Never mind the debate over whether Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May should resign after an explosive corruption report urged him to do just that. There's growing support for a legislative proposal to abolish the position entirely.
Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday gave his blessing to a push to shift the county's form of government away from the CEO model days after a key DeKalb Democrat said he would introduce the changes ahead of next year's legislative session.
“I do think it’s a good idea and I actually broached that subject with [May] before I appointed him. And he indicated at that time that he, too, felt like that was a good idea,” said Deal, who added: “I do think it has shown that it is not a workable system.”
State Sen. Fran Millar and other DeKalb Republicans have long called for a shift to a county manager model, but the Democratically-controlled DeKalb delegation has been resistant.
The fallout of the corruption report may have changed that. State Rep. Scott Holcomb said he will introduce legislation to transition DeKalb to a system run by a county manager because of a "real hunger for reform." And state Sen. Emanuel Jones recently became the highest-ranking DeKalb Democrat to urge May to step down.
May, who was appointed by Deal to the post in 2013 after his predecessor was indicted on fraud charges, has so far defied the calls to resign as he defends himself in meetings with residents across the county.
Deal, who ordered the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to review the corruption report, said he's unclear whether he can intervene if May doesn't resign. State law empowers him to remove elected officials who face felony charges, but it's murkier about whether he can remove someone that he appointed to the post.
“We need to know where we stand legally," he said, hastening to add: “We don’t need to be getting ahead of ourselves here. Everybody is presumed innocent until they’re proven to be guilty. And the process, from my perspective, has just begun to unfold.”
Deal's call to eliminate the position was seconded on Tuesday by DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester, who called on residents to rally for the change.
"The good news is that bipartisan support is growing for legislation to abolish the DeKalb County CEO position but DeKalb County taxpayers need all DeKalb legislators to show public support for this legislation," said Jester.
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