Former Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner will be the county’s new leader by beating the man who fired him from his old job.

Turner soundly defeated incumbent commission chairman Eldrin Bell with 67 percent of the vote. There is no Republican opposition.

Turner was the county’s first black police chief in 2007, but was removed from that post in 2009 for alleged insubordination and other charges. Since Bell was the head of the commission at the time, he had the power to hire and fire the police chief.

Turner knocked off Bell on a platform of change, fiscal responsibility and greater governmental accountability.

As for the 77-year-old Bell, this loss effectively ends his political career. He was seeking a third term in office. Bell had pushed hard to restore bus service to the county and backed the failed transportation referendum. That position may have cost him his job.

Attorney Shana Rooks beat incumbent Wole Ralph for the District 3 commission seat. Last year Ralph led a move to increase taxes in Clayton County. It turned out he didn’t own a home in the county.