2 attorneys announce run for DA
Marie Primm and Perry Thomas have announced their intentions to run for the office of 33rd and 424th district attorney. DA Wiley 'Sonny' McAfee said he will not be seeking re-election. Staff photos by Dakota Morrissiey
Attorneys Marie Primm and Perry Thomas have announced their intentions to run for the position of district attorney for the 33rd and 424th Judicial Districts in the 2024 election. DA Wiley “Sonny” McAfee has said he will not seek re-election. He was sworn into office in January 2013.
Primm and Thomas will face off in the Republican primary on March 5, vying for their party’s nomination to get on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The 33rd and 424th district attorney oversees the prosecution of high-level crime in Burnet, Llano, Blanco, and San Saba counties.
Primm currently works for the Texas Attorney General’s Office in the Criminal Prosecutions Division, focusing on capital cases. She is one of three special prosecutors in the division who travel the state to assist counties with complicated capital murder litigation. She also has 22 years of experience working in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, where she achieved the status of division chief and oversaw the attorneys and staff of five different courts.
Primm has her own private practice, The Law Offices of Marie Primm, and lives in Sunrise Beach Village.
“I think my experience in Harris County has given me a strong foundation to be able to tackle any case, to be able to supervise and handle running an office,” Primm told DailyTrib.com in an interview after she announced her bid. “Some things remain the same no matter where you are. Hard work and heart mean more than anything else. You’re not going to find anybody that’s going to work harder or care more than me.”
Thomas has run his own defense firm, The Law Office of Perry Thomas PLLC in Burnet, for the past 4½ years. Before opening a private practice, he served as the first assistant district attorney for the 33rd and 424th DA’s Office under McAfee for 4½ years. He also spent 24 years in the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted everything from child abuse to capital murder.
“I have a love for this area and the people in this area,” Thomas told DailyTrib.com. “I will do all I can with my experience to make sure this remains a great place to live and to raise families. This is a safe, wonderful, loving, caring community, and we want to keep it that way.”
In interviews with DailyTrib.com, both candidates expressed similar concerns about the rise of violent crimes and drug-related offenses as the region’s population grows.
“I think we need to be ready to meet the growing district and the increase in crime that is going to go along with that,” Thomas said. “No matter who I talk to, it’s always been a concern, there has always been a drug problem. Prosecution of drug crimes has got to be a priority. I want to work and focus on people who are profiting from selling poison in our community.”
Primm, who has lived in the area since February, also sees drug-related crime as a serious issue facing the districts.
“Crime is on the increase, and I think that it’s important to maintain the safety of a community and make sure people are held accountable,” she said. “I think methamphetamine is a big problem in the area, and the narcotics trade associated with that often leads to other crimes.”
Both attorneys view the role of prosecutor as more than a job.
“I have always felt like my service as a prosecutor is my service to God,” Primm said. “I don’t think it’s a job; I think it is a calling.”
Thomas had similar sentiments.
“My joy, my pleasure, my calling has always been prosecution and representing the rights of crime victims,” he said.