of uplifting the Latino community in local Georgia politics.
Gonzalez gives words of wisdom to Latinos looking to pursue career paths in politics and government. Her top piece of advice is to "get involved."
By becoming the first Latina DA in Georgia, Gonzalez understands the extra set of responsibilities put in her job description. The inauguration of this award is merely one of the few examples of how Gonzalez pays it forward. “Being first is a big responsibility because you cannot be the last,” Gonzalez says.
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As a political science student and former intern with the DA in her offices in Athens, GA, Jon Vasquez says that “being the first Latina, it’s a breaking point,” and something that inspires Vasquez to continue with his journey in politics.
Throughout her career, Gonzalez has oftentimes found that she is the only Latina in the room. She expresses how being the first comes with the responsibility to pay it forth and guide a new generation through what once was uncharted territory.
Why I Wrote This Story
This story was newsworthy because Deborah Gonzalez made history by becoming the first Latina elected DA in Georgia. Through writing this profile story, I learned to research my subject and curate questions for an interview that would illicit a great story.