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DeKalb County, GA — Candidates for DeKalb County District 1 discussed one candidate’s DUI arrest, “Cop City,” and the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport during an April 25 debate hosted by Decautrish.

District 1 includes Dunwoody, Chamblee, Tucker, and Doraville. The candidates for District 1 Commissioner are incumbent Robert Patrick and former Doraville City Councilmember Andy Yeoman.

In March, Yeoman was arrested on accusations of driving under the influence of alcohol. The arrest stems from a crash that severely injured an Alabama woman. While the resident and Yeoman’s office settled, the incident occurred mere days after qualifying for the race for commissioner.

Yeoman claimed that he had “sobered up” by the morning of the crash and that conditions were dark and rainy. 

“I did strike a vehicle that was stopped in the middle, blocking two lanes of traffic on a state highway,” Yeoman said. “[The other driver] was cited for obstructing the flow of traffic, and I don’t say this to blame any victim, but anybody that night was going to hit her…It just so happened to be myself…they tested [my blood alcohol content] and I think it was 2/10ths over the limit…I thought the Democratic Party moved on from the ‘Tough On Crime’ platform of the 1980s and ‘90s…It was sickening then when Democrats did it, and it’s on the wrong side of history today.”

Patrick disagreed with that assessment and said it’s evidence that Yeoman has poor judgment. 

“I don’t know many people in their 40s that frankly are drunk and blow a 0.112 – which is 40% over the legal limit – at 6:30 in the morning,” Patrick said in response. “That’s a menace on the roads…and I think that’s reflective of someone who makes poor judgment and poor decisions both in their personal life and ultimately in their professional life…I don’t know many people who would be able to get a ride home from the Doraville Police Department as opposed to going to jail.”

An open records request from the Doraville Police Department shows that out of 90 DUI cases in Doraville since the beginning of 2024, only three people were driven home instead of to jail, including Yeoman himself.

“As a Democrat, I’m not sure how we get past the idea that that doesn’t smack of privilege,” Patrick said.

Yeoman declined to make any further comment on the issue.

Cop City

The proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as Cop City, has been a hot-button issue for politicians since its 2021 announcement. While some argue that the updated facility is a necessity for the Atlanta police force, protestors have opposed the project. 

Patrick expressed a pro-Cop City stance, citing the necessary economic growth in the South River Forest area that the development would bring.

“That’s going to be $90 million put into a community that has not had any economic development in 80 years,” Patrick said. “That’s going to be a game-changer when it comes to housing. It’s going to be a game-changer when it comes to retail opportunities, and I think at the end of the day it’s going to put pressure on the Board of Education also to improve their game for their residents.”

Patrick added that the training facility does not violate any environmental guidelines under current DeKalb stormwater codes.

Yeoman disagreed. 

“DeKalb County’s not a partner to Cop City or the Atlanta Police Foundation,” he said. “DeKalb County already has a police, fire and EMS training facility…It’s the same story as almost everything else in DeKalb County: it’s been neglected for decades…I would advocate for improving our existing facilities instead of tearing down a forest to build a new one.”

Yeoman went on to label Cop City as a “giant money pit” and said he, “stands with the residents…that are tired of being dumped on ecologically by questionable projects.”

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport

Discussion then turned to the proposed changes to the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, also known as PDK.

“I want to be very clear: There is no expansion of PDK,” Patrick stated. “It is simply building hangars that would actually work to reduce the amount of flights coming out of PDK.”

Yeoman previously alleged on his website that Patrick personally benefited from the expansion of PDK. Yeoman alleges that Patrick, who previously had a home in the PDK flight path, “sold his house and moved to Dunwoody…and as soon as he did that, he started advocating for the expansion of PDK…The timing was exact.”

Patrick dismissed these claims. 

“A tried and true Doraville tactic is always to make personal attacks,” he said, stating the previous home was too small for his family and that it was more financially sound to move instead of renovating. “At the end of the day, where I moved to in Dunwoody is still in the flight path for PDK…I am still a DeKalb County resident, I am as much affected by the airport as anyone else is, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the airport is worth the economic investments that are there.”

The multiple ethics complaints filed against Patrick as a sitting commissioner and campaign contribution issues in Patrick’s campaign were also discussed. Patrick admitted to not filing two separate Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports due to personal issues happening in his life.

“I had received campaign contributions for applicants that were before the Board of Commissioners. My predecessor was in office when those applications were submitted, and so there was no technical reason to explain why I had received these contributions,” Patrick said. “When I spoke with State Ethics, I was very clear I take full responsibility… In both cases, I put my family first.”

Patrick also acknowledged the 13 ethics complaints filed against him. 

“We had a very controversial topic that had been brought to the Board of Commissioners, and there were some protestors that were not happy with the idea that they could only have one person speaking at a time,” Patrick said. “And as presiding officer, I ended up ejecting not one but three of the individuals from the committee meeting…All 13 [complaints] were dismissed…and the ethics item was also resolved.”

Yeoman added that he understood that several of the complaints were dismissed.

“There were actually six fines from the ethics campaign that he had to pay for six different occasions,” Yeoman said. “[Patrick] paid $9,000 in attorney bills out of his campaign account to defend those…[Patrick’s campaign donors] expect those things to go towards promoting effective government in the county.”

Patrick stated that the alleged six fines were not factually correct.

In their closing remarks, each candidate expressed hope for their campaigns and voter turn-out for early voting, which begins April 29.

“I promise that I will work hard every day to improve the lives of every living being in this county,” Yeoman said. “There’s two potential headlines that can come out of this on Decaturish on the 22nd…’Four more years’ or ‘DeKalb County elects a new majority commission’…You need to know that if you’re concerned about the county…all of [your concerns] are going to be on the Democrat ballot.”

“It has been an honor serving as your county commissioner over the last four years, and I look forward to serving you again for the next 4 years,” Patrick said. “I will continue to work with DeKalb law enforcement to ensure that all DeKalb County residents are treated fairly and equitably…and that there are no special-privileged treatments for any DeKalb County residents… When the election happens, we’ll see. Is it credible, capable, reliable leadership or is it someone else that’s dealing with a lawsuit?”

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