Fulton County voters have housecleaning to do when they go to the polls for the Aug. 5 runoff. They have to sweep two incompetents out of office — Sheriff Myron E. Freeman and clerk of the court Cathelene "Tina" Robinson. Both Democratic incumbents are in runoffs, and both deserve to lose to their challengers, Ted Jackson and Lewis Pittman, respectively.

Robinson became clerk in 2007 after her boss, Juanita Hicks, abruptly retired; Hicks left one step ahead of a $22 million lawsuit by a convict who languished in prison 22 months after his sentence was served because Hicks' office never sent the paperwork to the Department of Corrections. Before she fled, Hicks handpicked her protege and pal Robinson to fill out the rest of her term.

And Robinson immediately responded in kind. She rewarded Hicks with a sham job consulting and writing a history of the clerk's office. The job paid $55 an hour. Hicks had no contract, no stated goals, no deadlines and no requirement to show up at the office. To afford Hicks, Robinson left other positions open, even though attorneys were complaining about record backlogs.

In the end, Fulton taxpayers forked over $74,000 to Hicks for 10 months of consulting and writing, on top of the $105,588 yearly pension she was already getting from the county. And they got nothing for their money. Robinson could not produce any memos, e-mails, documents or correspondence to demonstrate that Hicks did a single thing except collect her considerable paychecks.

Robinson's blatant misuse of tax dollars to reward her mentor should dissuade voters in Fulton from handing her the $143,000-a-year clerk's post. Voters should elect Pittman, a former clerk's office employee who condemns the sweetheart deal that Hicks received and promises to end the cronyism and inefficiency that have become trademarks of the clerk's office. Because no Republican filed, the winner of the Democratic primary takes the clerk's seat.

Over at the sheriff's department, Freeman has proven incapable of running the Fulton County Jail because he lacks the leadership skills and the management background necessary. Conditions at the jail are so dismal that the Fulton district attorney asked the court to move alleged courthouse shooter Brian Nichols to another facility after it was discovered that he'd managed to get a cellphone and was planning an escape.

Jackson had a stint running the jail when Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed him as interim sheriff in 2004. While Jackson held the post only five months, he was praised for bolstering morale.

Jackson spent more than 32 years with the FBI and has experience on an array of cases, including the probe of disgraced former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell. His resume also includes serving as an inspector for the FBI, which entails supervising internal reviews and audits and conducting sensitive administrative investigations. Out of the 11,500 special agents of the FBI, only six can hold the rank of inspector at any one time, says Jackson.

In 1999, Jackson became the special agent in charge of the Atlanta office, which covers all of Georgia, involves more than 500 employees and has an annual budget of $50 million. His three decades with the FBI have more than prepared Jackson to serve as Fulton County sheriff. The winner faces Republican Michael Rary in November.

Both the sheriff's and the clerk's race pose the same stark choice for Fulton voters — incompetence versus competence. The hapless incumbents deserve not another term in office but instead a shove out the door.

• Maureen Downey, for the editorial board (mdowney@ajc.com)