The newly reconstituted DeKalb County ethics board got down to business Thursday evening, voting to dismiss several complaints, moving other long-standing cases forward and rehashing the controversy surrounding yet another.
The meeting was the second for the new board, which was created following a successful November referendum. But it marked the first time in nearly three years that such a panel had actually discussed pending complaints against DeKalb officials and employees.
A total of nine outstanding cases, all of which were filed in 2018 or 2019, were dismissed by the board. Most had been recommended for dismissal due to the ethics board not having jurisdiction over the accused.
The board has the power to investigate — and, if necessary, censure, reprimand or fine — thousands of DeKalb County employees. But its authority does not extend to folks like judges, teachers and a handful of other groups.
The ethics board also voted Thursday to move two high-profile cases forward. They’ll now be scheduled for probable cause hearings, where county ethics officers will present findings from their preliminary investigations and the board will decide if the cases should advance to a full hearing.
The cases moving forward include a 2015 complaint in which former DeKalb County Development Authority director Vaughn Irons is accused of failing to disclose financial ties to then-Commissioner Stan Watson, while Irons’ private business was doing work for the county.
Watson — who was reprimanded by a previous iteration of the ethics board — reportedly worked as a paid consultant for Irons’ APD Solutions between 2012 and 2014. APD Solutions was under a $1 million contract with DeKalb County at the same time.
A 2017 complaint against former DeKalb County beautification director Marcus Kellum is also advancing. Kellum is accused of double-dipping on reimbursements for county-related travel, as well as collecting private speaking fees on trips the county paid for.
“These cases have been sitting here a long time, and I think there’s a public interest in moving them forward,” deputy ethics officer Latonya Wiley said.
The board agreed on the Irons and Kellum cases. It wasn’t so sure on another.
In 2018 — a few months before a Georgia Supreme Court ruling hamstrung the previous version of DeKalb’s ethics board — a resident filed a complaint against former county Commissioner Gregory Adams. The complaint piggybacked on a county investigation into allegations that Adams had sexually harassed a staffer on multiple occasions, including sending text messages calling her sexy and requesting bikini photos.
The resident, Kenneth Taylor, was apparently acting only as a concerned citizen and had no connection to the staffer, Ashlee Wright.
Attorneys for Adams — who has denied the allegations — have previously challenged the way the ethics complaint was brought and the jurisdiction the ethics board has over sexual harassment cases.
The ethics board on Thursday asked their attorney to revisit those arguments and provide further guidance before they decided whether or not to take the case any further.
“We’re just getting cranked up here,” vice chair David Moskowitz said, “and this is a little bit of a hot potato, in my opinion, to just kind of automatically say there’s probable cause.”
The ethics board meets at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month.
TIMELINE: RECENT HISTORY OF THE DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS
NOV. 2015: DeKalb voters approve a referendum that takes the power to appoint ethics board members away from the county CEO and commissioners and gives it to several private organizations.
JAN. 2017: Former county commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton files a lawsuit arguing that giving appointment powers to private organizations is unconstitutional. Ethics board operations are put on pause.
AUG. 2018: The Georgia Supreme Court rules in favor of Barnes Sutton. With the legitimacy of more than half of its members in question, the ethics board remains unable to meet.
NOV. 2019: DeKalb voters shoot down a controversial referendum to reconfigure the ethics board and the larger ethics office. Critics said the changes proposed would have actually hindered oversight.
NOV. 2020: DeKalb voters overwhelmingly approve a new referendum that gives ethics board appointment powers to the county’s state House and Senate delegations, as well as its tax commissioner.
JAN. 2021: Appointments to the new ethics board are finalized.
FEB. 2021: The new ethics board holds its first meeting.
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