Gov. Deal Names Ellis Review Panel
Gov. Nathan Deal has named a three-member panel which will determine if DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis should be suspended from office.
Attorney Sam Olens will serve on the panel along with Clayton County Commission Chairman Jeff Turner and Rockdale County Commission Chairman Richard Oden.
A broadcast version of this story
By state law, the three-member panel that will recommend whether Ellis stays in office while he is under indictment must be composed of the Attorney General and two public officials who hold the same office as the individual indicted.
But DeKalb County is the only county in Georgia with an elected CEO form of government.
While that no doubt has caused some thought by the Governor’s office in choosing the panel members, it is also on the mind of some DeKalb County Commissioners, including Elaine Boyer. “The form of government that we have in DeKalb County is flawed. This just gives more credence to that,” Boyer told WABE. “And I hope we can change our form of government. There’s too much power in the hands of one individual no matter whom (sic) it is.”
If the panel recommends Ellis be suspended — and if the Governor follows that recommendation — the Presiding Officer of the county commission, Lee May, would add the CEO’s duties to his own.
Ellis faces multiple felony counts for allegedly strong-arming county vendors for campaign contributions.
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