Key Points:
• Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett filed an ethics complaint against Commissioner Bridget Thorne over remarks made during a Sept. 3 meeting.
• Thorne’s attorney disputes the claim, calling it absurd to say correcting a person violating the law was wrong.
The Fulton County Board of Ethics will hear an ethics complaint filed by Commissioner Dana Barrett against fellow Commissioner Bridget Thorne on Thurs, Oct. 16.
Barrett accused Thorne of violating the Fulton County Code of Ethics over comments made during a Sept. 3 meeting. Barrett claimed Thorne said she could control and direct what GOP nominees to the Fulton County Registration and Elections Board would do if appointed.
At issue was Thorne’s comment during discussions about the nominees. Thorne said, “If Jason and Julie did anything that was illegal or harmful or falsely removed anybody, I’d be the first person to correct them. And they would take that correction.”
Related story:
• Fulton Commissioner Barrett files ethics complaint against Thorne
Thorne’s comments can be heard in a YouTube video of the Sept. 3 meeting, as part of the discussion on the appointment of the GOP nominees, Jason Frazier and Julie Adams.
Barrett has said that Thorne must recuse herself from any future actions on those nominees because of a conflict of interest. Barrett said her ethics complaint was not politically motivated.
Thorne’s attorney, Harry W. McDougald, called Barrett’s characterization of the statement as an ethics violation absurd.
McDougald’s rebuttal, shared with the ethics board on Wednesday, said Thorne has no financial or personal interest in the nominations to the elections board. He called it a flaw in reasoning to suggest it’s an ethics violation to correct elections board members if they violate the law.
“Commissioner Barrett has it completely backwards – it would be undue or improper influence to encourage unlawful behavior, not lawful behavior. This allegation is frivolous and abusive and should be dismissed,” McDougald said in his rebuttal.
The commission is in the midst of an appeal of a Fulton County judge’s order to appoint Frazier and Adams. A $10,000 daily fine for contempt was stayed until the appeal process concludes.
McDougald called the complaint a political weaponization of law against a political opponent.
The public hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Fulton County Government Center, Room 3077, at 141 Pryor St.
