‘Sheriff Vernon’ could be a rootin’, tootin’ time

Yes, the gregarious, ambitious, contentious Vernon Angus Jones is back — again. DeKalb County’s first black CEO is one of the ultimate love him/hate him characters in local politics, although the balance seems to have tilted to the “hate him” side in recent years. Jones lost badly in two races since leaving office in 2009: U.S. Senate that year, U.S. House in 2010, and, his sights moving ever lower, he toyed with running for state rep before backing way.

This time, the sheriff’s job is open and Jones has thrown his over-sized Stetson into the ring, joining a political sweepstakes with seven other candidates into the special election.

“He’s running because he’s a genuine politician; that’s what he does — he runs,” said Josie Dean, a community activist who both supported and criticized Jones.

“Vernon can be his own worst enemy; you want to hate him but you can’t,” she said laughing. “He’s charismatic. He never lost his base. Vernon is everywhere. He’s in the clubs, in the parks and in old people homes.”

The baby-kissing, grandma-hugging Jones, who is tall and handsome, is a consummate campaigner who was adept at pulling in both white and black voters when he won the CEO post in 2000.

But Jones’ stock has since plummeted in white neighborhoods — he lost to Johnson (who is black) in the Avondale Estates precinct 81 percent to 5 percent and in the north-central Lakeside High School precinct 80 percent to 3 percent. Many say the people of Dunwoody grew so disillusioned with DeKalb when Jones was CEO that they formed their own city. In fact, a running joke is the city should erect a statue of him as a founding father.

“Without Vernon giving us the Three Stooges’ poke in the eye, it wouldn’t have happened,” said state Rep. Tom Taylor, a Dunwoody Republican and chief organizer of incorporation. “He was the catalyst who got us going and drove us. If the county provided us services and realized we were a large part of the tax digest, we probably wouldn’t be a city right now.”

‘Whatever he’s running for, I’ll vote for him’

This time Jones is in a open election in which Republicans and Democrats can vote. A key will be drawing large turnout from his south DeKalb base, especially bringing out elderly black voters like Jewel Spearman, who said she got a phone call from Jones over Easter weekend, and Hannah Sheppard, who follows him on Facebook.

“Whatever he’s running for, I’ll vote for him. Him and Cynthia McKinney,” she said, referring to the firebrand former congresswoman from DeKalb who also angered white voters and then watched her African-American base diminish.

Jones wouldn’t speak with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for this story and in fact isn’t talking much to the media at all this time out. Jones is employing the strategy used by Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, who beat an incumbent in 2012, even though Hill was under indictment on corruption charges (he was later acquitted).

During — and after — his campaign, Hill steadfastly avoided television cameras, instead communicating through the Internet and meeting voters at churches and neighborhood forums where he cast himself as a courageous lone character fighting a system stacked against him.

Jones was there at the Clayton courthouse awaiting the verdict in Hill’s case.

A Jones robocall played off the seeming oddity of the former "Mr. CEO" in a Stetson: "It's Vernon Jones. That's right, Vernon Jones. Listen, you're not going to believe this. (Dramatic pause.) I am now running for sheriff."

‘You scared the hell out of white people’

The former CEO has long accused Atlanta’s media of bias in how it covers black politicians, particularly him.

“You scared the hell out of white people and made them fearful of me,” Jones told the AJC last year. “It still has an impact on my life.”

He followed up with an email stating: “The AJC has a history of vilifying strong African-American men, from Martin Luther King to Maynard Jackson to me.”

Jones was complaining about a story detailing DeKalb’s troubles: a school system threatened with loss of accreditation, as well as school officials and Jones’ successor as CEO, Burrell Ellis, indicted on corruption charges. The article characterized Jones’ time in office as “controversial.”

Jones has never been charged with any corruption, although a special grand jury last year recommended a criminal investigation into Jones for possible bid-rigging. Also, former DeKalb prosecutor Don Geary this year testified an investigation indicated there was tens of millions of dollars in possible contract fraud during Jones’ time in office but that probe was abruptly stopped by District Attorney Robert James.

Jones has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

His administration, in a federal lawsuit, was found to have discriminated against white employees and cost the county millions of dollars in attorneys’ fees.

‘He’s not doing it the conventional way’

His campaign has focused on achievements in office, like balanced budgets, and new libraries, senior citizen centers, increased green space and having a AAA bond rating. But during his campaign kickoff, one of the few times he was seen by much of the media, he waved off the controversies of yore. “I’m not here to talk about the past,” he said.

Other candidates aren’t blasting Jones, who easily has the widest name recognition but has afforded them ample ammunition for attack. Jeffrey Mann was hand-picked as interim sheriff by longtime former Sheriff Tom Brown, who left office to run against Johnson. Most observers predict there will be a runoff.

“He’ll be in the runoff with the crowded field and his popularity,” Maynard Eaton, a veteran Atlanta journalist and political strategist. “I just don’t see why he’s running for sheriff. It seems a bit off-step for his political mobility. But it is an open door.”

Eaton said he had lunch with Jones before he announced his candidacy and he offered his services as a media adviser. Jones, however said he would not need one.

“He said he’s not doing it the conventional way,” Eaton said. “He said he’s been beat up, that his past will keep coming up.”

Eaton said Jones believes he’s been savaged by the media and also has a problem with the Democratic party. Jones was irritated — Jones has often complained the term “angered” is a racially loaded way to marginalize black men — when party regulars backed former state legislator Jim Martin, a who is white, against him in 2008 when the two met in a runoff.

“That stunned him and left a bitter taste in his mouth,” Eaton said.

‘Why didn’t they get behind her?’

While hosting a radio show earlier this year, Jones indicated that bitter pill still is lodged under his tongue while hosting a radio show earlier this year.

During a discussion on politics (what else?) Jones criticized the Democratic party for backing state Sen. Jason Carter to run for governor instead of a black candidate like former state senator and DeKalb commissioner Connie Stokes.

“Why didn’t they get behind her and blow her up, like they did Jimmy Carter’s grandson?” he said. “We are the largest bloc of voters in the Democratic party in Georgia and we still have to take a back seat.”

The results from the races against Jim Martin and Hank Johnson showed that Jones by no means has a lock on south DeKalb.

In 2010 against Johnson, Jones lost all 133 precincts in DeKalb. It appeared to many he had lost the magic.

So Jones and his cowboy hat will be hitting the streets hard to avoid becoming a three-time loser. In some ways May 20 will be Vernon’s Last Stand.