Thousands of employees at metro Atlanta area governments have co-workers who are relatives or who have other close ties. They include these top officials:

Richard Alexander

Position: Gwinnett clerk of court

Relationship: Alexander lives with his secretary, Lori Taylor.

What he says: Because they’re not married, their romantic relationship does not violate a county policy prohibiting relatives from working in the same department division. Alexander says the relationship has caused no problems in the clerk’s office.

Michael Julian Bond

Position: Atlanta city councilman

Relationships: Brother Horace Bond is a city jail lieutenant. Sister Julia Bond works for the Department of Parks and Recreation. Siblings Jeff Bond and Phyllis McMillan work for city contractors.

What he says: Their positions do not impact how he votes. He discloses their jobs in annual city ethics filings to show voters he has nothing to hide.

Jeffrey Turner

Position: Clayton County Commission chairman

Relationships: Sons Christopher and Brandon work in the county parks department. Son Ryan had a seasonal parks job in 2010.

What he says: Turner says his sons may have benefited from their relation to him, but they had to win the jobs on their own merit. “I’m not going to ever require anybody to hire anybody.”

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In addition to being a political and religious leader, Bishop Reginald Jackson also served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Morris Brown College. (Ben Gray/AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff