Irvin Johnson wins tax commissioner runoff

Irvin Johnson, who is currently serving as DeKalb County's tax commissioner, won a special non-partisan runoff election on Tuesday to fill the duration of the current term vacated by previous tax commissioner Claudia Lawson.  Mr. Johnson also won the Democratic primary nomination for the upcoming four-year term.  Because he has no Republican opposition, he will retain the office.  The  The Champion has an article on his victory:

Johnson retains tax commissioner's office 

Interim tax commissioner Irvin Johnson retained his seat as the county’s highest paid official on July 26 during a run-off election.

Johnson received 62.2 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting whereas Susannah Scott received 37.8 percent.

“It feels great,” Johnson said Tuesday night. “Now it’s time to move on and continue doing the work of the tax commissioner and tax office. I thank my constituents for their votes and good race.”

Johnson congratulated his opponent, Scott, for a good and clean contest.

Johnson ran a campaign promising continued innovation and ease at the tax commissioner’s office, touting his accomplishments in the form of self-serving kiosks and public tax bill seminar sessions. Johnson also credits his 15 years of experience at the tax commissioner’s office and serving as his predecessor’s top deputy.

Scott ran her campaign with the promise of extending tax office hours for the ease of potential constituents. She admitted the tax commissioner’s office was one of the best run offices in the county and promised to continued that tradition.

“Irvin Johnson is absolutely the best choice to lead a staff of excellent public servants dedicated to doing the right thing for all taxpayers in DeKalb County,” said Claudia Lawson, former DeKalb County tax commissioner and boss to Johnson. “I inherited this tradition of customer service excellence from my predecessors Eugene E. Adams and Tom Scott and I’m confident that Irvin will honor that tradition.”

Duties of tax commissioners include preparation of digests, collection of taxes, and issuance of liens for delinquent taxes. The DeKalb County tax commissioner collects property taxes in unincorporated DeKalb and in DeKalb's cities. The City of Decatur collects its own real and personal property taxes, but relies on DeKalb for services such as digest preparation and motor vehicle tax transfers.