Dorian DeBarr, President of Decide DeKalb and CEO of DeKalb County, Michael Thurmond

Q&A with Michael L. Thurmond and Dorian DeBarr

Decide DeKalb President Dorian DeBarr Speaks with Michael L. Thurmond, CEO of DeKalb County, about Economic Development

As part of our series, “It’s Happening in DeKalb,” Dorian DeBarr, president of the Decide DeKalb Development Authority, interviewed Michael L. Thurmond, who’s served as CEO of DeKalb County, an elected position, since January of 2017. 

A devoted father, husband, author, attorney, and politician, Thurmond has been on a mission to restore trust in county government.  His other priorities include adopting a balanced budget, ensuring accurate water bills, removing blight, offering summer youth employment, improving employee compensation, and fulfilling the federal/state sewer consent agreement.

In the conversation that follows, Thurmond and Decide DeKalb President Dorian DeBarr discuss economic development initiatives happening in the county.

Dorian DeBarr: When you assumed the role of CEO of DeKalb County, you emphasized two crucial pillars of economic development: infrastructure and workforce development. These are skills you’ve honed throughout your career. How did your focus on infrastructure contribute to our success, and why was it a priority for you?

Michael L. Thurmond: Before I respond to your question, I want to acknowledge your leadership and the great work of the staff and the Board here at Decide DeKalb. You all have done a phenomenal job in providing the vision, the resources, and the “stick-to-it-ness” that’s necessary to spur and maintain economic growth and prosperity throughout our county. And it would not have been possible but for your leadership and the leadership of these excellent men and women who serve with you every day. I’m delighted to be here to celebrate DeKalb County.

DeKalb is rising on multiple fronts, particularly around economic growth and prosperity. And that prosperity is occurring not just in the North, but now in the South, East, and West. It’s because we’ve focused on and pursued a holistic vision where we lift all votes, and that’s important. It’s a vision that lifts all votes, which means that all of our citizens have an opportunity to participate and to benefit from the investments that are being made.

Dorian DeBarr: One of the things that you focused on when you came in was water and sewer. Tell us a little bit more about why that was a key moment for your administration.

Michael L. Thurmond: The central building block, not just of economic development, but of civilization, is access to potable, drinkable water. If you look at the great civilizations in Egypt, Europe, and the Far East, the old civilizations were birthed and grew near bodies of water, particularly fresh water. You can’t have economic growth unless you have a very efficient and effective water and sewer system. We had to address what had been decades of neglect and invest literally now close to $1.2 billion in DeKalb’s water and sewer system – first, our water distribution system, our gravity sewer system, as well as our storm water system.

That is the essence of growth, oftentimes, and we should celebrate the beautiful buildings and skyscrapers that spring forth and literally kiss the heavens here in DeKalb and across metro Atlanta. If not for access to a water and sewer system that is operative, that is efficient and effective, growth could not take place.

Dorian DeBarr: I’m glad you say that, because people oftentimes want to see the buildings, but we can’t have the buildings at level unless we have access to water and a functioning water and sewer system. Beyond that, another key pillar of economic development is workforce development, and you’ve been a champion of workforce development for years in your career. Can you speak a little bit about why that’s important?

Michael L. Thurmond: As an employer, we know that whether it’s public or private, the most valuable assets in any organization are the employees, the men and women who work and who use their knowledge, skills, and ability to produce services and assets. Here in DeKalb County, we’re blessed. We have internationally renowned universities. Emory University, Mercer, Agnes Scott, and Georgia State are all here, and they are phenomenal four-year institutions. And, because it’s not the color of the color but the green in the dollar, we have an outstanding technical college, Piedmont Technical College. Collectively they are providing the knowledge and the training necessary to create a workforce that’s going to be productive and successful in the 21st century.

Dorian DeBarr: Absolutely. You came in on January 1st, 2017, and you hit the ground running. You’ve built a great foundation for growth here in DeKalb County. As we mentioned earlier, once you have that foundation in place, economic prosperity begins to unfold, and you see it happen before your eyes.

Over the past 18 months, what have you seen that has really impressed you with respect to economic growth and development here in DeKalb County?

Michael L. Thurmond: So much – over 300 new projects have been approved with the investments we made in our water sewer system. We’ve had exponential growth in central and South DeKalb in terms of new projects being bought online, both in terms of commercial as well as single family and multifamily residential projects. By far, the most sensational, and I think the most transformational project, not just in DeKalb, but in the state of Georgia, was the assembly project, where the old Doraville GM plant sat idle for decades. Working and investing in a relationship with DeKalb County, the Doraville City Government, of course Gray Communications, and Mr. Hilton Howard of Decide DeKalb, with all of us coming together to transform that site and to create the assembly, represents a gravitational shift in the film and movie production industry and in the world.

We’ve already seen major resources and productions now being relocated from other parts of the state and from around the world here to metro Atlanta, not just assembly, but others like Electric Owl and Shadowbox. DeKalb County is now the capital of the movie production industry in the Southeast United States.

Dorian DeBarr: Absolutely. And a lot of that can really be drawn back and tied directly back to your administration. And again, I want to say thank you for the work you’ve done during your administration and your time here in DeKalb County. I oftentimes tell people – yes, decide DeKalb has been successful and we’re growing, but this doesn’t happen without a strong CEO, a strong administration, and the Board of Commissioners that has been extremely, extremely supportive of your efforts. 

Michael L. Thurmond: But don’t underestimate your role. You have been blessed with the skill set needed to be a great leader. And beyond being a great leader, to not just be able to possess power, because we always think about leadership and power, but really, it’s about influence. In the governing authority of DeKalb County, which includes me, we hold you in the highest esteem. When you speak, we listen. You and your staff do the work. It’s not fluff. It’s real. We know we invest in taxpayer dollars and through abatement of other strategies. It’s having a huge impact. 

I want to tie something in, in terms of assembly. When we think about assembly, we are generating some 4,000 new jobs, and not just jobs in front of the camera for pretty people, but also jobs behind the camera for people like me who are not so pretty. Those are important jobs. That’s where the lion’s share of the jobs is being created, not in front of the camera, but behind the camera. And that’s what makes our investments in this industry so important. 

I also want to mention Lula Hills at North DeKalb Mall that sat for decades. See, some things you have to begin to say, “Well, wait a minute – Assembly General Motors sat for decades. North DeKalb has hung on for decades. What’s different?” Well, the leadership at Decide DeKalb is different. The leadership at the DeKalb County Government is different. The leadership in the private sector is different. And the most important difference is that we are embracing a common vision to the benefit of all our citizenry. 

Dorian DeBarr: Absolutely. And that’s one thing I love about your leadership. You always bring it back to the people, and I’m so thankful for that. With that being said, this might be a difficult question, because you’ve accomplished a lot in your seven-plus years here as CEO, but what is one of your most proud accomplishments as CEO?

Michael L. Thurmond: Well, two things: One, it’s that the relationships are stronger. The biggest challenges I faced were political challenges and structural challenges. We had to eliminate a $24 million deficit. Today we have a $150 million surplus. We’ve invested over a billion dollars, as I mentioned, in upgrading our water and sewer system and installed a hundred thousand new water meters. We passed the first SPLOST in the history of DeKalb County. We paved 350 miles of the worst streets and roads in our county and invested in our libraries and senior citizens. 

All those things are important, but the most important thing, I believe, is that we have reengaged investing in our infrastructure. You know, that’s the thing that you don’t see, and probably the thing that will be lost in the shine of the moment. But in terms of the long-term growth and prosperity of this county, you don’t think about it because you don’t see it, but that is the cornerstone and the foundation for unlimited growth that will take place here in DeKalb over the next 20 years. Look at the $600 million being invested on 285 at the I-20 and 285 interchange, one of the 24 most congested interchanges in the country. We are going to have express lanes that run from I-20 all the way to 400. This is the place to be. When you look around Metro Atlanta, cast your eyes towards East Metro. There are unlimited opportunities that are being realized and being dreamed. 

I’m proud that DeKalb County is the only suburban county in Georgia that has heavy rail. More than 40 years ago, the people of DeKalb County rose above race, class, and fear and embraced rapid transit. Transit-oriented development is impacting the potential of that across DeKalb. Whether it’s in Chamblee, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, or here in the city of Decatur and now at Kensington, amazing growth is taking place. We have, number one, the only suburban county with heavy rail. We have the second busiest airport in the state of Georgia behind Hartsfield Jackson, and it’s number nine in the nation in general aviation airports. My friends in economic development at the state level have said to me that their secret weapon, the hidden jewel in all state level economic development initiatives, is PDK airport. Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 executives, almost without fail, fly in and out of PDK. Every day we have the airport of choice. All these things are assets.

Now, one thing I want mention about leadership that I always suggest to young leaders is that you shouldn’t just focus on liability. See, oftentimes, when we go into leadership situations, we spend a disproportionate amount of our time examining, documenting, and inventorying the liabilities. You can look at DeKalb County or any other entity that way, but I suggest we must spend an equal amount of time documenting our assets as well, because in the same way you address, manage, or mitigate your liabilities, you have to leverage your assets. If you look at a business or corporation, if you want to determine its true value, you have to look at assets and liabilities. And it’s the net that will determine whether an entity is either prospering or failing. So, in any leadership situation, and what I found in DeKalb, even in 2017 with all those historic legacy issues we were facing, the assets far outweighed the liability, And the most important asset we had, number one, is that we have nearly 800,000 people and one of the most diverse populations in the United States of America. You think about Clarkston, you think about Buford Highway and South DeKalb – we have one of the largest Black, middle-class populations, second only to Prince George and metro Washington DC. Utilizing and leveraging those assets can only lead to growth and prosperity. 

Dorian DeBarr: I love that. And, you know, it is difficult for me as a resident and as a native of DeKalb County, not to get excited about DeKalb County when you speak. So, I appreciate everything you said. And I just want to say that internally within our office, we’ve taken your speeches, and they are always tied back to how DeKalb County is rising. For us, we’ve turned it into how it’s happening in DeKalb County, because it truly is. There is so much happening in DeKalb County. So to you, Mr. CEO, how would you define that? What does that mean to you, what’s happening in DeKalb County?

Michael L. Thurmond: I love that. I love the philosophy as well as the narrative itself. If it’s happening, that means that it can happen. Not that it can happen – it is happening. It’s not a dream, but it’s a dream being transformed into reality. It’s a statement of fact, not of future. And in the present, if we are in our present, if we look around us, then you have to come to the conclusion that it’s happening, and on every front and every platform, it is happening. And it’s happening for a broad range of people. It is not a narrow focus, growth or prosperity, but people from all over the world, as well as people who may have been residents here for decades. They can engage in, participate in, and benefit from the resources that we have.

Dorian DeBarr: Wonderful. So, CEO, I’m going to end on this note: Your last day in office is December 31st, 2024. In my mind, I’m trying to slow this down as much as I can to take advantage of your leadership, because you have given us the environment here in DeKalb County to thrive. So, I want to thank you on behalf of Decide DeKalb and our Board of Directors for your leadership. We will certainly miss you. Thank you for your time today.

Michael L. Thurmond: Well, thank you so much. And look, let me tell you what the biggest difference is, if you think about economic development in DeKalb County between January 1st, 2017, and December 31st, 2024. The one advantage we have that we did not have on January 1st, 2017, is Dorian Debar in this leadership role. And when I walk away, I walk away in confidence. I’ll never be surprised – I’ll continue to be proud of all the accomplishments you make.

Read more about what is Happening in DeKalb in our annual report.