Religious leaders call for healing and accountability in DeKalb
A group of religious leaders in DeKalb County called for accountability Tuesday from elected leaders stricken by accusations of corruption.
The 11 church leaders spoke out after hearing questions from their communities about how to heal DeKalb’s government.
“We’re here to let our elected officials know we’re watching you — how you do business, how you represent the people — and we want more accountability,” said Bishop Quincy Lavelle Carswell of The Covenant Church. “The whole state of Georgia, the whole metropolitan area, their eyes are on DeKalb County.”
The group spoke outside the Historic DeKalb Courthouse, near the courtroom where former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis is on trial to fight accusations he shook down county contractors for campaign donations. They church leaders asked elected officials to meet with them privately for counseling.
“My heart is broken today,” said Collette Gunby, pastor of Green Pastures Christian Ministries. “We’re not here to establish guilt or innocence. We’re here as a community to say we care.”
Besides Ellis, the county also recently lost another elected official when Commissioner Elaine Boyer resigned and pleaded guilty last week to charges that she funneled more than $90,000 in taxpayer money to herself.
The rest of the DeKalb Commission is also under investigation by federal authorities, who have subpoenaed extensive records of their spending.
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.
