When Burrell Ellis became CEO of DeKalb County in 2009, he touted himself as a negotiator who would set a different tone from his combative predecessor, Vernon Jones.
But as Ellis comes to the end of his first term, facing two opponents in the July 31 primary, he, too, has become a polarizing figure. Voters once again find themselves served by a CEO and Board of Commissioners that seem locked in a perpetual power struggle.
With no Republican in the race, this month's vote will decide the election, barring a runoff. While pundits say Ellis is the favorite, the campaign has amplified rumblings about his first term. Beyond that, it has revived debate on an issue larger than any one official: Whether DeKalb's unconventional form of government — a CEO elected countywide and seven commissioners representing smaller parts of it — breeds conflict.
Some want to do away with the CEO position and replace it with a county manager hired by and answerable to the commission. The county CEO form of government is uncommon in Georgia, as most other counties empower the commission to run the government.
"Is there anything that they are not fighting over?" said state Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody. "People perceive the government is ineffective and not responsive."
But one of his delegation colleagues, Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Ellenwood, said the commissioners are just as responsible as Ellis for forging a workable relationship.
"I support him. It's not easy to run that government," Jones said. "He has accomplished a lot."
Ellis — who was a commissioner before running for CEO — calls the clashes a natural part of governing a large county with diverse interests, which is struggling to make ends meet.
"The CEO is the one person responsible for the whole county, to be the cheerleader and push for change," Ellis told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week. "Can you imagine a state without a governor?"
Still, some voters may have expected something different from a man who once taught classes in collaborative problem-solving to law students at Georgia State.
Ellis' critics blame him for the friction with the commission, which they say has stifled the county's progress and contributed to the breakaway movements of Dunwoody and Brookhaven.
"He's elevated himself above the commission," said Ann Brown, a 30-year county resident and president of the Belevedere Civic Club. "He's been just the opposite of what he said."
Ellis, a bespectacled Ivy League graduate and a lawyer, is known for being soft-spoken and somewhat formal. Even if challenged on topics he is passionate about, he rarely raises his voice — preferring to let his tone telegraph his anger.
"Vernon Jones was very direct in his dealings with you. He would say no. Burrell is less direct, but the outcome is the same," said state Rep. Howard Mosby, D-Atlanta, chairman of the DeKalb House delegation.
Sen. Jones, although he backs Ellis, agrees that the CEO's measured demeanor hides a steely side. "He is a very determined person," he said.
Essentially, the CEO form of government was designed to allow the commission to adopt county policies, make zoning decisions, levy a tax rate and adopt the budget. The CEO holds virtually all the other cards, administering day-to-day operations and overseeing hiring. He votes with the commission only to break a tie and has a veto power that can be overturned by five of the seven commissioners, a supermajority.
Those unhappy with the current state of affairs say Ellis' battles with the commission have impeded the county's progress and contributed to the breakaway movements of Dunwoody and Brookhaven.
Commissioner Elaine Boyer, a onetime Ellis ally who has served with three CEOs, said the nature of the position changes those who hold it — and not for the better. "You get over in that office and it almost becomes narcissism, because you have so much power," she said. "It just reinforces what I've been saying, that we need a county manager form of government."
But Betty Willis, a longtime community leader in DeKalb, said that Ellis, as a CEO elected to represent the whole county, brings something special to the table.
"I really think Burrell makes the best decisions from a higher level of what is best for all of the county," said Willis, who serves as Emory University's liaison to county government and sits on the board of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. "I think he's been very good for DeKalb and presents a really good face for the county."
Commissioner Kathie Gannon, who is often the lone supporting vote when the board opposes Ellis, thinks the system's merits outweigh its drawbacks. DeKalb's form of government, she said, forces open debate and ensures that no side gets too much power. But even she says the strife can get out of hand.
"I think we might overdo it a bit, because there is more gridlock than checks and balance right now," Gannon said. "But it still works because no one can push anything through without a public discussion, and that transparency is vital if we want good government."
Open discussion is just what sometimes seems lacking, though — in part because of a change the Legislature made immediately before Ellis became CEO. Lawmakers enhanced the commission's ability to make policy by removing the CEO's power to preside over the commission's meetings or set its agenda.
Although the change was widely welcomed as necessary, including by Ellis, one consequence is that the CEO now attends few commission meetings.
Mosby said commissioners tell him that Ellis puts together the budget in a vacuum. Agency heads are reluctant to appear before the commission, Mosby said, since they answer to the CEO.
"Today there is a chasm between the CEO and commission," he said.
It's a chasm that the CEO and commissioners frequently lob grenades across. One example: When Ellis tried to create the position of public safety director and hired someone to fill it, the board refused to fund the job. So Ellis renamed the position, giving his hire an already existing title: head of 911 services
More recently, commissioners ordered Ellis to stop work on a soap box derby track that they say he began without their approval. The 10-acre lot on Rock Chapel Road is now shorn of trees and waiting for the two sides to agree on what to do.
For all the give and take, Ellis said the business of DeKalb gets done. The CEO's administration routinely submits purchase orders, grant documents and project lists that the commission approves. Both sides have signed off on major initiatives, such as cutting $130 million from the county budget and borrowing for a $1.34 billion overhaul of the county water and sewer systems.
Nevertheless, some students of political systems say the CEO form of government sets itself up for conflict, creating two independent entities with the power to second-guess and undercut the other.
"It's really a question of power," said John Siler, a Georgia Perimeter College political science professor. "Politics is power, so in this system it's a power-struggle situation at all times."
Indeed, when county commissioners wanted to request a state study on DeKalb's government structure, Ellis vetoed it.
Gregory Adams
Age: 48. Married with six adult children. Previously spent three years in the U.S. Army 101st Airborne and three years in the Army Reserve. Stepped down after four years in the DeKalb County Police Officer to run for office. He is senior pastor of Deliverance Temple True Church of God in Christ.
On the CEO form of government: "You can be the CEO without being a dictator."
Jerome Edmonson
Age: 49. Married with three adult children. First black franchise owner, Denny's Restaurants in Michigan. Previously worked as a manager for KFC and A&W. Former U.S. Air Force airman. Has owned Entrepreneur Development Network Global, teaching small businesses how to secure contracts and franchises, for 18 years.
On the CEO form of government: Edmonson has pledged to work with state lawmakers to study the form of government, and if consensus recommends change, he said he would agree.
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