Ethics complaint aimed at DeKalb Commissioner Rader
An ethics complaint accuses DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader of using his elected position to benefit himself and his former employer, which has won contracts from the county.
Rader said he has avoided potential conflicts of interest by following a 2007 Board of Ethics advisory opinion that said he should recuse himself from voting on matters related to Jacobs Engineering, which was his employer until last year.
The complaint, filed Tuesday by DeKalb resident Timothy Brantley, said Rader influenced votes on contracts for Jacobs Engineering, which has been awarded county contracts worth more than $10 million.
Rader said that allegation is false and unsubstantiated.
“If the Ethics Board accepts the complaint, I will defend against it, and expect to be cleared. I hope this apparent attempt to smear me will not distract from the Ethics Board’s legitimate work,” Rader said Wednesday.
Ethics complaints are now pending against five out of six DeKalb commissioners. The Board of Ethics has the power to reprimand, suspend or remove officials if it concludes ethical violations have occurred.
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.
