Ethics board investigates 2 DeKalb commissioners
The DeKalb Board of Ethics opened investigations Tuesday against two county commissioners accused of putting personal expenses on their taxpayer-backed charge cards.
The board voted to look into spending by Commissioners Sharon Barnes Sutton and Larry Johnson.
If the board concludes that the commissioners violated ethics rules, it could levy punishments ranging from reprimands to removals from office.
The ethics complaints against Sutton and Johnson accuse them of using their county-issued debit cards for personal items, including purchases at Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond and the Apple online store.
Both commissioners have said the charge cards were used for legitimate government business and not for personal gain.
A similar ethics complaint is pending against Commissioner Elaine Boyer. The Board of Ethics voted to take up the matter at its next meeting, after a preliminary investigation is completed.
The board also decided to wait until former CEO Burrell Ellis' trial concludes before considering his case. Ellis faces ethics complaints and criminal charges based on allegations that he pressured county vendors for campaign contributions. He faces trial in September.
The board voted to seek more information before acting on complaints against former Purchasing Director Kelvin Walton and former county secretary Nina Hall.
Walton, a key witness in the case against Ellis, allegedly accepted gifts from county vendors and funnelled cash to Hall, who served on several selection committees for county projects, according to the ethics complaints against them.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
