Friday, February 9, 2001
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Friday, February 9, 2001 |
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Three qualify for Clerk race By JOHN
THOMPSON
When the dust had settled Wednesday afternoon, three candidates had qualified for the Clerk of Superior Court race in March. Former Clerk Joan Griffies, current interim Clerk Cindy Brown and Walcut "Wally" Metzger will face off March 20. The special election was set after Mary Jane Thompson, who defeated Griffies last July in the clerk's race, pled guilty to one count of theft by conversion and one count of violating her oath of office. Thompson was sentenced to five years probation and fined $18,384 for the theft scandal that rocked the clerk's office earlier last year. Thompson, who worked in the clerk's office before she was elected, was indicted on 18 counts, including 13 charges of theft by conversion, four altering public records counts and a violation of oath of office charge. Coweta District Attorney Pete Skandalakis began his investigation into the clerk's office last February after Clerk of Court Joan Griffies reported that funds were missing from her office. Thompson was indicted for allegedly converting more than $8,300 of court funds to her own private use while employed at the clerk's office. Thompson resigned from her position last spring and successfully beat Griffies for the clerk's job in last July's election. Griffies has maintained that politics has played no role in the matter and that she merely wanted to find out where the money went.
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