W. Burrell Ellis Jr. is an American attorney and politician who is the former political director for the ACLU of Georgia, and the former CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia.
Early years
Ellis was born November 22, 1957, in Washington, D.C. and later moved to Silver Spring, Maryland.
After graduating from John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Ellis earned a degree in economics and finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at the University of Pennsylvania, he became a member Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Ellis went on to earn a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from The University of Texas at Austin. While at the University of Texas, Ellis was elected to serve as student body president.
After graduating from law school, Ellis relocated to Atlanta, where he volunteered on several campaigns while building his law practice.
Career in the private sector
Prior to becoming DeKalb County CEO, Ellis practiced law for more than 20 years, primarily in real estate development. In December 2017, Ellis joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia as their political director.
DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
When DeKalb County Commissioner Ken Davis made the decision to run for CEO instead of seeking re-election, Ellis decided to run to replace Davis. In the November 2000 election, Ellis defeated two challengers to serve the citizens in the commission's fourth district, and he was reelected in 2004.
During his tenure on the commission, Ellis served five terms as its presiding officer, where he led the board through its most extensive reorganization ever, ensuring openness and transparency in the legislative process. His legislative accomplishments include authoring the county's innovative Local Small Business Enterprise Ordinance and championing Georgia's first comprehensive Clean Indoor Air Ordinance to protect the health of tens of thousands of DeKalb County citizens from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
While on the commission, Ellis served as the chair of the National Association of Counties' Large Urban County Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of elected county officials that represented the interests of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan communities to Congress and the president.
DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer
Ellis became DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer in 2009. During his first year in office, Ellis implemented a major restructuring of government by grouping departments by function into the following operating units: development, infrastructure, public safety and administration.
In response to the impact the downturn in the economy had on county revenues, Ellis reduced spending in every office under the supervision of the CEO, and made recommendations for reductions in other county offices and agencies, as well. Despite these changes, Ellis has still faced controversies over his budgets, and has been forced to raise property taxes.
On February 22, 2011, Ellis announced that DeKalb County had cut more in spending than any other local government in the Atlanta metropolitan region since he took office.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) decided to put the statement to the Truth-O-Meter test. By comparing DeKalb County's budgets to other local governments, the AJC found that DeKalb County had indeed cut more than any other jurisdiction in metro Atlanta by reducing the budget by $107million, or 17 percent. In addition, Ellis' administration absorbed more than $30million in increased costs from 2010 to 2011.
Providing citizens a voice in county government and furthering community involvement on a grassroots level in policy decisions and operations, Ellis:
