Former Army Captain and Henderson County Felony Prosecutor R. Scott McKee has publicly declared his candidacy for Henderson County District Attorney. In a recent announcement, McKee said he intends to file in the 2008 Republican Primary and began advertising his campaign for District Attorney on Labor Day weekend.

McKee served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Smith and Henderson County DA’s offices as well as Assistant County Attorney with the Henderson County Attorney’s office. McKee designated his wife and law partner Ashley Adams McKee as his campaign treasurer. Ashley is originally from Henderson County and the Cedar Creek Lake area. She is a graduate of Malakoff ISD, The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.

"I have been a public servant almost all of my life." McKee said. McKee enlisted in the military at the age of 17. "I remember being a skinny, scared teenager, but I quickly adjusted and was soon promoted into leadership roles. I learned a long time ago that leadership means a lot more than just rank and experience, it means gaining the respect of the people you are blessed enough to lead."

During his time in the military, McKee served in and with various, Airborne, Ranger and Special Operation units as well as the famed 2nd Armored and 4th Infantry Divisions.

Soon after enlisting in the Army, McKee was accepted into Georgia Military College where he was commissioned a second lieutenant at the age of 20. While at Georgia Military, McKee was deployed with his infantry unit in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

"This was a real intimidating time for me," McKee said. "I was a year away from graduating and receiving my commission and Saddam invades Kuwait. I was a young sergeant in charge of a group of infantry soldiers, many much older than me, but I can tell you that I learned a lot more from them than they learned from me."

Before leaving Active Duty in 1997, McKee had attained the rank of Captain. One of his last deployments was to Guantanamo Bay Cuba where he led specially trained Soldiers, Airmen, Seamen and Marines in tracking down Cuban and Haitian migrants for the U.S. Marshals.

"This was a real remarkable time in my life. My experiences at Guantanamo opened my eyes to how special America truly is. These people had gone through extraordinary hardships just to get a shot at coming to America. It was my job to track down the bad ones, but there were so many good ones that just wanted the slightest prospect at the American dream." McKee said his memories from this time will never leave him. "It really showed me how blessed we are to live in such a great country."

McKee believes his brand of leadership would be more effective than the "status quo" in combating the drug problem. "There is not a reason in the world Henderson County should be number one in meth and child abuse in the state. The Status Quo just isn’t working." McKee said, "As DA, I would be a warrior, not just a lawyer. Politics would be out and fighting crime would be job one." During his time with the District Attorney’s office, McKee worked closely with the Drug Enforcement Unit and other local law enforcement agencies. "Those folks are like brothers and sisters to me." McKee said. "They are the absolute best at what they do, but they need more support. I have missed them tremendously since leaving the DAs office and hope that I get the opportunity to serve with them again."

McKee and his family live on Cedar Creek Lake and are members of the First Baptist Church of Athens. Scott holds key leadership positions in state and local Republican Clubs and is a Teen Court judge and trainer, Rotarian, Kiwanian, Family Peace Project board member, Adjunct Professor of Legal Research and Writing at TVCC, and a former executive board member of the YMCA.