NEW HANOVER AND PENDER COUNTIES, NC (WECT) – In what has been a contentious race so far, Democrat Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson and Republican Jason Smith each hope to become district attorney of New Hanover and Pender counties .

Zimmer Donaldson is the current prosecutor, appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in September after longtime prosecutor Ben David retired. However, a series of “attack ads” and a negative website directed at Assistant District Attorney Smith from Zimmer Donaldson’s campaign have created controversy within an office that has tried to refrain from partisan politics.

Zimmer Donaldson’s campaign created a website “www.JasonSmithFacts.com” which criticizes Smith’s record as a lawyer, saying he is not as “tough on crime” as he would have you believe. One specific ad claims he took a plea deal that allowed an undocumented immigrant back on the streets before the 13-year-old girl he raped graduated high school.

The ads and website drew reactions from Smith, David and 15 of 21 staff members at the DA’s office who signed a petition asking him to remove the ads.

At a mid-October news conference, Smith condemned Zimmer Donaldson’s campaign tactics and said she had “cherry-picked” one case out of thousands where he tried to make her look bad.

“I am here today to say that these advertisements are grossly misleading, inappropriate and, frankly, not up to the standards of integrity required of someone charged with serving as a prosecutor,” Smith said. “By prosecuting a specific prosecutor for a specific case for political purposes, it makes this entire office look bad and it creates distrust in this community that we’ve been trying to build for the last 20 years.”

Meanwhile, Zimmer Donaldson told WECT she was trying to show the differences between her and her opponent so voters can make a more informed choice.

“I think my record in cracking down on crime speaks for itself. I think Jason Smith’s record speaks for itself,” Zimmer Donaldson said. “It is important for me, as a candidate, to highlight the differences between me and my opponent, to educate voters. As a prosecutor, Jason Smith made charging, sentencing and plea choices that have lasting consequences. Voters deserve to know whether these decisions correspond to the values ​​that the candidate now claims to defend.

Former prosecutor Ben David sent us the following statement about the ads:

“These attack ads are misleading and create a false narrative. I have worked for two decades to keep politics out of decision-making in the DA’s office. Simply put, this behavior is against the dignity of the office.

Smith has served as an assistant prosecutor in New Hanover and Pender counties since 2010. Before becoming a prosecutor, Jason had his own law firm and worked for Webb & Graves, focusing on business law, tax and legal inheritance in both firms. He also served as legal counsel for Coastal Discount Stockbrokers. He has lived in Wilmington since 2000.

Zimmer Donaldson worked as an assistant prosecutor in the King County Prosecutor’s Office in New York before returning to Wilmington in 2020, where she was born and raised. She has worked as a prosecutor for nine years.

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