Trial begins to decide whether DeKalb County discriminated against white managers

By Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Testimony is to start Tuesday in a federal trial in which plaintiffs contend former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones ordered a top subordinate to "dig up dirt" on top white managers because he wanted a "darker administration" to reflect the county's racial makeup.

Lead plaintiff lawyer Michael Bowers told jurors in opening statements Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta that three top managers in the county's parks department were humiliated, harassed and forced out of their jobs because of their race, and an African-American, who was once a close friend of Jones', was fired because he wouldn't carry out the orders.

On Tuesday, Bowers, a former state attorney general, and co-counsel J. Tom Morgan, former DeKalb district attorney, plan to play for the majority-white jury a voice mail recording that they contend shows "an overall scheme in county government" to discriminate against whites.

"It is pretty rough," Bowers said of the language on the tape. "But it shows what the defendants over here really thought about how hiring, promotions and race should be dealt with in DeKalb County."

Brent Wilson, an attorney representing Jones, described Jones as a brusque, confrontational CEO, whose style differed from his predecessors but who nonetheless was effective and certainly not a racist. Jones appointed a white director of public safety, a white fire chief and a white county attorney, said Wilson, noting the complaints emanated only from the county Parks and Recreation Department.

Becky Kelley, who was director of DeKalb's parks department for nearly a decade, Michael Bryant, who was the deputy director for the parks department, and John Drake, another former deputy director of the parks department, filed a suit in 2004, contending that they suffered job discrimination because they are white. Herbert Lowe, a black deputy director in the department, contends he was fired because he wouldn't cooperate with the program to target white managers for removal.

Besides Jones, the plaintiffs are suing Richard Stogner, who was an executive assistant to Jones; Morris Williams, who was an assistant county administrator; and Marilyn Boyd Drew, who replaced Kelley as parks director.

Rob Remar, a lawyer for other county officials charged, also acknowledged some people found Jones to be abusive, but he contended it was always in a non-racially discriminatory way. Jones is now running for the 4th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Hank Johnson.

Remar said there was no evidence of racial slurs or other traditional indicators of a hostile workplace. Remar said one of the plaintiffs was promoted to another job where he received a $4,000 raise and a car allowance, and Kelley, who claimed to have been forced out of the county after 27 years of service, left for a better job in state government.

"Our Constitution is not designed to be a workplace be nice code," he said. "It is designed to protect against discrimination."