About the candidates
Gregory Adams, an Emory University police officer and pastor.
Harmel Deanne Codi, a former DeKalb County employee who now works as an educational consultant.
Jerome Edmondson, who owns call centers in DeKalb and abroad.
Gwen Russell Green, a DeKalb schools library media specialist, poet and essayist.
Vaughn Irons, the CEO and founder of APD Solutions, a property development company.
Mereda Davis Johnson, a former DeKalb associate magistrate judge and the wife of U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson.
Gina Mangham, an attorney and mediator who worked to prevent a biomass facility from being built.
Kathryn Rice, the leader of a movement to form a city of Greenhaven in South DeKalb and the founder of the South DeKalb Improvement Association.
Kenneth Saunders III, a technology consultant and vice president of the Hidden Hills Civic Association.
George Turner, a retired MARTA manager and the president of the District 5 Community Council.
Candidates swarmed to throw their hats in the ring for a long-vacant DeKalb Commission seat representing the southeastern part of the county, with 10 people filing papers by Wednesday’s deadline to run in a special election next month.
The candidates include the wife of a U.S. congressman, business executives, the leader of an effort to form a new city, a librarian and others.
They’ll compete in a four-week campaign before a June 16 election to fill a position representing more than 140,000 residents. Those constituents have lacked a county representative for almost two years, leaving them without a voice to advocate for business growth, road repairs, park improvements and other matters that affect quality of life.
The seat has been empty since Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May was appointed the county’s leader to take the place of suspended CEO Burrell Ellis while he is facing corruption charges. May resigned his previous position on commission earlier this month, clearing the way for an election.
With so many candidates, a July 14 runoff is virtually guaranteed because it will be difficult for anyone to achieve a majority.
Many of the candidates said residents are upset with corruption scandals and political infighting that has plagued the county.
“We have been without representation for two years, so the first thing that I want to do is listen,” said Mereda Davis Johnson, an attorney who is married to U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., who held the District 5 county commission seat before he was elected to Congress in 2006.
Vaughn Irons, the CEO of APD Solutions, said DeKalb needs to improve so it can become a destination for businesses and residents.
“This race is important because District 5 has been left behind on so many occasions,” Irons said. “We need to be able to catch up from an economic development standpoint and from a job creation standpoint.”
George Turner, the president of the District 5 Community Council, said residents need a commissioner who will look out for them.
“We need to improve the perception of the quality of life in DeKalb County,” Turner said. “We’ve got to clean it up in terms of code enforcement” with blighted homes.
Some of the candidates have run for office in DeKalb before, including Kathryn Rice, who is leading an effort to create a city of Greenhaven in South DeKalb; Gina Mangham, an attorney and mediator; Jerome Edmondson, who owns several call centers; and Gregory Adams, a police officer and pastor.
“DeKalb County needs leadership — good, honest, informed, intelligent leadership,” said Rice, who sought a superdistrict commission seat in 2010. “Being a commissioner is more about planning than anything else, and planning is the backbone of economic development.”
Mangham said voters should elect someone who can collaborate with colleagues on the DeKalb Commission.
“We should work with all of the commissioners. I’m tired about hearing about this north-south divide,” said Mangham, who ran for District 5 against May in 2012.
Edmondson, who ran against Ellis for DeKalb CEO in 2012, said he felt motivated to run after seeing a need to improve the county’s government, education system and business growth.
“I can’t sit around and do nothing,” he said. “DeKalb deserves better.”
Adams, who isn’t related to the DeKalb Superior Court judge with the same name, ran for DeKalb CEO in 2012 and for a superdistrict commission seat in 2014.
“There’s a need for honest, true leaders who can bring morality and integrity back to the forefront,” he said.
Another candidate,Harmel Deanne Codi, a senior financial officer for DeKalb who resigned after she felt allegations of bid-rigging were ignored, said she could use her knowledge of the county’s inner workings to bring about change.
“I have the most inside and personal knowledge when it comes to working with DeKalb,” she said. “I know the intricacies of what’s going on behind the doors.”
Kenneth Saunders III, a technology consultant, said one of his goals would be to bring jobs to the region.
“We should try to market South DeKalb as a place to attract corporations so people can live closer to where they work,” he said.
Gwen Russell Green, a library media specialist for DeKalb County schools, said she wants to help hold the county government accountable.
“I’m very concerned about the lack of services in South DeKalb, particularly for senior citizens,” she said. “I’m concerned about our youth who are unemployed or underemployed, which leads to crime.”
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