FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Bill Veitch

Organization: Campaign to Elect Bill Veitch for District Attorney
Phone Number: (205) 706-4701
Email Address: bill@electbillv.com
Website: www.electbillv.com

Veitch Files with Alabama Supreme Court of Appeals Regarding June 5th Primary Ballot,
114,000 Jefferson County Residents Unable to Vote for their District Attorney

Jefferson County, Alabama, 5/4/18 - Today Bill Veitch, candidate and registered voter for
Jefferson County District Attorney, filed an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court to rectify the
primary ballot on June 5, 2018, to protect all Jefferson County citizens of their right to vote for
their District Attorney. Veitch raised concerns in April when Probate Judge Alan King and others
decided without notice to exclude the Jefferson County District Attorney’s race off of 114,000
Jefferson County ballots. Judge Jim Hughey presided over the hearing on the matter on Friday,
April 20, 2018 and without ruling on the merits, determined the courts simply didn’t have
jurisdiction over such matters.

The District Attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit sitting in the county seat of Birmingham has
jurisdiction over all of Jefferson County and has the duty as the county’s top law enforcement
office holder to oversee and prosecute criminal offenders while protecting and serving the
victims throughout Jefferson County. As a county-wide official the county as a whole has been
able to vote for the candidates in this primary race in the past – the most recent example was in
2016 when the primary race had two candidates on the Democratic ticket, Charles Todd
Henderson and Raymond Johnson. Veitch is now running in this special election after it was
vacated by the previously elected District Attorney.

If the race for Jefferson County District Attorney is left off the ballot, voters from Hoover to
Brighton will be denied their right to vote on June 5th. The majority of Hoover including
residents of Lake Cyrus, Trace Crossings, Russet Woods, Ross Bridge and Bluff Park along with
Bessemer, McCalla, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Fairfield, Midfield, Lipscomb and Brighton will
not be able to vote if this unlawful election proceeds unabated. Nothing is more fundamental in
a democratic society than allowing its citizens the right to vote, and any unjustified
discrimination in determining who may participate in political affairs or in the selection of
public officials undermines the legitimacy of representative government. Veitch believes every
citizen should be able vote for their chief prosecutor. “Right now you don’t get a vote on who
represents you when a crime happens in your neighborhood. Your mayors and city council
members don’t even get a vote on who they are working hand in hand with to keep your
neighborhoods and families safe,” stated Veitch. He went on to say, “Essentially the cutoff
residents are expected to trust Birmingham voters to pick the best candidate for them and to
be silent.”

ABOUT Bill Veitch

Veitch is one of 4 candidates running for Jefferson County District Attorney in the primary
election June 5th. He is the former Assistant District Attorney of the Jefferson County-Bessemer
Cutoff Division, an elected deputy position to the Jefferson County District Attorney. He retired
after the November 2016 election after serving one year as the Assistant District Attorney and
18 years as the Chief Assistant DA to Arthur Green. In his year as the ADA Veitch is most proud
of the work he did to unify and lead the emergency task force that swiftly put the M-Tre gang
behind bars without bond within 24 hours of veteran Mike Gilotti’s death in Lake Cyrus on
January 5, 2016. He cultivated the teamwork between the U.S. Marshalls and local police
departments from Hoover, Bessemer, Tuscaloosa, Hueytown, Jefferson County and the Sheriff’s
Department to get all the agencies talking to each other. Veitch stated, “They did great work
bringing these kids in. They made excellent cases. The evidence was undeniable.” The
prosecution of the subsequent cases in relation to the Gilotti case were prosecuted after Veitch
retired.

For more information, contact: Bill Veitch

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