TURNER'S TIMELINE
A look at Jeff Turner’s path to the Clayton commission chairmanship:
2010
Nov. 2: Votes in Henry County during the gubernatorial election, according to Henry County voter registration rolls.
December: Moves to Clayton County city of Morrow.
2011
April 1: Registers to vote in Morrow, according to Clayton Board of Elections records.
April: Indicates intention to run for Clayton County sheriff and later commission chair using Morrow address. Drops out of sheriff's race because he does not meet two-year residency requirement.
Sept. 19: Files for Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy using his family's McDonough address.
Sept 23: Files for divorce from his wife, Darlene. Case is still open, according to Henry County court officials.
November: Changes address on bankruptcy filing to current address in Riverdale.
2012
Jan. 9: Fills out a change of address card for his voter registration to reflect his move to Riverdale.
May: Completes online Personal Financial Management course as required by bankruptcy court.
May 25: Files to run for County Commission chairman race. It has one-year residency requirement.
June: Heads into runoff for County Commission chairman.
Aug. 21: Wins runoff.
2013
January: Takes office.
Clayton County’s top elected official says he meets residency requirements to hold office. But public records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show conflicting information about newly installed Commission Chairman Jeff Turner’s primary residence over the past three years.
Turner, who took office Jan. 1, said he has been a full-time Clayton County resident since December 2010. Turner said he left Henry County and moved to a house owned by his father in the Clayton city of Morrow in order to run for office. He said he moved to his current address, an apartment complex in Riverdale, about a year later.
His wife and sons continue to live in Henry.
“Do I go visit them? Yes. I’m a father first and foremost,” Turner said. “But I live in Riverdale and have been doing so for quite a while.”
But several documents filed 10 months after Turner said he had established residency in Clayton list Turner as a McDonough resident — a town in neighboring Henry County — around the time he made his bid for the $144,212-a-year Clayton chairman’s job.
- A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing by Turner on Sept. 19, 2011, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court's Northern District in Atlanta shows Turner listed the McDonough address where his wife and children are living as his residence.
- Then, four days later on Sept. 23, Turner filed for divorce in Henry County Superior Court, listing the same McDonough address as his place of residence. Turner acknowledges in the filing, "I live in Henry County." The divorce case is still open, according to Henry court officials.
- The McDonough address is also where Turner and his wife have claimed a homestead exemption, an indication that the property is their primary place of residence. By law, a person can only claim one exemption.
- Based on his divorce filing, which still states he lives in McDonough, Turner hasn't notified Henry County court of his move to Clayton. But according to Turner's Chapter 13 filing, he notified U.S. Bankruptcy Court of his new address in Riverdale in November 2011.
State law requires that a person running for county commission chairman live continuously in the county for at least a year by the time of the general election. So Turner needed to live in Clayton for at least a year prior to Nov. 6, 2012.
Under state law, providing false information on voter registration forms is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
In an interview Thursday, Turner reiterated he has met state requirements regarding his Clayton residency.
He said he used the McDonough address as a means of “keeping track” of all court, business and other mail by having it sent to one central place.
“I don’t know what has prompted this inquiry, but I would hope that this has answered their questions,” Turner said.
But one expert says residency isn’t a cut-and-dry issue.
“Residency isn’t defined by any one factor. It’s multiple factors,” said Jim Grubiak, general counsel for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
“Homestead exemption is a factor that’s considered,” Grubiak said. “Other factors may include (where you get your) mail, where you claim to be your home.”
The question of a candidate’s residency has arisen numerous times.
Former Clayton school board member Norreese Haynes was removed from office in 2008 after police determined he had not lived in the county for at least two years.
Carlotta Harrell’s residency was challenged last year when she ran for Henry County Commission chairman. Concerns that she might have still resided in Clayton were resolved and, ultimately, she was deemed eligible to run — although she lost the race.
Mayor Kasim Reed’s residency was questioned shortly before he ran for mayor in 2009. At the time, public records showed he was registered to vote in an address just outside Atlanta city limits. Reed later moved into Atlanta, clearing up the matter.
The question of Turner’s residency hasn’t yet registered with voters who helped him defeat incumbent Eldrin Bell last November.
“The election’s over,” Bell said Thursday. “I don’t think, from my perspective, it’s beneficial to go back and rehash campaign issues. I wish him all the success.”
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