​#HaralsonCountyGA Superior Court Chief Judge Mark H. Murphy and Judge Andrew B. Roper have appointed interim Chief Magistrate Crystal Damiano as Chief Magistrate to serve the remainder of the current term.
The vacancy was created on February 5, 2025, when recently re-elected Haralson County Chief Magistrate Jason Blackmon submitted his resignation to Governor Brian Kemp, who accepted Blackmon’s resignation.
Georgia law requires that a vacancy in the office of Chief Magistrate be filled by appointment of the Superior Court judges to fill the balance of the unexpired term. No special election is authorized or required. So, while public notice of the vacancy and the opportunity to apply was pending, Judges Murphy and Roper appointed an ad hoc Judicial Nominating Committee to review the applications and interview all the applicants. The members of the Committee were
Robert Peterkin – Chief Assistant District Attorney, Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit
Charles Sanders – Post Commander, Georgia State Patrol (Ret.); former sole Commissioner Haralson County, Georgia
Sharon Sewell – Mayor, City of Bremen, Georgia
Lyndon Smith – Chair, Haralson GOP
Karen Wilkes – Chief Assistant Public Defender, Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit
Lyndon Smith was unable to participate in the applicant interviews due to illness, so George Healey was appointed in his place. Mr. Healey has worked in industry, has a law degree, and has worked several years as a volunteer child advocate in the Juvenile Court.
On April 17, 2025, the Committee interviewed all six of the applicants, who were John Jason Bowman, Donald Blane Cochran; Crystal Dawn Damiano; Ronald Vaughn Gable, Jr.; Russell A. McDaniel; and Jessie Donald Williams. After the interviews, the Committee developed a short list of two applicants recommended to the Superior Court for further consideration. Those two applicants were Crystal Damiano and Jessie Williams.
​Damiano has already served four years as Associate Magistrate for Haralson County. She has a background in law enforcement and as an investigator for the Tallapoosa Circuit Public Defender’s office. She is a graduate of Haralson County High school and has lived in Haralson County for over forty years.
​Judge Murphy and Judge Roper are grateful for the work of the Committee and the effort made by all the applicants.
This article was submitted to WLBB Radio by Superior Court Chief Judge Mark H. Murphy
