C. Jack Ellis (born January 6, 1946) is a politician and the former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Macon,

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Early life and career

Prior to taking office, Ellis served 20 years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as an airborne infantryman, Airborne school ‘black hat’ instructor, and served two tours in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne units, earning the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Purple Heart . Upon retirement from the U.S. Army, Ellis managed a used car business, served as an executive for the

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, and hosted a

public access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

show focusing on public and political affairs in the black community.

Mayor of Macon

1999 and 2003 campaigns

Ellis ran for mayor of Macon in 1999. He defeated former Macon Mayor Buck Melton in the 1999 Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, and was elected as the city's first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

mayor in the mayoral

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. After his first term, he was re-elected in 2003 after defeating several challengers in the Democratic

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and

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

opposition in the

2011 campaign

On April 16, 2011, Ellis officially began a third campaign for mayor of Macon against

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

mayor

Robert Reichert Robert Reichert (born August 11, 1948) is an American Democratic politician and former mayor of Macon, Georgia, the fourth largest city in the state. Early life and education Reichert was born in Macon to Albert Reichert, Sr. He graduated fro ...

. In the July 19 Democratic

, he placed second in the four-way race, with 37.6% of the vote. Because Reichert fell just shy of 50% of the vote, a

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

was scheduled for August 16 between Ellis and Reichert. Ellis lost the election by 537 votes, receiving 9,770 of the 20,077 votes cast. Ellis did not rule out a future run for office.

2013 campaign

Religious views

Ellis was born into a Baptist family in Macon, Georgia and is a member of Unionville Missionary Baptist Church.

Controversies

In August 2007, C. Jack Ellis sent a letter of

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

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and vocal ally of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Public reaction in and around Macon was largely negative, with some residents calling for demonstrations and boycotts. Ellis maintained that the declaration was about Chávez's humanitarian efforts, not his political policies. On April 2, 2008, Macon mayor Robert Reichert received a letter from U.S. Attorney Max Wood accusing the City of Macon, under the Ellis administration, of misusing federal funds and making false statements to government officials. The accusation was in regard to the $900,000 "Safe Schools Initiative grant" given to the city in 2002. The government could also demand that much of the grant money be returned, as well as impose a civil penalty, which the letter stated could be in excess of one million dollars. Ellis stated his confidence that the city had correctly spent the money, and that no wrongdoing had occurred. Despite efforts from his political rivals, No criminal charges were filed, and no evidence of wrongdoing was ever found or admitted by the state.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, C. Jack 1946 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Mayors of Macon, Georgia African-American mayors in Georgia (U.S. state) Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) United States Army soldiers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people