Runoff elections spell big changes for the future

Voters once again went to the polls last week to settle a number of runoff elections. While a great many political posts must still wait until November to be filled, the most recent round of balloting offered a final decision in some high-profile cases, and raised interesting questions in others. In DeKalb County, the overwhelming defeat of an incumbent sheriff in the Democratic runoff not only means a new occupant for the office at the county jail; it also calls into question the future of an investigation into possible wrongdoing by the losing lawman — an investigation that could send shudders all the way to the offices of the Atlanta City Council.

DeKalb must also brace for the entry of a new chief executive, whose ability to work with the county's notoriously fractious board of commissioners will be under close scrutiny when the office changes hands Jan. 1.

In Gwinnett, the election of two lightly funded slow-growth commission candidates over big-money, development friendly opponents raises the possibility that an area that's never seen a patch of dirt it didn't want to pave may finally be choking on its own excess.

And the results of the Democratic runoff for a contested U.S. House seat guarantees that major money and national attention will be focused on a race that was decided last time around, by a handful of votes between candidates spending what essentially amounted to pocket change.

The upset defeat of DeKalb Sheriff Sidney Dorsey by a 2-to-1 margin at the hands of challenger Derwin Brown, a longtime member of the DeKalb Police Department — who barely made it into a runoff when Dorsey failed to win outright in the July primaries by less than 1,000 votes — is widely attributed to two factors. First, Brown's two primary opponents quickly threw their support to Brown for the runoff.

But the key to Dorsey's loss was a torrent of bad press following a lawsuit filed days before the July primaries by a female sheriff's department employee, alleging sexual harassment linked to a an affair with the sheriff. Among her allegations were charges that Dorsey used county-paid deputies to work for his private security firm — assertions which Dorsey has repeatedly denied. Further roiling the waters were revelations that Dorsey had sent DeKalb County Jail inmates to work on private homes at the behest of his wife, Atlanta City Councilwoman Sherry Dorsey, who oversees a community-rehabilitation program through her city office.

Blasting what he characterized as a last-minute, media-fueled campaign ploy to smear him, both Dorsey and his wife forcefully deny any wrongdoing, and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell's office has pledged support for Councilwoman Dorsey's program.

But DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan says an investigation into the sheriff's possibly improper use of inmate labor and county personnel will continue, despite Dorsey's lame-duck status. Morgan spokeswoman Susan Cobleigh says that the county's criminal probe may ultimately involve Mrs. Dorsey as well, but that such speculation is, at this point, premature at best.

Addressing concerns raised publicly by Sheriff-elect Brown that Dorsey may attempt to hinder the transition to a new administration, Dorsey says he's instructed his staff to fully cooperate with Brown and his team. The sheriff "expects an orderly transition, and has contacted Mr. Brown to tell him that," says Dorsey's spokeswoman, Cherlea Dorsey (the sheriff's daughter).

Following the same generally courteous, issue-oriented tone of the entire DeKalb CEO race, last week's runoff victory by current state Rep Vernon Jones over his opponent, County Commissioner Ken Davis, ended with a gracious concession from Davis. Davis' faltering campaign had taken a slight turn for the negative in the closing days, but he nonetheless pledged full support and cooperation to Jones. Because there was no Republican challenger, Jones assumes the CEO's office in January.

There had been speculation that the matchup between Jones, a black south DeKalb lawmaker, and Davis, a white commissioner from north DeKalb, would result in a racially and geographically polarized election. Indeed, the southern end of the county did swing almost solidly to Jones — but so did a large section of north and central DeKalb, a testament to Jones' tireless stumping and diligent attention to the concerns of the county's neighborhoods.

How effective was he? Impressive enough to get an endorsement from the DeKalb Republican Party and the State Employees Union; effective enough to tally up a victory over Davis with 63 percent of the vote.

But Jones knows that all eyes will be on his ability to forge a working relationship with the County Commission. Under current CEO Lianne Levetan, county legislation has frequently taken a back seat to bickering between CEO and an unofficial coalition of four commissioners, Throughout his campaign and afterward, Jones cited voter complaints about infighting between commissioners and CEO as a major obstacle for efficient government.

"Everywhere I go, people talk about the gridlock," said Jones, who has pledged to build consensus and involve commissioners in the decision-making process at every level — a decidedly sore point under the current administration.

In Gwinnett County, where slow-growth advocates were braced for the worst after development-friendly forces poured tens of thousands of dollars into commission races, two candidates triumphed despite running on a fraction of the resources available to their opponents.

In her bid for office, County Commission District 1 candidate and slow-growth advocate Marcia Neaton spent about $11,000 to defeat real estate agent Bill Reed, who spent almost $71,000 in his losing bid for office, by a 59 -to- 41 percent margin.

In District 3, candidate John Dunn — who ran on a pledge of refusing campaign funds from developers — spent just over $10,000 to squeak by Scott LeCraw. Although LeCraw raised nearly $100,000, much of it from developers, and spent almost $90,000, voters handed Dunn 52 percent of the vote.

In the Democratic race to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Barr in Georgia's 7th Congressional District, money returned to its customary role, allowing well-heeled liquor magnate Roger Kahn to defeat the modest shoe-leather campaign of Jim Williams on a 2-1 margin. Kahn, who's so far raised $1.4 million for his campaign, spent some $600,000 of it to beat Willams — whose entire campaign cost about $8,000.

Following his victory, Kahn immediately pledged to run on the issues against Barr, a political lightning-rod for many Democrats because of his leading role in the failed effort to impeach Bill Clinton.

Kahn wasted no time tackling Barr where it hurts: on the touchy topic of geriatric rock 'n' rollers. This week, Kahn's campaign attacked plans for a Barr fund-raiser featuring Ted "Pops" Nugent, because his music displays "disregard for women." Honest.