WHO'S WHO IN DEKALB LEADERSHIP
- BURRELL ELLIS: DeKalb County's chief elected officer, Ellis was suspended this summer from the post similar to a strong mayor in large jurisdictions, running nearly all of the daily business of Georgia's third-largest county. A former county commissioner and real estate attorney, Ellis was first elected CEO in 2008 and is now in his second term. He became a public target of a political corruption case in January, when investigators from the district attorney's office searched his home and office and seized campaign records and county contracts. The results of that investigation remain under seal. The DA unveiled a 15-count indictment on separate accusations in June.
- ROBERT JAMES: DeKalb County's district attorney since 2011, James cites a stint as an elementary school paraprofessional in a poor area of Atlanta as pushing him into prosecution. He is a former prosecutor in DeKalb and Rockdale counties who spent four years as DeKalb's solicitor. In his short tenure, James took the lead in prosecuting Hemy Neuman for killing Rusty Sneiderman and also convicted the widow, Andrea, in connection with the case. He is expected to lead the prosecution of Ellis on 14 felonies and one misdemeanor.
- LEE MAY: The son of a pastor, May became, in 2006, the youngest person elected to the DeKalb County Commission. He was 30. May holds a master of divinity degree but is better known for a series of bankruptcies that stemmed in part from his failed effort to run a movie theater near Lithonia. May has said his struggles help him understand taxpayers' financial woes as the head of the commission's budget committee. Gov. Nathan Deal appointed May as interim CEO as the case drags on against Ellis, giving May the power to run daily operations, shape the budget and help set the policy agenda in DeKalb.
Suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, accused of extortion and theft, argues in court motions that he is in the cross hairs of a political vendetta, not actual wrongdoing.
In a bid to get the corruption case tossed, Ellis’ legal team has charged that District Attorney Robert James and interim CEO Lee May “singled out” Ellis for their own political gain.
It’s a legal strategy that’s unlikely to fly, longtime political insiders — ranging from former and current elected officials, high-level staff and business leaders — told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The friction in DeKalb, they said, is typical political theater. People close to the three men describe differing viewpoints among prominent Democrats but no conspiracy or presumed ambitions that would prompt anyone to plot another’s personal and professional destruction.
“Is there bad blood between the DA and Burrell? Yeah, but that’s based on the nasty legal fight, not anything that happened before,” said Richard Stogner, DeKalb’s longtime chief operating officer and Democratic operative who worked with all three men. “Lee is just playing the cards he was dealt as acting CEO.”
“In the final analysis, my opinion is you’re seeing people positioning themselves, not any deep-seated conspiracy or competition,” Stogner said.
May denied any rivalry, while James and Ellis declined to comment.
Ellis was indicted in June on 14 felonies including extortion, conspiracy and theft for allegedly strong-arming county vendors into donating to his political campaign and punishing those who refused. He also is accused of using county employees, during working hours, to help him raise the cash. The case includes hours of audio threats.
A trial is expected next year. But Ellis’ lawyers want the judge to dismiss the indictment or disqualify James’ office from trying the case because of what they allege is James’ personal dislike of the suspended CEO.
Their evidence? Records showing James and May used county workers to solicit county vendors to pay for the 2013 Senior Ball for DeKalb residents.
If Ellis broke the law in using county workers to help him raise campaign funds, then James and May did the same regarding the Senior Ball, Ellis’ attorneys argue.
While folks inside government don’t buy that the difference is merely political, residents who will make up the jury pool just might.
Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was cleared on all 27 felony charges against him by making a similar claim in his racketeering and theft trial earlier this year.
“Showing there is bias in prosecution is Defense 101,” said Jill Polster, an Atlanta criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not connected to the case. “They have him (Ellis) on tape, so he has to say this is what goes on in all politics.”
It helps in DeKalb that the government setup, in which a chief executive and a County Commission vie for power, promotes friction.
Ellis used that system to his advantage as a commissioner, often calling out then-CEO Vernon Jones on issues of the day.
May, as the commission’s budget chair during the economic downturn, likewise made his name challenging Ellis on taxes and spending.
“Lee May wants to leave his mark, so it makes sense there is some natural competition with whoever the CEO is,” said Gene Walker, the former chair of DeKalb’s school board who spent years watching and working with county leaders. “Robert (James) is the mystery in the equation to me. He seems to be going to excess to try to prove corruption or malfeasance in officials of color.”
A case in point, apart from the Ellis indictment, is that of former DeKalb School Superintendent Crawford Lewis and his former chief operating officer, Pat Reid.
James inherited that racketeering case, won convictions against Reid and her ex-husband, and struck a plea deal with Lewis. Now James is waiting on court action to see whether Lewis can withdraw his guilty plea on misdemeanors.
“You only have one way to prove your worth as DA, and that’s to go after high-profile targets,” said Steve Anthony, a professor of political science at Georgia State University. “There may be some underlying factionalism playing out here, but that’s not enough to call it a full-blown rivalry.”
Factions matter given the limited opportunities for successful DeKalb politicians, typically Democrats, to achieve higher office in a mostly red state.
A presidential appointment launched James’ predecessor, Gwen Keyes Fleming, to the Environmental Protection Agency as regional administrator in 2010, and she rose to EPA chief of staff this year.
Former County Commissioner Hank Johnson took one of the few routes up in 2006 when he was elected to Congress. He’s now in his fourth term as U.S. representative for DeKalb and parts of Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties.
Those close to Ellis say he was more apt to want a bureaucratic appointment over higher office and had no plans to challenge Johnson.
And while James has said in published reports that “Congress and the U.S. Senate sound interesting,” those close to him say he is more likely to pursue becoming a federal prosecutor or a state attorney general — should Georgia’s demographics shift.
That leaves May, who had been open about wanting to become DeKalb’s CEO. Yet he passed on the chance to run against Ellis in 2012.
“I did not see him as an enemy but someone to work with to move our county forward,” May said.
Just after the election, the pair highlighted their cooperation on the 2013 budget and other policy issues.
Weeks later, investigators from James’ office raided Ellis’ office and home. That kicked off events that would lead to his indictment.
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