The election to replace DeKalb County's term-limited chief executive officer, Vernon Jones, is less than two weeks away.

The race has drawn both a current state legislator and a former one, a county commissioner, the top aide to Jones himself and the owner of an automotive towing business.

All five are Democrats who will face each other in the July 15 primary. There are no Republican candidates, so the outcome will be determined then, or at an Aug. 5 runoff between the top two contestants if none wins a majority.

Here's a look at the candidates.

Joe Bembry, 57, is persistent.

The owner of a towing business has run for office at least a dozen times. He's never won, but he has won over some people with his anti-crime message and a promise to turn back a tide of decay. He has garnered several thousand votes over the years, and made it into a runoff election twice, most recently in 2002 when he ran for the County Commission.

The consummate outsider rails against the blight of abandonment and says he's different from the people who have given up on their neighborhoods and moved away to safer suburbs."We have laid the groundwork for most of us to want to abandon the county," he said. "Most folks, they abandon an area when they have problems. I'm not going to abandon this area. I'm trying to make it better."

Bembry knows first-hand the effects of neglect. When he was in his late 20s, he went to jail after smashing the window of a car driven by county officials trying to cite him for junk on his property. He's been cited repeatedly since then for code enforcement violations, and even ran his 1998 campaign for the County Commission from jail.

Upkeep is hard in a troubled area, he explained. "Having to fix my building because of the burglaries, I don't have the money I need" for maintenance. "I'm not exempt when it comes to having problems."

If elected, Bembry said he would find money to hire 800 police officers by eliminating "misspending." He also said he would urge the public to respect, and cooperate with, the police. "Only 15 of every 100 blacks support the police," he said.

Burrell Ellis, 50, is giving up his seat on the county commission to run for CEO.

A real estate attorney with the law firm Epstein, Becker & Green, Ellis has served as commissioner for east central DeKalb's District 4 since 2001. He said he is running for higher office because he believes public service is a "noble calling" —- and because he thinks he's got what it takes to fix what ails the county.

Police need to respond to calls for help more quickly and neighborhoods need better code enforcement, he said. Officials need to be held more accountable for taxpayer dollars. Neighborhoods, and open land, need protection from developers. And relationships —- with other governments and among county officials —- need to be more civil.

"You can respectfully disagree with people," he said. He didn't say who has been uncivil, but Ellis has had repeated public run-ins with the current CEO, Jones.

"You've got to embrace the notion that we have checks and balances, that they're essential," Ellis said. He said he couldn't imagine a situation where he would veto an audit —- as Jones did a couple of years ago in a dispute with the commission over a major sewer project —- but he stopped short of promising never to do so himself.

Ellis, who supported adding 127 police officers to this year's budget, said he would improve the police department. He said he would ask businesses to contribute $1.5 million to help 200 officers make down payments on homes in DeKalb, and said he would commission a study next year to determine what is behind attrition in the department."We can't think we can fix the problem just by throwing money at it," he said.

Ann L. Kimbrough, 50, has served as chief of staff to Jones since 2003. Previously, she worked as a spokeswoman for organizations and governments, including DeKalb, and before that as a business reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She got her initiation into local politics working as a community liaison for the group that coordinated the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

She said it's her responsibility to run for office. With her experience, she said, she knows better than the others how to run the county and she has a vision for the future, especially when it comes to public safety.

The rising crime rate tops her list of concerns. Close behind are the local economy and the recreational needs of seniors and youth. She also said there must be an end to the "needless bickering" on the commission and that the county must work with the school system to improve graduation rates.

Kimbrough said she would reduce crime by hiring more police officers to patrol the streets. She said she would pay for it "in phases," by cutting money from other parts of the budget and raising taxes if that's what the public wants.

"I would not necessarily raise taxes, but if that's what the citizens wish," she said.

A tax for police aside, Kimbrough said she would help residents deal with the sagging economy by maintaining a "fiscally conservative" budget.

She said she plans to ask firefighters and police officers to mentor children who might otherwise be wandering the streets, and said she wants to establish a rapport with the county school administration to coordinate things like the location of traffic lights.

Steen Miles, 61, worked nearly three decades as an Atlanta television reporter, anchor and editor before entering politics. She ran for CEO against Jones when he won his first term in 2000. She later won a seat in the Georgia Senate, serving one term. She left to run an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor.

Miles said DeKalb is "spiraling into a place that is not something that we can be proud of," and said she feels compelled to do something about it. She said taxes, transportation and the environment are worsening.

"I am sick and tired of being embarrassed by what I read about DeKalb County," she said.

If she won the CEO post, Miles said, she would smooth relations with the county commission and "stop being bogged down in the minutiae and arguing."

She wants to reduce crime 10 percent, especially drug crimes, child predation and violence. Miles said she would reduce crime with programs that target alcohol abuse, truancy, school dropouts and poor parenting skills.

Miles said she would support police policies that encourage officers to network with citizens, and said she would address department morale. "Fighting crime isn't just the number of feet on the street," she said. "It's also esprit de corps."

Stan Watson, 54, serves in the state House of Representatives and heads the county's delegation. He is vice president of government affairs for Marietta-based Matria Healthcare, a health management company.

He said DeKalb is at "a crossroads" and needs him to lead. He touts his years of experience —- and connections —- in the Legislature, and said he'll solve problems by collaborating with nearby local governments, plus state and federal officials.

Watson said public safety is his top priority: the county needs more officers on the street, and they need better pay, he said. The quality of education is also a concern for him, since it is a key to attracting both skilled workers with families and the businesses that would employ them. That leads to another priority: economic development. Watson said he would ask residents at town hall meetings whether they were willing to pay more tax dollars to bolster the police department. "I would take it to the people," he said. He said he might ask the Legislature to consider increasing the county sales tax by a penny on the dollar, with the money earmarked for public safety and maybe road improvements.

He said he would also seek state and federal grant money to pay for police and after-school programs for children, perhaps using empty school buildings in the evening. Watson said he also wants to convert the Stonecrest Mall area into a commercial center like Dunwoody. And he said he would appoint a task force to work with leaders of the many ethnic groups in DeKalb to promote the county as a tourist destination.