Declaring it time to “put petty politics aside,” a member of the Chatham County Commission says he is taking steps to resolve a monthslong feud over the area transit system’s board of directors, in a rare act of public defiance of the commission’s chairman, Chester Ellis.
In a letter on Monday to Ellis, Commissioner Patrick Farrell (District 4) said he would introduce three motions at the panel’s regularly scheduled Friday meeting that if approved, would mean the county’s acceptance of the new expanded board of directors of Chatham Area Transit (CAT) and an end to a costly legal and political battle, waged mainly by Ellis, to restore its predecessor.
One motion to be put forward by Farrell, a Republican candidate for the Coastal Georgia congressional seat held by Buddy Carter, calls on Ellis to rescind a Nov. 13 letter he sent to the CAT’s board of directors, in which he said the county would terminate its involvement in the transit system on June 30, 2026, and set up a parallel transit network.
Another motion would require the county to drop all lawsuits against CAT, while a third demands that the commission fill the three seats it is allotted on the 11-member CAT board, which was established July 1 under legislation passed by Georgia General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in May.
Ellis has refused to make the appointments, including the designation of a disabled person, calling the law and the new CAT board it established unconstitutional. For this, in particular, he drew Farrell’s scorn.
“Neglecting our responsibility to make those appointments has left us without a voice on that board and has effectively taken away the voice of the disabled in our community,” Farrell wrote. “This is an egregious and inexcusable abdication of our responsibility to the citizens of Chatham County.”
The legislation expanding CAT’s board from nine to 11 members, House Bill 756, was sponsored by a bipartisan group of local lawmakers. They said an expanded board that included previously unrepresented municipalities and business groups was a necessary step towards addressing the transportation challenges facing the region. For Ellis, it meant his appointment power to the board — and thus his sway over CAT — was reduced.
In his letter to Ellis, Farrell notes at just how personal the conflict over the CAT legislation has become: “We need to focus on strengthening our public transit rather than arguing over trivial matters because you were offended by legislation passed by our legislative delegation.”
Support for motions unclear
Ellis’ Nov. 13 letter to CAT’s board of directors, which Farrell is demanding be rescinded, has become a particular source of contention among commissioners.
Within days of it being sent, it became clear that while Ellis had sent it in the commission’s name, he had done so without the knowledge and agreement of most of its members, including Farrell, Tanya Milton (5th District), Aaron “Adot” Whitely (6th District) and Dean Kicklighter (7th District).
He continued to insist, however, that there was a “consensus” among commissioners for sending the letter, though in response to questions from reporters he did not detail how, when, or where that consensus had been reached.
Whether Farrell’s proposed motions will be included on the agenda for Friday’s regularly scheduled meeting and how much support they have among other commission members is unclear.
Under the commission’s procedures, any request by a commissioner for an item to be included on the agenda is normally granted by the chairman, who oversees the lineup. Ellis is known, however, to exercise very tight control over commission proceedings, so it is far from certain that Farrell’s motions will be included on Friday’s meeting agenda.
In that case, Farrell could ask for an up-or-down vote of commission members on whether to include his motions on the agenda at all.
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