Emails show Douglas Co. chairman's involvement in contract under GBI investigation
The decision to award a contract to Anthony Knight's cleaning company is now under GBI scrutiny.
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - Emails obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team indicate Douglas County Commission Chairman Romona Jackson Jones intervened in the decision over who should get a county contract.
That 2018 cleaning contract is now the focus of a GBI investigation into possible bid-rigging.
A search warrant served on the county asked for all emails involving the contract from Jackson Jones and three other elected officials.
In early 2018, the county put out for bid a contract to clean the new county annex building, home for the tax commissioner and other offices.
According to county records, one of the potential bidders was S&A Express. But the company missed the deadline to bid. Instead, another company got the low bid. But it didn’t get the contract.
County manager Mark Teal emailed himself in May 2018, copying two other administrators:
"Chairman just called. She said we treated Mr. Anthony unfairly. We called him ‘at the last minute’ and added more duties to the contract. I told the Chairman if we did we called everyone at the last minute - we treat every contractor the same."
"Mr. Anthony" is Anthony Knight who, along with his wife Sharon, owns S&A Express.
Emails obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team indicate Chairman Romona Jackson Jones played a role in rebidding a contract that's attracted the attention of the GBI.
Teal went on to write, "Per direction from Madam Chair we need to re-bid the contract."
Six days later, after reviewing their files, then-Development Services Director James Worthington wrote back.
"I see no evidence of any wrongdoing or unfair treatment."
Teal: "I agree."
But the contract was rebid, with two companies now submitting the same price, $2,100 a month.
Knight was quickly hired even before Commissioners could vote.
"Yes, we got the cart before the horse on this," explained Purchasing Director Bill Peacock during the next commission meeting. "So we’re just coming now and asking for the full board to approve the award of a contract."
Commissioners approved S&A by a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Kelly Robinson, Henry Mitchell and the chairman all voting yes.
A few months later, a grand jury began examining that cleaning contract, even subpoenaing key players like tax commissioner Greg Baker to testify.
The pandemic put the investigation on pause, but last month it roared back to life with a GBI search warrant asking for emails from four elected officials concerning the bid, and "any and all emails to and from Anthony Knight’s personal email address."
Through her spokesman Romona Jackson Jones denied any wrongdoing and said she only wanted to make sure the procurement process was "fairly and evenly applied to all participants. As this is an ongoing investigation, there is no further comment."
Former county manager Teal also declined comment. An email sent to Worthington for comment generated an automated response that he was out of the office until next week.
A car at Anthony Knight's home shows support for Douglas County Commission Chairman Romona Jackson Jones. Emails indicate she intervened to rebid a contract after Knight missed a bid deadline.
As for Knight, the FOX 5 I-Team found him at his Douglasville home. On his corner lot stood three campaign signs for Commissioner Mitchell who’s up for re-election this year. On a car parked in Knight’s driveway were two campaign bumper stickers for Chairman Romona Jackson Jones.
We asked if Knight ever sought an elected official for help with his bid.
"No I did not," he answered.
Of the four elected officials named in the search warrant, Mitchell is the only one up for re-election this year.
The Douglas County Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia called the timing of the probe "suspicious" because it’s happening so close to the election.
"We are troubled by the disturbing trend of Republicans targeting Democratic officials in response to the shifting political winds in Douglas County," said Chair Ingrid Landis-Davis.
The district attorney in Douglas County is also a Democrat. A spokesperson for Dalia Racine had no comment on the criticism or the case.