DeKalb IRPS committee interviews four candidates for pension board vacancy

The DeKalb County Employee Relations and Public Safety (IRPS) Committee interviewed four candidates on a vacancy for the county pension board, Chair Commissioner Ladina Bolton said, and will review committee feedback before making a selection.

The candidates who spoke were Paul Wright, a retired county pension administrator and former pension actuary; Eric Atwater, an actuary and consultant who said he previously consulted to DeKalb’s pension fund; Assistant Chief Ramaldo “Tony” Hughes of the DeKalb County Police Department; and Ted McMullen, founder of Covington Investments and former University of Georgia Foundation board member. The committee members participating included Chair Ladina Bolton and commissioners Shakira Johnson, Marita Davis Johnson and Ted Terry; Commissioner Patrick asked questions during parts of the interviews.

The interviews focused on fiduciary duty, investment strategy and conflict-of-interest rules. Wright described his institutional experience: he said he worked in DeKalb’s pension administration for 21 years and earlier served as a pension actuary for 18 years. He told the committee he has attended nearly every pension board meeting during his tenure and that he knows “the pension administration better than anybody else.” On conflicts, Wright said he would follow the law and abstain from votes where he had a personal conflict, concluding, “Do what the pension code says. Period.”

Atwater identified himself as an actuary with 25 years of professional experience and said he holds the CFA designation. He said he consulted to DeKalb’s pension funds from about 2007 to 2015 and would abstain from votes that posed an appearance of conflict. He told the committee he would first learn the board’s current investment allocations and rationale before recommending changes.

Hughes, who said he has more than 28 years with the police department and previously operated a Chick‑fil‑A franchise, said his principal contributions would be administrative oversight and a focus on recruiting and retention because employee headcount affects pension funding. On conflicts, he said he would recuse himself from matters where a direct conflict existed.

McMullen described a career in senior housing and private investment and said he reviewed the pension board’s ethics policy before the interview. He said his interest is partly personal: his father previously served on the pension board. On investments, McMullen said he would look to alternatives and other options to seek responsible yield in a lower-return environment, but he added that he would defer to the board’s consultants and not presume to dictate investment choices.

Committee members asked about community engagement, including proposals to involve students in financial‑literacy efforts and to expose youth to pension‑board work. Atwater and McMullen both described programs and contacts that could be used to bring students to meetings or retreats for educational purposes.

No appointment was made at the meeting. Bolton said the committee would “codify all of the feedback” and notify candidates when a decision is reached.