Cover Story: DeKalb County CEO, Democratic primary

The job: Highest-ranking official in one of the state’s largest local governments. The CEO has unusually strong powers both as the county’s top executive and as chair of the county commission.

The candidates: County Commissioner Judy Yates, incumbent CEO Vernon Jones, state Reps. Teresa Greene-Johnson and Doug Teper.

The skinny: We like Jones. We really do. But, man, does he make it tough.

In three years, he’s been involved in a half-dozen nasty controversies. Among them: After he moved to Brookhaven, Jones remained registered to vote in his old south DeKalb precinct — politically convenient but also illegal; after he took office, police more than tripled spending on his security detail, to more than $200,000 a year; Commissioner Elaine Boyer complained last fall that Jones bumped her in a county hallway; and after Jones harangued her at a roadside leafleting spot, electoral foe Greene-Johnson filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to keep Jones away from her.

Most of the controversies might be more smoke than fire. While a grand jury criticized him for the security entourage, Jones argues that the assassination of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown warranted extra protection for the CEO. Boyers dropped her complaint after Jones apologized. And a judge turned down Greene-Johnson’s proposed order.

Then again, with so much smoke, mustn’t there be some fire? No way, Jones says emphatically — threatening to walk out of an interview simply because he’s asked such questions.

Jones is like a latter-day Lyndon Johnson: a big-ego politician who tries to bully folks into submission and figures if you ain’t with him, you’re against him.

The difficulty for voters is that he shares a lot of LBJ’s better qualities. He’s smart and charismatic, with a fine understanding for the arts of horse-trading and arm-twisting that are crucial for the position. While county spending is up (as is patronage), DeKalb’s bond rating has risen to “AAA,” sidewalks are getting paved, and the county has purchased more than 2,000 acres of greenspace.

There’s one other thing Jones has going for him: his opposition. The most formidable is Yates, simply because half the county’s voters have seen her on the ballot repeatedly. She’s among the commission’s more persnickety — some would say obstructionist — members, an expert on budget details.

But after years as a maverick, she seems incapable of viewing herself as a leader. When asked to paint a vision, Yates refers to a voluminous plan of action. It’s difficult to imagine her whipping the famously unruly commission in line.

Greene-Johnson has the opposite problem. We’re impressed by her eloquence and authoritative demeanor. But the one-term legislator is an unknown quantity. She’s neither managed a large organization nor has particularly deep knowledge of county government.

That leaves Teper, the only lifelong DeKalb resident in the race and a student of county politics. Confronted after redistricting with a tough re-election challenge, the eight-term House member opted to run an anti-Vernon campaign for CEO: “No bodyguards,” he keeps saying.

But Teper shares Jones’ propensity for controversy. He got bad press this year for dipping heavily into the Legislature’s per diem account. He accuses Jones of symbolic gestures for south DeKalb votes but acknowledges that he recruited rap producer Dallas Austin as campaign chairman only to make an impression on African-Americans.

Unlike Jones, Teper is self-conscious enough to recognize he’s made errors. He’s also smart and well intentioned. But in 16 years as a legislator, he’s established himself more as a gadfly than as a leader or manager.

Political handicap: Jones’ unusually high negatives offer a chance that he won’t get 50 percent. If Yates forces a runoff, she could win on the strength of higher white turnout.

Throwaway vote: Teper. After years as the state House’s enfant terrible, he’s not taken seriously enough by many voters and campaign contributors.

Who you should vote for: Jones. You don’t have to love him to see he’s got the most potential. But geez, Vernon, take an anger-management course or something.