Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, June 11 - 17, 2015
LOCAL
Page 11A
St
Election Day is Tuesday, June 16
District 5 residents go to the Polls
it
K
A special election June
16 will allow residents of the
5th district of the DeKalb
County Board of Commis
sioners to choose a repre
sentative for a seat that has
been vacant for nearly two
years.
Ten candidates are vying
for the seat, which officially
became vacant May 8 upon
the resignation of Lee May
after nearly two years as in
terim DeKalb County CEO.
May stopped represent
ing District 5 constituents
as a commissioner in July
2013 when he was appointed
interim DeKalb County
CEO by Gov. Nathan Deal,
following the indictment
and suspension of DeKalb
County CEO Burrell Ellis.
Each candidate was
given a questionnaire by The
Champion with instructions
to limit answers to 50 words.
Responses appear just as
they were received and those
that exceeded that limit were
truncated.
Gregory Adams
Education: College
graduate degree in business
management at CTU
Occupation: Police of
ficer, senior pastor
What political offices
have you held in the past?
No political office held, but
a candidate in two previous
elections—CEO of DeKalb
County and Commissioner
District 7
Have you ever been
convicted of a crime? No
criminal record
Why are you seeking
this office? My purpose of
running for commissioner
is because there is a need.
Within recent months,
DeKalb County has a re
ceived a black eye as it re
lates to corruption. I want
to change the mindset of
the people of DeKalb and
the media, by bringing hon
esty, integrity, great morals,
transparency and.. ..(trun
cated)
What do you under
stand the duties of this
office to be? The commis
sioner position is the most
ambiguous job in govern
ment to some. However a
commissioner is the person
that handles the legisla
tive and the administrative
function of the county. And
some of the responsibilities
are as follows, zoning, mile
age rates, (taxes) parks and
recreation, public works,
and ordinances. But in....
(truncated)
What expertise do you
have that will help you ful
fill the duties of this office?
My qualification varies. I’ve
owned and co-owned sev
eral businesses, I worked for
several Fortune 500 compa
nies in management. I am
the deputy director of Proj-
ect360, a nonprofit organi
zation, director of DRRLL
youth mentoring program, I
am also the senior pastor of
Deliverance Temple TCOG-
IC Inc., and sit on the....
(truncated)
Harmel Deanne Codi
Education: Juris doc
torate—Birmingham/
Cumberland Law School;
MBA—University of Geor
gia. Certificates—project
management, economic
development, finance, com
munity development and
accounting
Occupation: educational
consultant/entrepreneur
What political of
fices have you held in the
past? None
Have you ever been con
victed of a crime? Never
Why are you seeking
this office? I am seeking to
contribute to the progress of
this county. I bring a spirit
of harmony and a critical
thinking ability that will
help all of us to work togeth
er to move the entire county
forward. I want to be part of
the solution to restore the
county’s reputation.. ..(trun
cated)
What do you under
stand the duties of this
office to be? The duties of
the office of commissioner
include the power and au
thority to establish policies,
rules and regulations for the
county of DeKalb.
What expertise do you
have that will help you
fulfill the duties of this of
fice? Having a background
in finance, accounting, a
legal background, and other
certificates allow me to ful
fill the duties of this office. I
worked for DeKalb County
and understand it from the
inside-out. I know what
works and I know what
needs improvement.
★★★★★★★
Jerome Edmondson
Education: Cleary Col
lege, bachelor of science
business management, 1994;
Community College of Air
Force, associates in criminal
justice, 1985; Mississippi
Community College, crimi
nal justice, 1981-1982
Occupation: president
and CEO of Top Tel USA,
Customer Contact Centers
What political of
fices have you held in the
past? N/A
Have you ever been con
victed of a crime? No
Why are you seeking
this office? I am running
for District 5 commissioner
to restore trust, strengthen
our economy and keep fami
lies safe. With the help of the
citizens of district 5, we can
clean up DeKalb and build
a better future for the next
generation.
What do you under
stand the duties of this
office to be? The Board of
Commissioners serves as
the legislative branch of the
DeKalb County govern
ment. The main duties of
this office consists of ap
proving the County budget,
which is $1.2 billion across
all funds and approving
land use and zoning (which
controls what development
occurs in our community).
A county.... (truncated)
What expertise do you
have that will help you
fulfill the duties of this of
fice? As a business leader in
my community for over 20
years, I understand how to
run complex organizations,
create jobs, work within
financial constraints and
make sound decisions. This
experience will allow to suc
cessfully serve the citizens of
district 5.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” R.
Green
Education: BS Ed., Pur
due University; MS Ed., Pur
due University; educational
leadership certification,
Georgia State University
Occupation: Library
media specialist/writer
What political offices
have you held in the past? I
have served two terms as the
president of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority Inc., Stone
Mountain/Lithonia Chap
ter; vice president, of the
same chapter; chairperson,
DeKalb County YWCA;
PTA president, Fairington
Elementary School, DeKalb
County School District
Have you ever been con
victed of a crime? No
Why are you seeking
this office? It is critical to
me that we restore a high
level of excellence and ac
countability in the DeKalb
County government. Too
many of our citizens are
apathetic about issues that
affect our daily lives. I am
concerned that our young
people feel disenfranchised,
and don’t understand why
voting is important.
What do you under
stand the duties of this
office to be? The duties are
vast, but some most impor
tant ones include determin
ing priorities for capital
improvements, levying taxes
as needed, establishing and
abolishing public roads, and
protecting and preserving
the health, safety, welfare
and morals of the DeKalb
County citizens.
What expertise do
you have that will help
you fulfill the duties of
this office? I am a profes
sional writer and a skilled
researcher. I’m trained to
look for answers to complex
questions. As a single moth
er, supporting three chil
dren through the DeKalb
schools and on to complete
their college degrees, I am
an expert at finding ways to
stretch dollars to meet criti
cal needs.
★★★★★★★
Vaughn Irons
Education: Master of
business administration,
University of Maryland;
graduate level certification,
See District 5 on page 12A