Former DeKalb County Commissioner Stan Watson is facing additional ethics charges related to his spending of more than $90,000 from DeKalb Chamber of Commerce accounts.
Watson is accused of soliciting donations for county events from contractors, using county resources to raise money for his political campaign committee and removing records from his office when he resigned in March, according to a report prepared by DeKalb Ethics Officer Stacey Kalberman.
Watson, who left office to make an unsuccessful run for DeKalb tax commissioner, could be fined up to $1,000 if he's found to have violated the county's Code of Ethics.
The new charges stem from an ethics complaint filed last December that alleged he created the appearance of impropriety by using a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce bank account to fund county-sponsored events.
Watson said at the time that instead of using county funds, he raised money from vendors to pay for various events including the DeKalb International Food and Music Festival, the DeKalb Police Alliance and community breakfast meetings.
Watson’s attorney, Doug Chalmers, declined to comment Tuesday when reached by Channel 2 Action News.
The DeKalb Board of Ethics plans to consider at its meeting next month whether there’s probable cause to move forward with the case.
Watson was previously reprimanded by the DeKalb Board of Ethics last year for voting to award $1.5 million in county contracts to a company he was working for.
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