DeKalb County Announces Special Election to Replace Boyer

Ex-County Commissioner Elaine Boyer resigned from office on Monday. DeKalb County is now seeking to replace her.

The county announced Wednesday a special election to replace Boyer will be held at the same time as the general election on Nov. 4, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Boyer resigned from office Monday afternoon, telling WSB TV that she has betrayed her constituents and no longer wants an investigation into the purported misuse of a county credit card to be a distraction.

“It’s a very hard decision and I’m heartbroken and saddened, but I need to resign,”Boyer told the TV station.

Special Election Set

The special election to replace Boyer will be open to voters in District 1 in north DeKalb, according to the AJC.

Candidates can qualify between 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 8 to noon on Sept. 10. The fee is $1,151.

Boyer, who had served as the Commissioner of District 1 since 1992, reportedly charged $16,000 on the credit card for personal expenses, WSB reports.

Boyer, 57, of Stone Mountain was also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud totaling $78,000, Patch reports.

Court documents allege the grand total of county funds Boyer used for her own expenses amounts to over $90,000, WABE reports.

“As an elected county commissioner, Ms. Boyer had a duty to serve the best interests of the citizens of DeKalb County,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, in a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office. “Instead of honoring that commitment, Ms. Boyer stole from the citizens she was sown to serve by diverting thousands of dollars in county funds to her personal bank account and using her county-issued credit card like it was her own.”

Prosecutor: Boyer Funneled Money to Advisor

Boyer allegedly hired an advisor in September 2009 to help her with government consulting and advisory duties. Between September 2009 and November 2001, false invoices were submitted to Boyer’s offices for the consulting services, but authorities allege no such services were performed for Boyer, her constituents or the county.

In all, 35 payments totaling over $78,000 were made to the unnamed advisor.

Over $58,000 in DeKalb County funds was deposited into Boyer’s personal bank account while the advisor kept the remainder. Authorities charge Boyer used the county funds to pay for personal expenses, including purchases at hotels and high-end department stores.

Although the advisor was not named, the AJC reports the consultant is Marion Rooks Boynton, a 72-year-old evangelist who ran unsuccessfully for DeKalb County offices decades ago. Boynton has not been charged with a crime.

Federal Probe Into County Dealings Continues

Yates says investigation is still ongoing as part of a larger federal look into county government, according to WABE. Other county commissioners are also being investigated for ethics complaints.

Boyer is scheduled to plead guilty on Sept. 3 in federal court, according to the news release from the United States Attorney’s Office.

Boyer’s lawyer, Jeff Brickman, a former DeKalb County District Attorney, tells WABE Boyer knows she faces prison time.

“There is no question here that the decisions Ms. Boyer made were unlawful,” Brickman told the radio station Tuesday. “We admitted what we have done. Ms. Boyer fully admits her involvement in both charges.”

Trial for Former County CEO Looms

But the case against Boyer is not the only thing DeKalb County faces. DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis’s scheduled trial is weeks away, WABE reports. He faces charges of attempting to strong-arm county vendors to donate to his re-election campaign.

Commissioner Lee May is the current acting CEO.

“It’s disheartening,” May told the radio station in response to Boyer’s charges. “This is really a grave situation here in DeKalb County. It’s not putting us in the best light.”