The truth of the old saying, “elections have consequences” was clearly demonstrated this past November in Gwinnett County (among other places). In spite of his history of not paying property taxes until court actions were initiated, Keybo Taylor was elected sheriff. Taylor defeated Lou Solis, who was then Chief Deputy of Operations, was a former Army Ranger and had initiated a number of programs that serve the county well. He was endorsed by then current sheriff Butch Conway and a number of police organizations. Taylor on the other hand had a 10-year history of property tax evasion, ill-advised lawsuits and what would seem to be an inability to manage finances as documented in previous Georgia News Daily coverage- https://georgianewsdai.wpengine.com/gwinnett-county-sheriff-candidates-the-rest-of-the-story/
Taylor is currently under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) over allegations that he shut down bail bond companies that did not contribute to his campaign. The allegations seem well documented as Taylor’s seeming attempt at extortion was captured by one company’s video system. In the video, (contained in the MSN link below, Taylor states, If folks don’t support me, I’m just not gonna let them bond. I’m just not gonna do it.
One has to wonder whether Taylor was oblivious to the fact that bail bond companies routinely video their office operations, or if he was too arrogant to care. Taylor is also facing four lawsuits from bail bond companies.
It appears that Taylor was elected because he is a Democrat as changing demographics have resulted in the defeat of almost every Republican elected official- regardless of qualifications or exemplary record of service. And that has resulted in a good bit of media coverage that has cast an ugly shadow over Gwinnett County. The latest report, from James Magazine, appeared in the publication’s Floating Boats column which contains the sub heading, Who’s rising and sinking in Georgia Business and Politics“
Other coverage is much more detailed.
Gwinnett Sheriff being investigated by GBI | AccessWDUN.com
In spite of the fact that the video contains what would seem to be compelling evidence, chances are Taylor will skate because he didn’t ask for a specific amount of money. However, no matter how you slice it, by demanding support, he was either trying to extort money or votes.
