By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 1, 2023 | Gwinnett County Commission took an unusual move at its November 14 meeting. It reprimanded one of its own members, County Commissioner Kirkland Carden. Even more interestingly, the commission voted 4-0 on the reprimand in spite of an Ethics Panel recommendation that the commission take no action on the complaint against Carden.
Ordinary citizens need some explanation. We’ll try, though it is complicated.
It all started in 2019 when Property Owner Om Duggal sought to get a rezoning on Meadow Church Road. Brand Properties proposed building a senior citizens facility there, if the property was rezoned from R-100 (single houses) to Office and Industrial, for the senior facility. Nearby homeowners opposed the rezoning.
Then on May 24, 2022, Duggal and Brand Properties came back, wanting to build not a senior facility, but apartments on the land, which nearby homeowners opposed again. Carden had met previously with the homeowners about this rezoning. The rezoning request was denied. Carden had moved to table the rezoning for another month, hoping to work out a compromise. But he did not get a second on his motion. Carden then moved to deny the request for the rezoning, which the board did.
Carden
Back in March of 2023, Lauri McClain, who ran against Carden previously for the commission seat, filed an ethics complaint against Carden, saying he had not disclosed that he had worked for Duggal as a political consultant when he had business before the commission. She said she stumbled on the information that Carden was a political consultant for Duggal, who had a rezoning with the county, when checking out details of financial filings as part of her work as the county Republican Party vice chairman.
Carden and McClain were quoted in news stories about the rezoning before the county.
With McClain filing an ethics complaint, the County Commission was required to form an ethics panel to investigate the claim, and a hearing was held. During the hearing, Carden acknowledged that he was wrong in not disclosing his relationship with Duggal. The upshot was that the panel recommended to the commission that no action be taken.
Now move to the November 14 meeting when the Commission finally took up the Ethics Panel recommendation. Since he was the subject, Carden left his commission seat and was in the audience when the required hearing was held. Only one citizen spoke to the Ethics Panel recommendation for the commission to take no action. That was Richard West of Duluth, a nearby property owner, who was among those who had met previously with Carden to discuss the rezoning. He thought the citizens opposing the rezoning “deserved better.”
Hearing from no one else, the commission then took up the ethics question. Commissioner Jasper Watkins moved to reprimand Carden, and the vote was 4-0 for the reprimand.
That was dicey for the commission, and it took this unusual move. You seldom see sitting commissions in any jurisdiction taking action against one of its members, no matter what political district it is. The move wasn’t of a party action, either, as all three of Carden’s fellow Democrats voted for the reprimand, along with Republican Matthew Holtkamp.
What this action may be saying is that governments may be taking ethics questions more seriously these days. We certainly hope so.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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