Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds is leaving his post to head the state’s main law enforcement agency. 
On Friday Gov. Brian Kemp announced he had selected Reynolds to become director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“Vic Reynolds is a courageous leader with unmatched experience,” Kemp said in a statement. “As District Attorney, Vic led efforts to dismantle gangs and protect local families from crime and violence. As GBI Director, he will work around the clock to ensure a safer, stronger Georgia.””
Reynolds is a Republican whose second term is up in 2020. He supported Kemp’s gubernatorial campaign and served on his transition team after the 2018 election.
“I look forward to continuing my service alongside dedicated law enforcement professionals from all across our state,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Our top priority from day one will be to ensure a safer, stronger Georgia.
Reynolds also has led numerous anti-gang initiatives in his time as Cobb’s top prosecutor. In his inaugural address last month, Kemp said one of his priorities will be to set up a statewide anti-gang task force within the GBI that would work with local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
More recently Reynolds has been addressing sex trafficking activity, and his office has filed a lawsuit threatening the owners of a Windy Hill Road motel with forfeiture of its property.
A native of Rome, Reynolds is a former police officer and was an assistant district attorney in Fulton and Cobb. He served as Cobb Chief Magistrate Judge and as a private criminal defense attorney before being elected Cobb District Attorney in 2012.
The Cobb DA’s vacancy will be filled by a Kemp appointee until the 2020 election.
That position is one of several countywide offices that will be up for election in two years, including Cobb Commission Chairman, Cobb Sheriff and some partisan judicial posts.
Those seats, like the DA’s office, have long been held by Republicans. But Democrats have made significant gains in recent elections across Cobb. Hillary Clinton won Cobb County in the 2016 presidential election, and Stacey Abrams carried the county over Kemp in the 2018 governor’s race.
Democratic candidates also won Cobb in last year’s elections for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, school superintendent and other Georgia constitutional offices, although Republicans ultimately prevailed in statewide voting.
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