New DeKalb CEO-elect prepares transition team

DeKalb County’s new CEO-elect credits her track record as commissioner as the reason for her election victory over opponents who raised more money and had more high-profile endorsements.

Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, who won the top job in a runoff earlier this month, said pundits underestimated her and overestimated the sway others had with the electorate. What mattered most, she said, was the reputation she built as a commissioner who would answer the phone and solve problems.

“People knew the work,” she said. “That honestly is why I’m here today. People knew me for themselves.”

Cochran-Johnson, 54, made history when she defeated former Commissioner Larry Johnson. She will be the first African American woman to hold the job, and only the second woman ever, when she takes office in January.

No Republicans ran for the position so the race was determined by the Democratic primary. Cochran-Johnson succeeds a term-limited Michael Thurmond.

With her win secured, Cochran-Johnson has started putting together a transition team, and said she’s ready to put the difficult campaign behind her.

She was the last candidate to get in to what became a three-person race, filing after Johnson and Commissioner Steve Bradshaw had already announced their intent to run. She was still interviewing campaign managers in December. Friend and former Commissioner Kathie Gannon has said how, in January, she peppered Cochran-Johnson with questions about when she’d finally start campaigning.

Credit: Jenni Girtman

“I delayed and delayed, but a delay is not a denial,” Cochran-Johnson told supporters on election night.

In an interview, Cochran-Johnson said she believed she was the best candidate from the start. But she knew winning would take a lot.

“People need to recognize that I did not run against men, I ran against the machine,” she said.

Johnson was a veteran commissioner who represented southwest DeKalb’s District 3 for 22 years. He was endorsed by former gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. And when Bradshaw failed to advance to the runoff after the May primary, Johnson picked up other supporters like District Attorney Sherry Boston.

Still, her lead in the May primary was commanding. Cochran-Johnson came close to securing the 50% of votes needed to avoid a runoff and ultimately led in 156 out of 191 precincts countywide.

Before the runoff, her campaign had worried about where Bradshaw’s voters would go. They also worried about the influence of DeKalb Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, who endorsed Johnson. On the map staff used to track results on election night, their districts were each outlined as key areas to watch.

Cochran-Johnson ended up only widening her lead, winning by double-digits. She took Bradshaw’s five precincts, and flipped 12 more precincts that had previously gone to Johnson. In Mereda Davis Johnson’s District 5, Johnson flipped only one precinct.

In the days since the election, Cochran-Johnson said she’s been congratulated by many of those who supported her opponents. She said she’s open to working with anyone as CEO.

Her first task is putting together a transition team. So far it includes Gannon and former Commissioner Jeff Rader, as well as Liane Levetan, the first woman to hold the CEO position after her election in 1993.

Credit: Jenni Girtman

The official transition starts Aug. 1, when she’ll begin meeting with department heads. Leah Davis, who served as chief of staff in Cochran-Johnson’s commission office, will work as a liaison between her and the current administration.

As incoming CEO, Cochran-Johnson said she plans to be heavily involved in conversations the Board of Commissioners is holding this summer to discuss recommendations from the charter review commission. The commission’s suggestions are being reviewed to determine which changes should go before voters.

Cochran-Johnson said she wholeheartedly supports the recommendation to create an office to handle public records requests. She said she plans to put audits and other reports online automatically.

“You shouldn’t have to call me for public documents,” she said. “I don’t have time for it and the people working for me don’t have time for it.”

She said she’s not supportive of the commission’s recommendation to give commissioners the power to subpoena department heads, saying it opens the door for political misuse of the provision.

The transition team will focused on departments that interact with the public most, she said. Cochran-Johnson said she wants to study how they provide services and see where changes need to be made to improve delivery. She said some leadership changes could be in order.

“There are four departments where I do feel the need to have some critical conversations before I figure out if we’ll be moving forward together,” she said, declining to name the departments.

Her biggest transition task will be preparing a budget, which must be presented shortly after she takes office.

One of her top budget priorities is increasing police pay, she said. The county has been using federal pandemic relief money to pay officers triple overtime but that money will go away at the end of the year. Upping salaries is the best way to ensure the department is fully staffed, she said.

Cochran-Johnson said she’s grateful for voters’ trust in her.

“I look forward to going down in history as the best CEO that DeKalb has ever had,” she said.

An earlier version of this story misspelled former CEO Liane Levetan’s name.

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