DeKalb County’s voters decided on Tuesday that they would reject the flawed, over-reaching revisions to the county’s Ethics Act.  The DeKalb County legislative delegation will now need to draw up legislation to amend the appointment process, which was the only item in the 2015 legislation struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court.

The DeKalb Citizens Advocacy Council (DeKalb Citizens) has worked over the past three months to educate voters on the significant shortfalls contained in the revisions.  This included securing an independent third-party assessment of the bill from internationally renowned ethics expert and DeKalb County resident Dr. Paul Wolpe, who is the director of the Emory Center for Ethics.  “The bottom line is that this bill is clearly meant to weaken and dilute the excellent policy passed in 2015, without any convincing reasons to weaken the bill,” Dr. Wolpe concluded.

Upon learning of the election outcome, DeKalb Citizens Chair Mary Hinkel stated: “When we started our group and formed the ballot committee, we all agreed that we needed to fight for what was right.  Not what was easy.  Not what would come our way without effort.  But for what was right.  And tonight, the voters said ‘we hear you, and we agree.’ We have proven that it is important to be informed about what is on your ballot.  That words matter.  That every vote counts.  And, that citizen engagement is fundamental to our democracy.”