Suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis accused of pressuring vendors for campaign contributions was sentenced to 5 years, 18 months to serve.
He was also ordered to pay $1,000 fine.
Ellis on July 1 was found guilty of perjury and attempted theft by extortion. Ellis was acquitted of five other counts on charges that included bribery.
A jury of six men and six women had deliberated for more than four days before reaching the verdicts.
Ellis maintained his innocence, saying he made phone calls but didn't threaten anyone or take action against vendors' contracts.
He faced up to 15 years behind bars at Wednesday's sentencing.
The attempted theft by extortion charge refers to Ellis trying to force a company called Power & Energy Services to donate to his political campaign.
The company's owner Brandon Cummings said he felt "threatened, intimidated (and) I guess scared" by a 2012 phone conversation he had with Ellis. Cummings testified that Ellis pressured him to donate $2,500 to his political campaign.
“He said he just cut my contract, that we didn’t do anything wrong,” Cummings said while testifying during the trial.
When Cummings refused to donate to the Ellis campaign, his company lost a $250,000 contract.