What a difference a year makes. On the eve of my election as chairman of the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (formerly the State Ethics Commission) one year ago, the commissioners were sent complaints regarding the then-executive secretary. The complaints, now public, included allegations of workplace misconduct, and failures to properly prosecute cases. The commission delegated me the responsibility of initiating and overseeing an independent investigation to assess the veracity of the complaints. Shortly after the investigation commenced, the then-executive secretary resigned.

Next, the commission was faced with interviewing and selecting a replacement executive secretary. And this process needed to be done quickly, as the commission was without a guiding hand. Many great candidates applied and were interviewed. The commission ultimately selected David Emadi, a prosecutor from Douglas County.