DeKalb County’s chief executive and two county commissioners already face opposition in the summer primary and fall election, according to documents filed with the state election office.

Among those filed through Feb. 17:

Jerome Edmondson, president of Entrepreneur Development Network Global and Edmondson Associates Business Advisors, and Gregory Adams, a former DeKalb police officer and an ordained minister, have filed declarations to challenge CEO Burrell Ellis.

Thomas Bowen, the former chairman of the DeKalb Board of Education, and Steve Bradshaw, a regional sales manager for Barlo World, have filed paperwork to run against County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton.

Edmond Richardson, chief of staff for County Commissioner Lee May, has filed a declaration to run against Commissioner Kathie Gannon.

Challengers also have filed to run against DeKalb Superior Court Clerk Debra DeBerry and State Court Judge Dax Lopez.

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC