A runoff will be needed to determine who replaces DeKalb Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones.

Of the five candidates vying to replace Jones after his eight-year tenure, County commissioner Burrell Ellis won about 46 percent of the vote. Joining him in a runoff Aug. 5 will be State Representative Stan Watson with 26 percent of the vote. Jones' chief of staff, Ann L. Kimbrough, came in third with 14 percent.

No Republicans entered the race.

In interviews Tuesday, voters said they based their choices on many factors -- a mailer that happened to land in their mailbox, a personal connection, a chance encounter.

Lyndelle Isaacs-Heyliger met candidate Stan Watson at Dunwoody's July 4 parade and decided she liked him. "He asked me if he had my vote, and I said yes," the Dunwoody resident said.

For Brenda Smith who lives south of Decatur, it was a chance encounter with candidate Steen Miles at a Wal-Mart. "I like the way she comes across," Smith said, adding "and I'm ready for a change: It's time for a female."

And Michelle Jackson, also from south of Decatur, said her brother is a county firefighter and praises Ann Kimbrough, Jones' chief of staff. "She's always out trying to help the police officers as well as the firefighters," Jackson said. "My brother's been talking about her for over a year now."

Ellis, Watson, Miles, Kimbrough and Joe Bembry are all Democrats, so the outcome will either be decided now or at a runoff in three weeks if none of them wins a majority of the votes.

While not as glamorous as higher-profile political jobs in state or federal government, the CEO plays a big role in the lives of DeKalb residents, ensuring the trash gets collected, the police get trained and the potholes get filled.

Most of the five candidates say DeKalb is teetering at a precipice. They warn that rising crime and a plunging economy threaten the county.

All of them, with the exception of Kimbrough, Jones' chief of staff, promise a clean break from the past. Even Ellis, who represents central DeKalb on the county commission, has positioned himself as a change agent.

Two of the candidates are veterans of state politics: Watson heads the DeKalb delegation to the state House of Representatives, and Miles is a former state senator. The only real outsider is Bembry. The owner of a tow truck business has run for office more times than one can count on both hands. He's never won, but that hasn't stopped him trying.

Jones was elected as DeKalb's first black CEO in 2000. The two-term limit means he must leave office at year's end.

Challenges abound for the newcomers. The economy is threatening county revenues at a time when Police Chief Terrell Bolton is calling for an expansion of the police force to confront a rising crime rate. It would add tens of millions of dollars to the annual budget.

All the candidates say public safety is their top issue, though they would handle it in different ways. Ellis said he'd study attrition in the police department, while Kimbrough said she'd find a way to pay for Bolton's plan.

Watson said he might ask the Legislature and voters to approve a sales tax to pay for police. Bembry said he'd ask residents to respect and cooperate with police and Miles said she'd focus on morale.

Staff Writer April Hunt contributed to this article.