The two commissioners vying to be DeKalb County’s next chief executive officer were critical of each other’s ability to lead the county at an Atlanta Press Club debate Sunday.
Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and Larry Johnson took questions from panelists and each other as part of the group’s Loudermilk-Young Debate series, which featured the DeKalb race as well as two congressional races that are on the June 18 primary ballot.
The two Democrats were the top vote-getters during May’s primary, beating out fellow Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, and are competing to replace Michael Thurmond, who is term-limited. The June 18 runoff will determine the next CEO as no Republicans filed in the race.
Cochran-Johnson is the front-runner in the race and would be the second woman and first African American woman to hold the job if elected. In the primary, she was shy of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff but led in 156 out of 191 precincts countywide. The only part of the county where she didn’t dominate was southwestern DeKalb’s District 3, where Johnson has served as commissioner for the past 22 years.
In a late May poll of likely voters, Cochran-Johnson held an 18-point lead over Johnson and led in every commission district, even District 3. Pollster Fred Hicks predicted in a news release that she is likely to win.
During the debate, Cochran-Johnson asked her opponent why voters should trust him when his District 3 has struggled with a lack of economic development and high crime rates.
“You’ve demonstrated no vision, no plan and no initiative that voters can see,” Cochran-Johnson said.
Johnson said Cochran-Johnson shares in the blame, pointing out that her Super District 7 overlaps District 3, although it primarily sits in Super District 6. He rebutted her assertion, touting construction of the Ellenwood Library and the South DeKalb Senior Center during his tenure.
“You can’t do it because it takes experience,” he said. “I have vision and experience, and you can see it along Candler Road, to make those things happen.”
He criticized Cochran-Johnson for closing down two of her own businesses, including a custom eyewear company, saying it showed she didn’t have her own house in order.
Cochran-Johnson said she shut down her businesses to focus on public service and said she has championed small businesses while in office, including sponsoring the Great American Franchise Expo. Johnson then criticized her for holding the expo in Cobb County instead of DeKalb.
Both candidates said infrastructure would be a priority if elected but they differed on how they would tackle water, sewer and road projects.
Thurmond asked commissioners last week to approve a water and sewer rate increase, the second during his tenure after many years with zero increases. He said the county could face “catastrophic” issues if upgrades aren’t made soon at the Scott Candler water treatment plant.
Johnson, who voted against the first rate increase, said he continues to oppose a rate increase. He said the county needs to find other ways to pay for improvements.
“I really feel we need to look for the federal and state folks and not burden our taxpayers to make that happen,” he said. “Our seniors are having a tough time already.”
Cochran-Johnson said she would work with federal and state partners too but said the years without any rate increases are what has left the county in the position it’s in now. Until Thurmond took office, repairs and upgrades were not prioritized despite significant growth in the county, she said.
“We had not taken measurable actions,” she said. “We must provide for the expansion of the future because our businesses as well as our residents, require clean, safe water.”
Early voting started Monday and continues until Friday. Check your voter registration information at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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