Four candidates are vying for Chatham Coroner. Who are they? What are their platforms?

One of the most hotly contested Chatham County races this primary election season is for the Coroner's Office. The primary responsibility of county coroners in the state of Georgia is to investigate death by helping to establish the cause and manner of death. As an elected position, however, the coroner is not required to be a medical professional or hold certifications in pathology.

Here are the four candidates vying for the position.

David Campbell - Incumbent

Background

When he was 8 years old in 1969, David Campbell said he had some deaths in his family.

“I never saw any nice, sharp funeral cars like that,” said Campbell. “The men were dressed so well. The drivers were dressed so well, shining shoes. I just always said, ‘When I grow up, I wanna be a funeral home man.' That was embedded in me.”

Then he added, “When we had career day at school, I was the only student sitting in class with a mortician.” s

In 1979 after graduating high school, Campbell started working at Sidney A. Jones Funeral Home, according to the Campbell and Sons Funeral Home website . He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science at Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service in 1981. In October 2006, Campbell bought the Sidney A. Jones Funeral Home from Carolyn Jones, who trained Campbell for 14 years. Campbell then changed the funeral home’s name to Campbell and Sons Funeral Home, 124 W. Park Ave.

Since he took office, Campbell's son has started managing the funeral home business. Campbell said he works most Saturdays for the funeral home, but rarely attends funeral home services hosted by other funeral homes.

“Working as a coroner is related to what I've been doing all my life, working in the death care industry,” said Campbell. “I was used to meeting and working with bereaved families. I was already used to getting up and getting calls at three, four or five o'clock in the morning. [Death] was not a new thing for me.”

Campbell has one daughter and three sons.

More: Death certificate backlog, conflict of interest are main issues in Chatham County coroner's race

Platform

Campbell is running on a platform of continuity.

In an interview, Campbell touted the work he’s done over the past three years. He spoke about the event where he and his coroner staff buried more than 500 people’s previously unclaimed cremains on Oct. 26, 2022. He cited the construction of the new county morgue at 4225 Augusta Road in Garden City in December 2022 , which he said could house 60 to 80 bodies at one time.

Campbell added that he believes he and his staff have done a “tremendous job” ensuring “death certificates get out in a timely fashion,” despite other candidates alleging otherwise. He said that he has digitized paper files during his time as coroner.

If elected for another term, Campbell said he hopes to implement “grief therapy,” which would include professional therapists meeting with families. He also said he wants to meet more often with high school students to “educate them about drinking and driving” and taking drugs. “I'm running on the same platform and that is to continue to better the coroner's office.”

James Vernard Flowers - Democrat

Background

J. Vernard Flowers has known David Campbell since the 1980s.

Flowers said he and Campbell were both mentored and trained by Flowers’ uncle, Herman B. Flowers, when he served as a Funeral Director for the Sidney A. Jones Funeral Home.

“All of us came from under the umbrella of Sidney Jones,” said Flowers. “My uncle trained all of us. He was the backbone of Sidney Jones.”

Flowers owns two Sylvania Funeral Homes locations. He started the Sylvania location in 2004, and the Savannah location in 2009.

In 1981, Flowers graduated from Herschel V. Jenkins High School. In 1984, Flowers graduated with a master’s in cosmetology from Savannah Technical College. In 1993, Flowers graduated from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service with a mortuary science degree. For over 25 years, Flowers has also served as the minister of music for First Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church.

Flowers ran against Campbell in the 2020 election. Flowers garnered 29.15% of the votes, while Campbell garnered 36.5%.

Flowers has two sons and two daughters.

Platform

Asked about the platform he is running on, Flowers said ,“I love people.”

Flowers added that he is running on four main pillars: trust, integrity, transparency and compassion. He has centered his platform around reducing the death certificate backlog, alleging that there are death certificates that are seven and eight months delayed.

To reduce the backlog, Flowers said he would sit down with the current coroner to see what the issue is and how he could solve it. Flowers also said he would foster an open-door policy with law enforcement agencies, such as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and for families.

“I feel that there's a lot of trust issues,” said Flowers. “A lot of nepotism is going on. And that's something if I'm elected coroner, that will not be tolerated.”

Charles O’Berry - Democrat

Background

Between the ages of 8 and 11, Charles O’Berry lost his father, mother and two grandmothers.

“Each time I was in the presence of the coroner their professionalism and compassion had a significant impact on my life and increased my interest,” O’Berry said.

In 2005, O’Berry graduated from Windsor Forest High School. In 2020, he earned a degree in Forensic Science from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service.

In 2009, O’Berry started in the funeral business, working part-time, picking up bodies and working funeral services, at Bynes-Royall Funeral Home . Since 2019, O’Berry has served as the general manager of Adams Funeral Service at 510 Stephenson Ave.

In 2021, O’Berry founded the Freedom Worship Center, and since then, he has served as the senior pastor. The following year, he attained a Doctorate of Divinity at Kingdom Ambassadors Global University.

O'Berry has three daughters and one son.

Platform

O’Berry's platform focuses on reducing the death certificate and timely body release backlog, specifically by tasking his deputy coroners more job duties, such as allowing them to sign death certificates. He is also pledging to diversify the coroner’s office so the demographics of its employees reflect that of the greater Chatham County population.

“The Coroner’s Office is [about] more than just the deceased; it’s also about the living,” said O’Berry. “My goal is to partner with all of these, community outreach, therapy, the Chatham County Police Department, fire department. Right now, we have a list of grieving mothers that have lost children that need therapy.”

Tiffany Williams - Republican

Background

Tiffany Williams became interested in the Chatham County Coroner's Office after the death of her father.

Williams earned a medical certification with medical terminology and medical coding from Savannah Technical College, she said, then worked for the Chatham County Coroner’s Office from 2002 through December 2022. She served as a full-time administrative assistant July 2006 through July 2013, and full-time deputy coroner from July 2013 through December 2021.

The same day she left the Chatham County Coroner’s Office, Williams said she was offered a job as executive assistant and documentation specialist at Fox and Weeks Funeral Directors.

Williams has one son and one daughter.

Platform

Williams, who is running as a Republican, is centering her platform on reducing the death certificate backlog by allowing deputy coroners to sign death certificates. Williams said she would focus on bringing more compassion, accountability and commitment to the Chatham County Coroner’s Office.

Williams touts her experience at the Chatham County Coroner’s Office. She worked with three previous coroners: Dr. James Metts, Dr. William Wessinger, and Campbell. Williams said Metts and Wessinger were mentors for her.

Wessinger, in particular, “was very educational, very loving. It wasn't a hostile environment to work in. But working with Mr. Campbell was very different,” said Williams, who was circumspect about her reasons for leaving the office.

“I tried to help Mr. Campbell, because I bring a lot of knowledge to the office from working in there for so long,” said Williams. “Experience is my thing. And he knew that I knew what I was doing. But sometimes, you can try to help [people], but they'll never tell you thank you or admit that they appreciate your help.”

Williams considered leaving when Wessinger retired. “But I just felt like it wasn't my time, but [I am] seeing what's going on now. The office is totally going downhill.”

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Four candidates are vying for Chatham Coroner. Who are they? What are their platforms?