Kelly Girtz

Last updated
Kelly Girtz
Kelly Girtz.jpg
Mayor of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 8, 2019

Girtz was born on November 12, 1971, in Bath, Maine to Darryl Sylvester and Joanne (née Kirsch) Girtz (now Claridge), while his father was stationed aboard the USS Dale. The Dale was homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, where Girtz and his family then lived for a year before moving to Oakland, California for a year. From 1974 to 1994, he was raised and resided in Norfolk, Virginia, where he graduated from Lake Taylor High School in 1989. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University in 1993. [1]

Educator

Girtz earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Piedmont College. From 1998 to 2014, he was a teacher and administrator in the Clarke County School District in Athens. He then served as Regional Director for Student Services and Special Education for Foothills Charter High School, a public charter high school. [2]

Political career

County commissioner

In November 2006, Girtz was elected to serve as a member of the Athens-Clarke County commission, representing District 9. He was re-elected unopposed in both 2010 and 2014.

Mayoral candidate

In May 2017, Girtz announced that he would run for mayor of Athens-Clarke County. On May 22, 2018, he defeated fellow commissioner Harry Sims and local businessman Richie Knight, earning over 60 percent of the vote, to become mayor-elect.

Mayor

Girtz was sworn in as Mayor on January 8, 2019. Former Clarke County School District Board of Education member Ovita Thornton was sworn in as Girtz's replacement for the District 9 commissioner seat. [3] During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Girtz urged Athens residents to continue sheltering in place, opposing Governor Brian Kemp's April 20 announcement that non-essential Georgia businesses, like gyms and hair salons, could re-open that week. [4] [5]

During the Black Lives Matter protests of late May/early June 2020, Mayor Girtz joined protesters in calling for the removal of a Confederate monument on Broad Street. The demand came after local law enforcement teargassed protesters at a March for a World Without Cops demonstration in front of the University of Georgia Arch on the night of May 31. [6]

Girtz was re-elected in May 2022 with around 60 percent of the vote. [7]

In August of 2024, Girtz was involved in a hit-and-run where he backed into another car at a Texico gas station. He was caught on camera, but the police tried to minimize the incident


Electoral history

2006

Athens-Clarke County Commission, District 9 general election results, 2006 [8]
CandidateVotes%
Kelly Girtz3,18542.02%
Chuck Jones78410.34%
Alvin Sheats2,73636.10%
Ed Vaughan87411.53%
Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, District 9 runoff election results, 2006 [9]
CandidateVotes%
Kelly Girtz2,63658.89%
Alvin Sheats1,84041.11%

2018

Athens-Clarke County Mayor, election results, 2018 [10]
CandidateVotes%
Kelly Girtz10,92460.20%
Richie Knight1,6649.17%
Harry L. Sims5,49930.31%
Write-In580.32%

2022

Athens-Clarke County Mayor, election results, 2022 [11]
CandidateVotes%
Kelly Girtz12,96959.54%
Mara Zuniga5,42224.84%
Pearl Hall1,0925.01%
Mykeisha Ross1,0344.75%
Fred Moorman6593.03%
Bennie Coleman III6072.79%

References

  1. ↑ "Mayor Kelly Girtz | Athens-Clarke County, GA - Official Website". www.accgov.com. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  2. ↑ "Kelly Girtz". Athens for Everyone. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  3. ↑ Shearer, Lee. "Commissioners used Bibles, other books in taking oaths". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  4. ↑ Ward, Myah. "Coronavirus lockdowns pit Republican governors against Democratic mayors". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  5. ↑ Mettler, Katie (April 21, 2020). "Georgia mayors push back on governor's decision to reopen businesses". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Mayor Girtz Calls for Removing Confederate Monument". Flagpole. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  7. ↑ "Kelly Girtz rolls to second term as Athens-Clarke mayor, easily besting 4 other candidates". Online Athens . Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  8. ↑ "2006-11-07 General Election Official Results" . Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  9. ↑ "2006-12-05 General Election Runoff Unofficial Results" . Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  10. ↑ "2018-05-22 General Primary Election Summary Report" . Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  11. ↑ "Election Night Reporting".
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Athens-Clarke County
2019–present		Incumbent
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