The Georgia State Capitol. (Bob Andres / [email protected])
By Zachary Hansen
Following years of dormancy and litigation, DeKalb County’s newly reconstituted ethics board has its members.
The ethics board, which investigates complaints against DeKalb officials and employees, has been largely ineffective since 2018, when a Georgia Supreme Court ruling found that using private, non-elected entities to appoint some of the panel’s members was unconstitutional. Changes to the appointment process were overwhelmingly adopted by voters this year.
DeKalb’s state House and Senate delegations each appoint three members, while the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner appoints the seventh member. The Superior Court clerk selects two alternates, who would serve in the case of vacancies or conflicts of interest.
Here are the members appointed by DeKalb’s state House delegation:
• Nadine S. Ali, a Candler-McAfee resident, was appointed to a two-year term. She’s a former DeKalb employee, worked in the banking industry and holds leadership positions with the NAACP’s DeKalb and South Candler Neighborhood Advocates.
• Ambreen A. Delawalla, a Decatur resident, was appointed to a three-year term. She’s an assistant vice president and senior legal counsel for AT&T, serves as a board member for Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Atlanta and the Asian American Advocacy Fund.
• Eric Maurer, a Druid Hill resident, was appointed to a one-year term. He’s a licensed clinical social worker with Grady Healthcare, where he’s a program manager for outpatient behavioral health. He’s also an active volunteer with Glenn United Methodist Church.
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, DeKalb’s Senate delegation had not announced its appointees. A Senate spokeswoman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they are awaiting one appointee’s final clearance. The members must be named by the end of Thursday, because the new board is required by law to be up and running by the start of 2021.
DeKalb County Tax Commission Irvin Johnson appointed one member:
• Rosa D. Waymon, a Stone Mountain resident, was appointed to a two-year term. She is the retired former director of human resources for the Georgia Department of Human Services, has prior experience as an investigator for the Atlanta Police Department and is an active member of the Rowland Allgood Durham community association.
Here are the two alternates appointed by Superior Court Clerk Debra DeBerry:
• Candace Walker, a Stone Mountain resident, was appointed to a one-year term. She is a forensic scientist and current director of the Atlanta crime laboratory. She also has prior experience with the GBI.
• Michelle Long Spears, a Brookhaven resident, was appointed to a three-year term. She founded the nonprofit NP Voice, is a former president of the Dresden Square Homeowners Association and is a member of the Leadership DeKalb Class of 2021.
A news release said more than 60 applications were submitted and reviewed blindly by DeKalb’s House delegation, Johnson and DeBerry. In addition, 40 applicants completed a video interview, which led to the final selections.
The DeKalb Citizens Advocacy Council, which supported the new changes, applauded the number of applications that were submitted. However, it criticized DeKalb’s Senate delegation for not collaborating with the other entities when choosing its appointees.
“We are not questioning the qualifications of those members to be appointed by the Senate, but we do think it is unfortunate that the DeKalb Senate Delegation rejected the call for transparency in their process and did not participate with the other appointing authorities in reviewing the applications,” a news release said. “We hope that they will reconsider their appointment process in the future.”
Read the original story on AJC.com.
