Doyle, Sheffield expect to be in runoff for Georgia Court of Appeals

Atlanta lawyer Sara Doyle knew that winning an open seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals would first mean getting into a runoff.

The appeals court judgeship attracted a crowded field of seven candidates. With almost all the votes counted, Doyle appears certain to be in the Dec. 2 runoff.

She will likely compete against Lawrenceville criminal defense attorney Mike Sheffield. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Sheffield held onto second, ahead of Lawrenceville divorce lawyer Tamela Adkins.

Doyle, 40, a partner with the firm Holland & Knight, led the voting but fell far short of getting a majority.

“It looks good and I’m excited about it,” Doyle said. “Now, it’s just trying to get our message out there again and reach the people we think and hope will come back and vote in December.”

Sheffield, 58, former president of the DeKalb and Gwinnett bar associations, said his first goal was to make the runoff. “So, I’m pretty pleased with the results,” he said.

The winner will succeed Judge John H. Ruffin Jr., who is retiring.

Four years ago, Sheffield ran in another crowded race for an open appeals court seat. After the election, he and Debra Bernes of Marietta were slated for a runoff.

Over the next few weeks, they raised money, hit the campaign trail and appeared together in a debate.

But the first name of one candidate, Howard Mead, was listed incorrectly on almost 500 ballots in Laurens County. He filed suit and the Georgia Supreme Court, by a 4-3 decision, ordered a new election.

Mead then poured hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money into TV ads. Sheffield finished third in the “second” election, and Bernes eventually defeated Mead in the runoff.

“This time, there doesn’t look like there’ll be a lawsuit,” Sheffield said Wednesday. “So, that’s good. That’s very good.”

Doyle, Sheffield and Adkins were followed by Decatur lawyer Christopher McFadden, Atlanta lawyer Bruce Edenfield, Douglasville lawyer Perry McGuire and Albany lawyer Michael Meyer von Bremen, who is ending a 10-year career as a state senator.

Edenfield raised the most money through political contributions and spent than any other candidate, buying advertising on both cable television and the radio. McGuire, a former Republican state legislator, loaned his campaign $200,000 and also bought radio ads.