State Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, has introduced a bill that would require that the DeKalb CEO be chosen in a non-partisan election.
The CEO, elected county-wide for a four-year term, is the top administrative official in DeKalb.
Millar said he introduced the bill as a way to give Republicans a more powerful voice in a majority Democratic county. “This makes the Republicans in the county more relevant,” Millar said.
Millar said he also believes a non-partisan CEO would help “bring the county together.”
Candidates running to become DeKalb’s Chief Executive Officer now must file as Democrats or Republicans.
Making the election non-partisan would empower the heavily Republican northern end of the county.
“We don’t get to vote in the Democratic primary,” Millar.
The bill would apply to any county that utilizes a chief executive officer/county commission form of government. DeKalb is the only county in Georgia that operates under this system.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 4.
Millar, the only Republican senator from DeKalb, said he hasn’t heard any opposition from his peers.
“I spoke with Sen. Ron Ramsey, chair of the DeKalb delegation for the Senate, and he thinks the idea has merit,” Millar said.