Hoover resident Bill Veitch sworn in as Bessemer Division district attorney

Hoover resident Bill Veitch today was sworn in as the new district attorney for the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County following an appointment made by Gov. Robert Bentley on Tuesday.

Veitch is filling the shoes of Arthur Green, who retired effective Tuesday after serving three six-year terms in office.

Veitch has been chief assistant district attorney in the Bessemer Division for 14 years and now will fill out the remainder of Green’s term. He is running for election to the job this year as a Republican.

Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Veitch is qualified for the district attorney job and the governor appreciates his willingness to serve.

“He brings experience to the position,” Ardis said. “The governor is confident he will serve the citizens well in his new position.”

Veitch was sworn in today by Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin.

Veitch first came to the district attorney’s office in the Bessemer Division in 1999 and within two years was promoted to chief assistant district attorney. Before that, he managed a private law practice for 20 years and served as a Birmingham police officer while he pursued his legal education, according to his campaign website.

Veitch is a lifelong resident of the Bessemer Division. He was president of his 1969 graduating class from McAdory High School and went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a law degree from the Birmingham School of Law.

He has served for 14 years as the vice president of the Bessemer Children’s Advocacy Center, now known as The Clay House, which is a child-focused intervention and treatment program for child abuse victims.

Veitch also served 10 years on the Hoover school board, served as chairman of the Hoover Personnel Board and was on the board of directors of the Bessemer YMCA. He is a member of Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Bessemer and lives in Hoover with his wife, Jill Ganus Veitch. His wife is a deputy district attorney for Tuscaloosa County and formerly served as a served as a Jefferson County district judge from 2006 to 2013 and as an assistant district attorney for the Bessemer Division from 1993 to 2006, and 2013 to January 2015.

Veitch has two adult children, one son in the Hoover school system and three grandchildren.