Jason Lewis, who is running for coroner, has been a paramedic for 27 years. He has been Oglethorpe County’s Emergency Medical Services director and recently stepped in as interim coroner when James Jackson resigned to run for sheriff.
The coroner assists in death investigations to determine the cause, and is involved in all deaths, except for those in hospice or any physician’s care.
The Echo sat down with Lewis to learn more about the role and his campaign.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How will your background as an EMS director help you serve as coroner?
A: I’ve worked on a lot of deaths. This is just a different aspect of it. I’ve worked alongside the coroner’s office for my entire career. It’s work that I deeply care about. So, I decided to run to just seek the office.
Q: What made you want to run for the position?
A: It was simply just to be able to continue what it is that we’re doing, myself and Robert McCurley. We really put a lot into the coroner’s office. James Jackson put a lot into the coroner’s office. Howard Sanders before him put a lot into the coroner's office. I think that it’s essential work, and it’s not highly sought after, and we just wanted to continue what it is we’re doing.
Q: What do you hope to change or accomplish as the county coroner?
A: I hope to continue the work of the coroners that came before me and essentially just serve the families that we serve. We just hope to have a continuation of what we feel is already an exemplary service that we provide.
Q: What do people misunderstand about the coroner's role?
A: Honestly, I don’t think a lot of people understand what the coroner’s role is, period. We are solely a resource to do a death investigation. And just because a death investigation occurs doesn't necessarily mean that there’s any type of malice. It’s just simply to make the determination or help make the determination of what was the cause and manner of death. It does not have anything to do with who is responsible. It has some to do, but not a lot to do, with criminal investigations. Our sole priority is the decedent and the decedent's family.
Q: What challenges do you think you will face if you are elected?
A: We know these families that we serve, and we generally personally know residents. So just the challenge of being personally connected to families that are grieving while you’re still trying to perform the duties of the job and the duties of the office. That’s particularly challenging.
Q: What are the transportation issues facing the office? Are there changes or adjustments you’d like to make?
A: We have a transportation service right now that has been expedient and reliable. We’ve got some ideas moving forward as far as using a decommissioned ambulance over in the coroner’s office. We will be working on and moving forward with the Board of Commissioners. I don’t see it particularly as a challenge, as the need is being met now.
Q: What have you learned in the position that would inform your term?
A: I’m still learning, and I’m still leaning heavily on the previous coroner, as far as those areas of procedure that I may be unfamiliar with. But aside from that, the death investigations that we’ve done over this past year have been varied. And our relationship with the medical examiner’s office in Atlanta has been growing, so I think that there are some things that I still need to learn. But at the same time, we have a wealth of experience here in our workforce, and with our partners and surrounding counties, that we should be able to handle pretty much anything that comes up.
Q: What would you like people to know during this election cycle?
A: I’m running unopposed, and running unopposed is kind of bittersweet to me. I would like to be a choice, not a lack of options. But with that said, I still plan to get out and meet constituents and ask for folks’ support. I want to meet as many people as I can and hopefully answer any questions that they may have about the coroner’s office.