DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond delivered his final State of the County address on Thursday.
Thurmond has held the position since 2017. Three other candidates are currently vying to fill his spot.
When he sought the job, Thurmond said DeKalb was rife with what he called foolishness and craziness. Civic leaders seem to agree, saying he leaves DeKalb at the end of this year with a lot less of that.
Yet, Thurmond on Thursday indicated that there is still plenty of work to be done.
"Poverty still stalks the homes of decent men and women. There are neighborhoods where gunfire is all too common," Thurmond told about 700 people at a giant movie studio in Doraville.
Aside from crime, there are infrastructure and water system flaws that require costly upgrades. Thurmond identified them from his job as CEO of DeKalb County. Voters gave him that job after backers said he successfully reined in an assortment of issues in DeKalb County’s troubled school system as superintendent.
"The governor had to replace board members, budget deficits. (They were) on the verge of losing their accreditation," recalled state Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) of the school system's woes. "(Thurmond) turned that around, and did the exact same thing in the county. You can’t help but emphasize Michael Thurmond was a transformational leader."
Thurmond hinted he might run for office yet again. Before he became a local politician in DeKalb, he had been, as labor commissioner, the last Democrat before 2021 elected statewide. His backers said he did it by putting accomplishment ahead of ideology.
You can re-watch the address on 11Alive's YouTube Channel and in the video player above. Read more about his key points here.
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