Politics, public life
in new CEO’s blood
Probate Judge Jeryl Debra Rosh swears in new CEO Burrell Ellis Dec. 22 at DeKalb Superior Court. |
by Andy Phelan
andy@dekalbchamp.com
Politics and public life might be so intertwined into the fabric that makes up DeKalb’s new CEO W. Burrell Ellis Jr. that one could say it’s in the man’s DNA.
Although he did not run for public office for the first time until his 40s, Ellis, 51, hasn’t lost an election of any kind since the fifth grade. Maybe even the fourth grade, Ellis said.
But that was more than 40 years ago in the hallowed halls of Whittier Elementary in Washington, D.C., where Ellis lost a run-off election for class president. “He beat me pretty soundly,” Ellis recalled of his opponent, pausing to mull his memories while packing up his law firm office in Atlanta recently.
In the sixth grade, Ellis made a comeback to earn the coveted presidential office. And he’s never looked back.
This summer, he won the most important runoff of his life when he defeated his challenger 63 percent to 37 percent for the county’s highest office. It follows eight years as a county commissioner for central DeKalb, five of which his peers voted him presiding officer.
Former commissioner Gale Walldorff, who had been on the board nearly a decade when Ellis first took office in 2001, said Ellis’ demeanor will serve him well as CEO. “Even when things got rough at times between some on the board and the CEO’s bullying [former CEO Vernon Jones], Burrell remained calm,” Walldorff said.
“I was always so impressed with his ability, under fire, not to lose it or get out of control. And he always has been able to respond in a thoughtful, gentlemanly manner.”
On Aug. 5, the day he won the CEO election, Ellis thought of his father Burrell Ellis Sr., who died suddenly of diverticulitis – a disease of the large intestine – while Ellis the younger was at law school in 1983.
“I think if he were here today, he’d be proud of his son,” said Ellis of his father, who was a high-ranking official with the Securities & Exchange Commission. “He set a high standard, was a strong-principled guy but someone who was also a pleasure to be around. He never ran for office, but he saw himself as a public servant.”
Receiving a bachelor’s of science in economics with a concentration in finance from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a law degree from the University of Texas-Austin – where he was elected president of the student bar association in 1984 – Ellis said he’s always been engaged and interested in what’s going on in the world.
“I’ve never been the type of person that just came to work and then went home,” said Ellis. “Even while working at law firms putting in 60 to 70 hours a week, I was always engaged in public life.” University of Texas President Bill Powers, who was dean of the law school while Ellis was there, said he remembers him as a well-rounded, popular student.
“I just recall that he was an especially nice and friendly person,” said Powers. “He was president of the Student Bar Association, and was extremely well liked by his fellow students. Ellis is a very articulate and smart man.”
Ellis credits his late father and his mother, Roberta, 79, who still lives in the Washington area, with setting the tone. “I was shaped in a very political environment in Washington in the 1960s and ‘70s by parents who believed in political and social involvement,” he said.
His father fought injustice during the Civil Rights Movement, and Ellis said he has fond memories of watching his pastor at the time, the Rev. Channing E. Phillips, and Julian Bond become the first Blacks nominated for president and vice president of the Democratic Party in 1968. They received 68 votes, fourth behind Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern.
Along the way, Ellis has served as vice chair of the DeKalb County Democratic Party, worked on Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential bid, Maynard Jackson’s 1989 mayoral campaign and chaired the National Association of Counties’ Large Urban County Caucus.
But despite his high-profile professional and educational achievements, Ellis maintains an air of normalcy – someone everyday citizens can approach and discuss the issues of the day. Throughout his campaign last summer, he asked citizens to call him “Burrell” and gave out his home phone number.
“I’m just a regular guy who gets up every day and tries to do his best,” he said, pushing crates of legal papers, briefs and documents out of his law office. “I ride MARTA all the time, and sometimes I forget that I’m a commissioner or CEO-elect. I’m just Burrell doing my business. I have the same struggles everybody else does.”
In September 2001 just days after 9-11, Ellis married Philippa, also an attorney. The couple has young twins, Victoria and Burrell III, 4. It has, in part, led him to a philosophy of life in which he “believes in vacations and exercise,” he said. “Being married with children is a humbling experience. You’ve got to recharge the batteries to keep things in perspective.”
Family is a side of Ellis that Walldorff didn’t know until the CEO campaign. Walldorff, who served on Ellis’ transition team, said it helps keep him grounded.
“He’s lucky to have the support of his family,” she said. “Philippa is wonderful–and throughout his life at his legal practice, work on the board and with his family you always get the real Burrell.” Although he doesn’t work out as much as he’d like–he’s torn both his Achilles tendons while running and playing basketball–Ellis has his work cut out for him as he takes over DeKalb in one of the worst financial environments in the past 60 years.
DeKalbites might take comfort that Ellis isn’t shrinking from the challenge, and if his past is any indication, he intends to succeed. “I’ve had to work very, very hard to get where I am,” he said. “My family has been my most tremendous blessing–both the one I grew up with and the one my wife and I have built. It’s been the best blessing and helped shape who I am.
I wasn’t born with a sliver spoon in my mouth. I was taught good values, and I had to work hard and earn my degrees. I’ve had to work hard in the jobs that I’ve gotten and consistently prove myself.”
A quote on Whittier–his old elementary school’s Web site–says, “A shared purpose, combined with a positive mental attitude, constitutes an unstoppable force.”
Anonymous as the quote may be, it speaks to who Ellis is and the race he ran to win office.
His rallies and meet-and-greets throughout the campaign were dotted with not just Blacks and Whites, but Hispanics and Asians – gays and straight, young and old – alike.
“You’ve always got to be able to build consensus,” he said. “At the end of the day, you need to bring people together.”
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