About the candidates
Wendy Butler
Hometown: Brookhaven
Occupation: Land use attorney
Political experience: Former member of the MARTA Board of Directors, State Road and Toll Authority and the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
Agenda: Reduce commissioners’ spending and improve economic development efforts
Website: http://wendybutlerfordekalb.com/
Larry Danese
Hometown: Brookhaven
Occupation: Retired electrical and nuclear engineer
Political experience: DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, previously ran for DeKalb Commission in 2012
Agenda: Reduce the size of government and oppose property tax increase
Website: http://electlarrydanese.org/
Nancy Jester
Hometown: Dunwoody
Occupation: Actuarial consultant
Political experience: Former DeKalb County Board of Education member, previously ran for Georgia superintendent
Agenda: Create financial transparency with government website, providing one-click access to county spending records
Website: http://nancyjester.com/
Tom Owens
Hometown: Doraville
Occupation: Retired U.S. Army
Political experience: This race will be Owens’ first campaign for elected office.
Agenda: Prevent purchasing card abuses and change DeKalb’s CEO form of government
Website: http://tomowensfordekalb.com/
Holmes Pyles
Hometown: Unincorporated DeKalb County near Stone Mountain
Occupation: Retired state government employee
Political experience: This will be Pyles’ first campaign for elected office
Agenda: Bring honesty and life experience to the DeKalb Commission
Website: None
Five candidates are promising to clean up DeKalb County government if elected to an open commission seat representing the county’s affluent north side.
All of the candidates— four Republicans and an independent — said they would manage the county far differently than former Commissioner Elaine Boyer.
Boyer pleaded guilty last month to charges that she profited from a $78,000 kickback scheme and used her county-issued Visa card to pay for more than $15,000 in personal expenses.
The winner of the Nov. 4 election will represent more than 140,000 residents in Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville, Dunwoody and Tucker. A runoff between the top two finalists will be held Dec. 2 if no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote.
The candidates are former DeKalb Board of Education member Nancy Jester, land use attorney Wendy Butler, retired engineer Larry Danese, Vietnam veteran Tom Owens and retired government employee Holmes Pyles.
Jester, who describes herself as a “fiscal hawk” and government watchdog, jumped into the race after finishing fifth out of the nine candidates running for state schools superintendent in the Republican primary.
If elected, Jester said she’d account for every cent of her county spending online — and push for similar transparency for all county expenses. That kind of system would make elected officials more answerable to voters and help prevent financial abuses like Boyer’s, she said.
“You shouldn’t need an online check register to prevent elected officials from stealing money from taxpayers, but it sure puts people on notice,” Jester said. Boyer “wouldn’t have used her purchasing card for a family vacation if she knew it was going to show up online tomorrow.”
Jester was among the six DeKalb County Board of Education members removed from office by Gov. Nathan Deal in February 2013 after an investigation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools found leadership issues, including infighting and micromanagement.
Her husband, Stan Jester, is running unopposed in an election for her former school board seat.
Butler, a former member of MARTA’s board of directors, offered simple solutions to misspending by county commissioners: get rid of their ability to spend tax money through charge cards and reduce their budgets, which reach as high as $281,000.
“I know DeKalb County is in trouble. There’s a need for somebody committed to fixing it without blowing it up,” Butler said. “I don’t think any of us needs a credit card to pay our bills, or $270,000 or $280,000 to run our offices.”
Butler said she would fight any increase in property taxes and draw on her experience as an attorney to promote economic development.
Danese, who ran against Boyer two years ago, said he wants a smaller and more transparent county government.
He said the government needs to be downsized by reducing personnel, cutting programs or seeking greater privatization.
“We have an obligation to use our money wisely, and we have an obligation to make sure of where all that money is going,” Danese said. “We’re going to have to get more bang for your buck.”
Owens, who filed an ethics complaint against Boyer in April, gained notoriety during the campaign when he obtained a temporary restraining order against a blogger, George Chidi. Owens accused the blogger of harassing and threatening him. A judge later threw out the restraining order, saying Chidi was protected by the First Amendment.
Owens said he would hold himself and elected officials to a high standard if he’s elected.
“I know the difference between right and wrong,” Owens said. “It’s all about selfless service, like when I served in the military.”
Owens blames DeKalb’s government structure, which concentrates power in a chief executive, for many of its problems. He said he would try to eliminate the CEO position if he’s elected.
Pyles, the independent candidate in the race, said he has lived in DeKalb for more than 60 years and would try to restore the county to a place with helpful police and strong schools.
“What I’m working toward is to get some of the mess straightened out,” said Pyles, who is making his first run for office. “There are too many regulations, so a small businessman can hardly get started in the county.”
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