This is information from Kevin Levitas (D) - 82nd District, explaining the need to approve a referendum in November to limit the power of the CEO position in DeKalb County. His press release also provided all of the contact information of the DeKalb Delegation and I have copied that into this page as well.
The General Assembly this session passed a very important piece of "local" government-reform legislation for DeKalb County: Senate Bill 52. If approved by DeKalb voters in a referendum this November, SB 52 would finally allow the County Commissioners to set their own meeting agendas and to preside over the meetings.
Remarkably, these powers--and too many others--are currently reserved for the Chief Executive. This results in an excessive concentration of power comparable to allowing the Governor of Georgia to set the agenda for the General Assembly and to preside over its sessions. Moreover, the Chief Executive possesses nearly override-proof veto authority. SB 52 would begin the shift in DeKalb's government back toward a true balance of power.
Although I would have preferred to see passed the more comprehensive reform legislation that I introduced earlier this session (House Bills 1310 and 1311), SB 52 represents an important first step in the restructuring process. My legislation would have given the Commission additional powers that they currently lack, such as investigation and oversight authority over the operations of the County government and the ability to contact administration staff without having to first seek the permission of the Chief Executive. I will continue to advocate for greater reform of DeKalb's government next session. (To read my op- ed piece on the need for reform, which appeared in the AJC last fall, click here.)
As the House sponsor of SB 52, I found only four colleagues willing to co-sponsor the measure after it was passed by the Senate and sent to the House in 2007. Under House procedural rules, passage of local legislation requires a majority of delegation members to sign the bill. In the case of DeKalb, a majority is ten or more. (The Senate has a similar rule.)
However, after the introduction this year of my legislation and discussion of it and a similar measure introduced by Rep. Mike Jacobs, momentum built towards passage of some measure of government reform. Credit is also due to the House Delegation and particularly to Delegation Chairman Stan Watson who appointed a special subcommittee, on which I served, charged with the responsibility of forging a compromise measure, based on my legislation, for the full delegation to consider.
The subcommittee did an excellent job, and the full delegation came together for a frank and thoughtful discussion of the compromise bill. Unfortunately, once an agreement was finally reached, there was not enough time under complicated General Assembly procedural rules for consideration and passage by the Senate in the waning days of the session.
The only available vehicle then was SB 52, to which only slight modifications were permitted by those same rules. So a decision was made to proceed with the best available reform measure. Although it is only a first step, it is an important one and one which I hope will receive voter support this November. I expect and hope that this governmental-reform legislation will be expanded in the future.
In response to a request by a reader of this newsletter, I am providing a contact list, drawn from the General Assembly website, for the other House and Senate members of the DeKalb Delegation.
REPRESENTATIVES:
Pat Gardner (D) - 57th District
668 East Pelham Road
Atlanta, GA 30324
404-873-9944
pat@patgardner.org
Robbin Shipp (D) - 58th District
154 Chester Ave
Atlanta, GA 30316
404-656-6372 (Capitol Office)
robbin@shippforus.com
Georganna Sinkfield (D) - 60th District
Coverdell Legislative Office, Suite 511
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-6372 (Capitol Office)
Fran Millar (R) - 79th District
5249 Brooke Farm Drive
Dunwoody, GA 30338
404-487-7329
fran.millar@wachovia.com
Mike Jacobs (R) - 80th District
3823 Granger Drive
Atlanta, GA 30341
770-452-2811
georgiamike@comcast.net
Jill Chambers (R) - 81st District
4372 Stonington Circle
Atlanta, GA 30338
770-458-7732
jillchambers@msn.com
Kevin Levitas (D) - 82nd District
2496 Greenglade Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
404-634-9171
kevinlevitas@bellsouth.net
Mary Margaret Oliver (D) - 83rd District
150 E. Ponce de Leon Avenue
Suite 230
Decatur, GA 30030
404-377-0485
marymargaret.oliver@house.ga.gov
Stacey Abrams (D) - 84th District
1912 Hosea Williams Drive
Atlanta, GA 30317
404-378-9434
staceyabrams@gmail.com
Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D) - 85th District
940 Artwood Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-377-7014
stuckey@mindspring.com
Karla Drenner (D) - 86th District
PO Box 348
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
404-508-4128 (Capitol Office)
dren16999@aol.com
Michele Henson (D) - 87th District
4140 Creek Stone Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
404-296-1442
michele.henson@house.ga.gov
Billy Mitchell (D) - 88th District
PO Box 88
Stone Mountain, GA 30086
770-465-8800
Earnest "Coach" Williams (D) - 89th District
PO Box 436
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
404-656-0202 (Capitol Office)
earnest.williams@house.ga.gov
Howard Mosby (D) - 90th District
2101 Sugar Creek Falls Drive
Atlanta, GA 30316
404-656-0287 (Capitol Office)
Stan Watson (D) - 91st District
4299 Sherwood Oaks Drive
Decatur, GA 30034
678-360-0742 (Cell)
stan_watson@matria.com
Pam Stephenson (D) - 92nd District
1201 Peachtree Street
Building 400, Suite 2020
Atlanta, GA 30361
404-815-7400
pam.stephenson@house.ga.gov
Vacant - 93rd District
Randal Mangham (D) - 94th District
PO Box 639
Decatur, GA 30031
404-525-0100
repmangham@gmail.com
SENATORS:
Curt Thompson (D) - 5th District
6320 Glenbrook Drive
Tucker, GA 30084
404-575-2223
curt.thompson@senate.ga.gov
Emanuel Jones (D) - 10th District
PO Box 370244
Decatur, GA 30037
770-964-8888
emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov
Dan Weber (R) - 40th District
1117 Winterhall Lane
Dunwoody, GA 30338
404-442-1810
dan.weber@senate.ga.gov
Steve Henson (D) - 41st District
2643 Sterling Acres Drive
Tucker, GA 30084
404-243-5107
steve.henson@senate.ga.gov
David Adelman (D) - 42nd District
PO Box 1231
Decatur, GA 30031
404-853-8206
david.adelman@senate.ga.gov
Ronald B. Ramsey (D) - 43rd District
5271 Snapfinger Woods Drive
Decatur, GA 30035
404-281-9948
ronald.ramsey@senate.ga.gov
Gloria Butler (D) - 55th District
6241 Southland Trace
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
404-656-0075 (Capitol Office)
gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov
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