I typically don’t make political endorsements. The reason is because I seldom find candidates for political office who I think are worthy of endorsement. Many are not seeking political office to be public servants but to find ways to be served by the public.

Others lack the wherewithal to be granted the influence and power that comes with public office. Most of them, however, I simply cannot agree with on enough issues as to warrant my vote, much less my endorsement.

I am breaking from tradition this year, though, and endorsing a candidate for two reasons: I know him personally and can vouch for his personal and professional integrity, and I think he’s running for an office where few people are going to take the time to research the candidates and might not be familiar with the names on the ballot.

Max Wood is one of three Republicans seeking the party’s nomination to be the next Attorney General for the State of Georgia, and I wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy and would be proud to have him serving in Atlanta.

Attorney General is one of those state offices that doesn’t get a lot of attention, and the race for Attorney General isn’t nearly as compelling for newspapers to cover as the governor’s race.

Nevertheless, this constitutional office is an important one. The Attorney General’s office becomes responsible for continuing the prosecution (through the appeals process) of convicted murderers facing the death penalty. The Attorney General’s office not only provides legal guidance to state agencies but also conducts special investigations into state agencies accused of wrongdoing. The Attorney General’s office represents the state in civil cases.

When Gov. Sonny Perdue sought to join with other states and sue the federal government over its new healthcare mandates, it was Attorney General Thurbert Baker who refused to pursue the lawsuit, forcing Gov. Perdue to appoint a special attorney general to pursue the lawsuit.

Because of the duties of the office, the Attorney General should be someone whose integrity is beyond reproach. We should expect an Attorney General whose personal integrity will lead that person to do what is right under the law regardless of the possible political implications.

Max Wood is that person.

I first met Max Wood in 2002. A former assistant district attorney from the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, Wood had been appointed the U.S. Attorney for the Middle Circuit of Georgia by then-President George W. Bush.

Almost immediately after being appointed, Wood put the resources of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to work against a cult leader who had established a compound in Eatonton and also had property in Athens. In both places, Malachi York was molesting children – perhaps more than 100 children were molested at his hands. His acts of depravity knew no bounds. I interviewed some of his victims, heard their testimony in court and read volumes of detailed statements they had provided to investigators.

The sheriff in Eatonton had for years been investigating York and had tried without success to get the FBI and the federal government to assist in the case. Initially, he and his deputies were told that York and his cult were considered hands-off by Clinton Administration officials after the deaths at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas.

Political considerations by Janet Reno’s Justice Department allowed York to continue molesting children. Let me say that again, acts of perversion that would bring you to tears of rage, committed against children as young as 4- and 5-years-old continued for years because of politics.

But when Max Wood was appointed the new U.S. Attorney in Macon, Sheriff Howard Sills had the ally he needed in the federal government to pursue a national investigation against York.

Wood led the federal prosecution against York (York was charged with more than 100 felony counts in a state court, but the federal case took precedence and the state charges were never prosecuted).

York was convicted of the federal charges and sentenced to 135 years in prison.

I was a reporter working in Eatonton during the entire time that Sheriff Sills investigated York. I saw the frustration the sheriff dealt with in getting no help from the Justice Department initially, and I also witnessed how Max Wood completely reshaped the investigation and made York’s criminal prosecution possible.

Though many news agencies, in particular the Macon Telegraph, editorialized against Sheriff Sills and in favor of York, the newly appointed U.S. Attorney did not flinch at criticism. Instead, Max Wood stood up for York’s victims who could not stand up for themselves and whose parents (followers of York and members of his cult) would not stand up for them.

That is the kind of courage and integrity that Max Wood will bring to the office of Georgia Attorney General if he is elected.

In addition to being a former U.S. Attorney, Wood also is a Colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard and he spent two years in Iraq helping the nation to form a new judicial system after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

On Tuesday, July 20, Georgians have the opportunity to elect a man of outstanding moral character and superb personal and professional integrity, and I cannot strongly enough express my support for Max Wood for Georgia’s Attorney General.

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