Georgia County Government - April 2009 - (Page 22) The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners is the “legislative branch” of DeKalb County government. From left are Commissioners Elaine Boyer, District 1; Jeff Rader, District 2; Connie Stokes, Super-District 7; Larry Johnson, District 3; Sharon Barnes-Sutton, District 4; Lee May, District 5; and Kathie Gannon, Super-District 6. Photo courtesy of DeKalb County Government. DeKalb Board of Commissioners Mixes Broad Experience with Diverse Interests look around the room in the presence of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners reflects individuals committed to civic involvement, community service and deep commitment to many of the issues facing urban areas today. Each member of this urban BOC has also grown up in or lived for many years in the community they serve, meaning they know their constituencies – and each brings truly unique expertise and contributions to the role of running a large urban jurisdiction. Elaine Boyer, who represents District 1, encompassing North DeKalb, is the longest-serving member of the BOC, first elected in 1992. The small business owner and Smoke Rise resident is a political and fiscal conservative who “believes the county should be run like a business.” She has never voted for a tax increase and has been an advocate for cutting spending and taxes in DeKalb government. Boyer worked in the former campaigns of GOP 4th District congressional candidate John Mitnick and GOP candidate for Lieutenant Governor Clint Day. She is popular in her district for her tax-relief platform, her “watchdog” approach to county expenditures, for encouraging private sector involvement and, as she puts it, “reducing government waste.” She has encouraged independent audits to get a handle on county spending. Boyer is active in the lives of her daughters, working as a parent sponsor for a variety of Lakeside High School programs. The Boyers are members of Grace Fellowship Church. Jeff Rader, representing District 2, is a veteran of county A for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He is a longtime proponent of effective transportation planning and policy. As the first Director of Planning for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), he helped shape new sensibilities for alternative transportation, cleaner air, and congestion relief. As Executive Director of the Regional Business Coalition, he facilitated business community attention to the state’s water resources crisis, contributing to the formation of the Metropolitan Water Planning District. Working with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Rader has also worked to bring an environmental ethics sensibility to the table with the building industry, especially when it comes to infill development. Commissioner Rader’s expertise in planning and transportation has greatly benefited the citizens of DeKalb. A planner at Jacobs, a large planning and engineering company with major federal projects, he also served on the board and as past president of the Druid Hills Civic Association. Recently honored as the founding coordinator of Atlanta’s Clean Cities, Commissioner Rader has put his professional and personal interests to good use. Larry Johnson, District 3 representative since 2002, is a community public health professional dedicated to transportation and community well being, with an emphasis on youth. He has served as Chair of the Economic Development and Planning Committee for the Board of Commissioners, and is a former chair of numerous other key committees of the Board. A former youth diversion counselor for the DeKalb Juvenile Court system, he also co-founded a model Senior Citizens forum at Oakhurst planning departments in Cobb and Fayette counties and former Vice President of Transportation Programs 22 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.