The next Dallas County District Attorney says she knows she has a big job ahead of her, both inside and outside of the office.
Judge Faith Johnson will be sworn in next week, but first she spoke with NBC 5 about the job ahead.
"It is exciting. It is overwhelming. I am so elated. I am so ready to get to work and to do everything I need to do in terms of preparation," Johnson said.
Johnson is a former judge and prosecutor who is now in private practice. She takes over from fellow Republican Susan Hawk, who resigned as district attorney earlier this year.
"I don't plan to go in there and fire everybody. Obviously, you know, you want to bring some of your own people in, people you trust, people you already know who is able to do a good job. But I don't plan to go in there and fire everybody at the DA's office. I think we have a lot of great prosecutors there who are doing a great job, so no they should not fear that at all," Johnson said.
She said she has to go into the job starting with the people in mind.
"I have to start with the people. I have to start with the people internally, and I have to also deal with the people on the outside, because you also have to remember you have people outside of that office that have a great distrust in the Dallas County district attorney's office," she said.
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Johnson said much of the problem has to do with morale.
"We have got low morale, so I have to have a strategy that is going to help bring people together, and part of that is folks knowing who I am. They see my consistency. They see my availability. They see me working hard. They see me being present. They see me making great decisions on behalf of them in that office, so they got to see me in action, so that is what I plan to do," she said.
Johnson's term will expire Dec. 31, 2018, "or until a successor shall be elected and qualified," according to a statement from Gov. Greg Abbott.
With the governor's appointment, she is also the first black woman to be named the Dallas County District Attorney.
