Clayton County sheriff candidates meet at community forum with current sheriff a no-show

FOREST PARK, GA. – The lobby of Living Faith Tabernacle was full of local election candidates and tables full of campaign flyers, cards, yard signs, and bumper stickers on Sunday evening. The church was the site for the first candidate forum of the election season. The three people looking to unseat current Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen, Jr. during the May 21 election, Clarence Cox, Jeffrey Turner, and Charlene Watson-Fraser, all arrived at the church for what would be a well-attended forum. Allen did not attend. He also failed to attend a candidate forum for the special run-off election in January 2023 , but that did not stop him from winning the election by 266 votes over Cox. Charlene Watson-Fraser. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice The forum, which was moderated by WCLK-FM radio personality Kiplyn Primas, began with the seat to the right of Cox empty and each candidate making opening remarks. Turner, a 35-year Clayton County employee in a number of capacities, including Clayton County Police Department chief, referred to himself as a “local guy.”  Watson-Fraser, who spent part of her law enforcement career in Baltimore as a police officer, also has experience working for the county as...