Interim DeKalb CEO Officially Resigns Commission Seat

Sign up for the Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch newsletter!

---

DeKalb County residents who have been without representation on the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners for nearly two years will now get a chance to vote for a new representative.

According to Peach Pundit, Interim DeKalb County CEO and former District 5 Commissioner Lee May has officially stepped down from his position on the county commission. May had held both offices since he was appointed to the executive by Gov. Nathan Deal in July of 2013.

Earlier this year, Commissioner Nancy Jester urged May to step down to allow his District 5 constituents to vote for a new representative, as the commissioners themselves could not decide on a successor.

More Politics and Government News From Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch:

• DeKalb County Hinders Future of Poor Youngsters: Study
• More Bribery Allegations Levied Against DeKalb Board of Zoning Appeals
• Ex-DeKalb Commissioner’s Chief of Staff Indicted

Not even the governor wanted to get involved in the morass; in March, the office declined a request from May to appoint someone to his commission seat, telling WSB-TV that May must resign.

May had refused prior calls to resign pending the outcome of the second corruption trial against suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis. The first trial of Ellis ended in a mistrial; his retrial is scheduled to begin next month.

May himself is now under scrutiny from the FBI, who wants to learn more about allegations of preferential treatment concerning home repairs.

Now that May has resigned, his truly vacant seat on the board of commissioners will be filled by a special election. May’s district comprises some 150,000 residents, who have been without a representative for nearly two years.

One of the men seeking to replace May on the commission is property developer and DeKalb County Development Authority Chairman Vaughn Irons, who has come under fire recently for allegedly securing federal contracts for his private company under false pretenses.

WSB-TV first reported that a questionable document purportedly from the DeKalb County Board of Ethics cleared Irons and his company ADP of any conflict of interest for $1.5 million of federal redevelopment contracts in 2011, but members of the board are disputing the document’s authenticity.

The document was not properly witnessed or dated, nor was it ever filed with the county clerk; WSB-TV reports that allegations have arisen that the document was forged by Irons or ADP so that the company could get the contracts.

May has completely disavowed Irons, saying that he “will not endorse the candidacy of Mr. Vaughn Irons to be the next District 5 Commissioner,” Peach Pundit reports.