Clayton County abruptly fired its chief operating officer last week opening the door for a retired county government veteran to return to running the day-to-day operations of Clayton.
Arrelle Anderson’s forced departure caught commission chair Jeff Turner and vice chair Shana Rooks offguard and set in motion what appears to be a political showdown on the five-member board.
In addition to getting rid of Anderson, the board voted 3-2 to have county attorneys begin drafting a contract to bring back Alex Cohilas, chief of staff under former Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell. The attorneys have until the end of November to draft a contract for Cohilas.
Turner, who favors conducting a national search for Anderson’s replacement, accused several of the commissioners of circumventing the normal hiring process by trying to immediately begin negotiations to hire Cohilas, a known adversary of Turner’s. Turner reported to Cohilas as police chief until county officials accused him of mismanaging the police department. The Bell-led commission transferred Turner to the police academy, which ended up being closed in July 2010, forcing Turner out of a job and a 20-year-plus law enforcement career.
“I’m very disappointed they’d even contemplate bringing this man back,” Turner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday. “It’s not that I hate the man. I just know what his management style and abilities are. I don’t have any confidence in Cohilas’ leadership ability.”
Cohilas said he was “intrigued” by the idea of returning to work for the county.
“I’m taking it very seriously but I have to see it on paper,” he said, adding he could do the job despite past conflicts.
Last week’s action indicates an unraveling of decisions Turner said would make Clayton government more transparent, accountable and professional. Anderson has an MBA from the University of Georgia. Cohilas does not have a college degree.
Commissioner Michael Edmondson introduced the idea to fire Anderson and hire Cohilas. Gail Hambrick and Sonna Gregory voted in favor of the plan. Turner and Rooks opposed it. Efforts to reach Edmondson, Hambrick and Gregory Monday was unsuccessful. Anderson’s contract allows for her to be terminated without cause.
“I think it’s a big mistake,” Turner said. Turner said he didn’t know why the three commissioners decided to get rid of Anderson. As COO, Anderson oversaw 21 departments.
“She had been a great help in moving the county forward. She’d been very transparent,” Turner said. “When it comes to technology, she helped bring modern technology to the county. We were headed in a good direction. We were headed forwarded. Now it seems we’re headed backward.”
Anderson, a former business strategist in Washington, D.C., was brought in last year after the county scrapped the county manager’s job in favor of a COO position. She was on a recent cover of “Women Looking Ahead News” magazine. The issue featured 100 of Georgia’s most powerful and influential women. Anderson was on the list.
Efforts to reach Anderson Monday were unsuccessful but an exchange on her Twitter account indicates she has moved on.
“The past two days have been AWESOME!!! I’m looking forward for the journey ahead,” Anderson said in an Oct. 9 tweet — two days after she was fired. The tweet carried the hashtag: “#change.”
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