This article has been updated to accurately reflect the makeup of the DeKalb Charter Review Commission.
An attorney who successfully challenged the makeup of DeKalb’s ethics board, leaving it inactive for months, will serve on a committee that could bring more changes to how the county operates.
DeKalb commissioners voted 5-2 to add attorney Dwight Thomas to the Charter Review Commission. He will be one of 17 members whose task is to study how the county runs and recommend improvements. One of the commission’s key tasks will be deciding if DeKalb’s unique CEO form of governance should change.
VIDEO: More on DeKalb ethics
Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said she recommended Thomas to serve on the panel despite knowing that some people were unhappy he had sued the county and won. Thomas represented former Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton, who while under investigation challenged how ethics board members are appointed.
The Georgia Supreme Court last year upheld a lower court decision that said members selected by outside groups like Leadership DeKalb were serving unconstitutionally. Cochran-Johnson said Thomas' successes make him more qualified to serve on the charter review commission, and she hopes he is just as passionate about that work as he was in representing Sutton.
“He is truly one of the most brilliant — and I don’t use that word lightly — but one of the most brilliant people that I know,” she said.
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Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson said Thomas paved the way for attorneys like her when he became the first African American to operate a practice in Decatur.
“Dwight is a highly respected attorney with the state Bar of Georgia, the legal community and just the community at large,” she said. “He has been a pioneer in DeKalb County.”
The General Assembly approved a bill this year that alters the selection process for DeKalb ethics board members, and county voters in November face a referendum to ratify the changes.
The new law also requires county employees to file complaints with human resources before turning to the ethics board and eliminates the ethics officer position, among other things. Critics say these changes weaken the ethics board’s powers and are urging a “no” vote on the referendum.
The consequences of Thomas’ legal challenge to the ethics board caused some to argue against his selection to the charter review commission. Commissioners Kathie Gannon and Jeff Rader both abstained. Rader cited the new ethics law, which Thomas helped shape, as his reason.
“My constituents are concerned about the weakening of the ethics board in the county,” Rader said.
Sutton, Thomas's former client, was arrested last week on charges of bribery and extortion.
Each county commissioner appoints one person to the Charter Review Commission, and all but one have made their picks already. Others include Susan Neugent, former president and CEO of Fernbank Museum of Natural History, real estate agent Bobbie Sanford, attorney Brandon D. Wagner, Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson and Jim Grubiak, former general counsel at Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
CEO Michael Thurmond will appoint three members, two of which will serve as chairman and vice-chair. The DeKalb House and Senate delegations will appoint three members each. The DeKalb Board of Education will appoint one member.
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