Former state Rep. Deborah Gonzalez is running for Western Circuit district attorney, she announced Thursday.

“All of us want to keep our communities strong and protected, but we know that the old tough-on-crime way of administering justice has been too tough on our communities,” Gonzalez said in a video posted online. “It’s left us all less safe, less whole and with less opportunity. It’s time for a new approach to justice and crime. It’s time for new leadership.”

Gonzalez is a media and entertainment lawyer with no experience as a prosecutor, but in the House she served on the committee that handles bills related to criminal justice, and she also served on a criminal justice task force for the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. 

The current district attorney is Ken Mauldin, a Democrat who’s held the post since 2000. It is unknown if Mauldin is running for re-election.

The Western Circuit includes Clarke and Oconee counties. Gonzalez represented parts of those counties for a year after she won a special election in 2017, but the Democrat was ousted by Republican Houston Gaines last year.

Gonzalez will hold a campaign kickoff event at 4 p.m. Aug. 17 at Little Kings Shuffle Club.

The Democratic primary is May 19. If a Republican runs, the race will be decided in the November general election.