Election results usher in period of change for Clayton
The transition of power is under way in Clayton County, and early indications are it won’t be a quiet or painless process.
The new County Commission set the tone this week by ushering in a raft of changes aimed at creating better accountability in Clayton’s finances while putting greater control in the hands of the new chairman. The board removed County Manager Wade Starr, a long-time kingmaker in Clayton politics, and will bring in a chief financial officer to manage county finances.
The balance of power clearly has swung to newly elected Commissioners Jeff Turner and Shana Rooks. Turner, who replaces Eldrin Bell as chairman, and Rooks, who defeated Wole Ralph, teamed with returning Commissioner Michael Edmondson to create a new voting bloc on the five-member board, and they appear intent on taking swift action.
“They hit the ground running,” said Carl Swensson, chairman of the Clayton County Citizens Oversight Committee. “The former power triumvirate has been absolutely shattered. We’re going to have good people in position where they can do the most good for this county. You’re going to find a more receptive ear in the new structure.”
Because of the results of last fall’s election, the changes don’t stop with the county government. Expect some retooling in the sheriff’s office and the school administration complex during the next 90 days. New Sheriff Victor Hill officially took office his week and a school board with three new members soon will have to choose a superintendent.
Clayton County is not the only Southside jurisdiction in which voters ripped into incumbents in last year’s elections, sending a clear mandate for change. Henry and Fayette counties are installing newly minted leaders of their county commissions. Fayette also is looking for a new school superintendent.
“Voters have really begun to pay attention to what’s going on,” said Pat Pullar, a political consultant and president of Talking Points 4 U in Ellenwood.
But not everyone sees real change in Clayton. Turner has ties with former commission Chairman Crandall Bray and Turner’s campaign chairman, Bobby Newton, has connections with Bray and another former chairman, Charlie Griswold.
“The old guard is much like herpes. They’ll go away for awhile and then they’ll figure a way to come back,” Swensson said.
Returning Commissioner Gail Hambrick, who now finds herself outside the new voting majority, questioned the board’s decisions this week to create two new positions and spring for a forensic audit, which could costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“A lot has gone on,” Turner told the commissioners in defense of his request of the comprehensive audit. “I need to be comfortable about what’s going on in the finance department.”
Swensson applauded Turner’s stance. “They may have to spend a little bit more money to save some money,” he said.
Resident Linda Crawley Simmons told the commissioners at their inaugural meeting this week that she hoped a track record of “vindictiveness and backbiting” would not mar the new board’s reform efforts.
The hopes of Clayton residents are the same for the school board, which will convene Monday for its first meeting of the year with its new members. The nine-member panel must tackle longtime issues, namely resolving a history of in-fighting and finding a new superintendent to run the 50,000-student school system.
The school board recently received a warning letter from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools admonishing members for not resolving lingering disputes and for micromanaging. SACS lifted Clayton’s accreditation in 2008 and restored it in May 2011. While its accreditation doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy this time, the renewed scrutiny further hurts the school system’s efforts to fully emerge from the past problems.
A new leader and a board capable of reaching a consensus on how to improve the school district is critical, Pullar said.
“They need to make sure the superintendent’s in place, somebody who’s been at a helm of a school system comparable to Clayton and has a good success rate,” Pullar said. “They need to make sure the school board understand their roles as board members and stop bickering and put egos aside. That goes for all the people who’ve been elected.”
Meanwhile, change at the sheriff’s office will be closely watched now that new Sheriff Victor Hill will remain in office for the foreseeable future. Hill is facing 32 felony charges and calls from his peers to be removed from office, but Gov. Nathan Deal said Thursday he does not have the legal standing to remove Hill.
Hill cleaned house during his previous term as sheriff, firing many high-level, longtime sheriff’s department employees. Political observers wonder whether animosities will come into play in Hill’s new term.
Swensson is hopeful, based on Hill’s previous term as sheriff, when he “cleaned up the drugs in Clayton County, and I look forward to him doing it again.”
Overall, the county leadership shakeup is going to be “a learning curve for everybody,” Pullar said.
“They’re going to have to get in there and observe and understand what’s happening with budgets, their staff and all of the issues that concern our county. They don’t want to repeat (what’s already happened).”
