Sharon Barnes Sutton, Commissioner in Dekalb County, Ga., Plagued by Bad Checks, Foreclosure, Unpaid Bills

Why is Sharon Barnes Sutton still a commissioner in Dekalb County, Ga? Ms. Sutton, who is charged with the task of overseeing a $600 million budget is a hot mess. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she has written several bad checks, lost her home to foreclosure and has had her wages garnished. What's shocking is that Ms. Sutton had four outstanding warrants for writing four bad checks, for $300 to $400 each, to a Costco warehouse in Gwinnett county in 2007. She was involved in a minor traffic accident Wednesday night and the police officer did not see that she had these open warrants. Why was she allowed to leave the scene of the accident? She has since paid a little over $1,000 to satisfy the checks and a judge has recalled the warrants. She said, in an interview with the AJC, that she has made some mistakes, but her financial struggles help her better relate to taxpayers. Really? How many people have a history of bouncing checks and have had warrants out for their arrest because of such acts?

She claims that she can't remember writing the checks to Costco and further, she said she has contacted her attorney to look into the matter for her. Here's my two cents. If this was the first time this happened to her, one could give her a pass, but this isn't the first time. According to the AJC, she pleaded no contest in 1996 for writing a bad check to West Building Supply in Stone Mountain and she received a citation for writing another bad check to Advance Income Services in Lawrenceville.

DeKalb court records show she was sued by Atlanta Gynecology & Obstetrics in 1995 for not paying $1,817. She also had suits filed against her by a Tucker dentist and Atlanta Addictive Disease & Psychiatric for not paying bills.

Her wages were garnished for the Addictive Disease bill, but that case has since been closed, according to court records. The case with the dentist is ongoing.

Sutton is now paying $6,950 to Primus Automotive Financial Services after defaulting on payments for her Lexus. Since 2008, Primus has been garnishing her wages from DeKalb public schools, where Sutton teaches business and career technology. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

The reality is that due to the challenging economic conditions, most of us are struggling to make ends meet, but Ms. Barnes seems to be the extreme. She needs to step down from her job as a commissioner.  She is clearly not the best person to represent Dekalb county in these tough economic times. If she can't handle her own finances, how in the world can she manage the county's budget? She basically ignored the parties to whom she wrote those bad checks and forced them to seek redress from the courts. That is bad and she does not deserve to be sitting in such a job. Ms. Sutton was elected in 2008 to represent District 4.

Please, email Ms. Sutton at sbsutton@co.dekalb.ga.us to express your concern with her fiscal responsibility. You may also contact her at 404-371-4907.