Chris Colhilas ready to assume County Commission chairmanship

ALBANY — When news of Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard’s surprise announcement that he would resign from the commission at the end of the year reached Albany attorney Chris Cohilas in January, Cohilas’ political aspirations were nonexistent.

Cohilas had been in private practice for a little more than three years after a stellar seven-year career in the Dougherty County District Attorney’s office, and his professional life centered around his clients and the courtroom.

But Cohilas’ wife Karen, who had closely followed the goings-on of the Albany and Dougherty County governments as a reporter for local television station WALB, had an epiphany when she got the news of Sinyard’s planned departure.

“Bodine was someone Karen and I respected greatly,” Cohilas said. “She was reading the newspaper about his plan to step down when she turned to me and said, ‘Chris, you may need to consider running for office.’ I had zero designs on political office at that time, but after talking with her I started to consider it.”

Cohilas announced plans to seek the commission chairmanship in March, conducted a well-planned if whirlwind campaign for office over the next two hectic months, and had his political ambitions reversed when Dougherty County voters elected him over challenger Gloria Gaines in the May 20 Democratic primary. Since no Republican qualified to run for the seat, Cohilas found himself with 7 1/2 months to prepare for a new phase of his life that he’d never seen coming.

“After Karen brought up the possibility, I started investigating, making inquiries,” he said. “I took about a week to really consider running for office, to pray about it. Once I made the announcement, though, I was all in. After that, things became very organic. I felt the need to run for office, I felt compelled.”

Now Cohilas sits on the verge of taking over the leadership role with the county government. He will be sworn in Jan. 5, along with fellow commission newcomer Anthony Jones, who defeated long-time Commissioner Jack Stone in the same Democratic primary, aware fully that a community that revered his predecessor will be watching closely and possibly making unfair comparisons.

“Fortunately, being a former prosecutor, I have a thick skin,” Cohilas laughs. “But I didn’t run for office seeking glory or fame. I hope people will view my administration as one built on consensus and collaboration. Because that’s what I expect it to be, one where I work with my fellow commissioners, our department heads and the public to make our community the best it can be. I don’t believe I was elected as someone who’ll make knee-jerk reactions but as one who has well-considered the needs of the community.

“I’m not naive enough to think I’m not going to make mistakes, but as long as I can wake up in the morning and know I did the best I could and as long as I know the people in my house love and respect me, I’ll be OK. I’m not going to give a bunch of incendiary quotes, I just plan on building cooperation throughout the community so that we all can work together toward a better way of life, more job opportunities, better compensation for our employees and a broader tax base.”

Born and raised in Clayton County, Georgia, to a firefighter/carpenter father and a stay-at-home mother, Chris Cohilas was instilled with a blue-collar work ethic that he’s carried into his law career. Alex Cohilas was the son of a Greek immigrant, a seeker of justice who became fire chief of Clayton County despite taking on the county’s power structure over its promotion practices.

Chris Cohilas decided early on that he wanted to be a prosecutor, a voice for the victimized, and when he graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in criminal justice, he became the first member of his family to earn such a degree. He worked his way through law school at Georgia State University, waiting tables, clerking for an internal law firm affiliated with State Farm Insurance and interning with the DeKalb County solicitor’s office.

Upon graduation, Cohilas locked up his first job with Sharon Ware & Associates, the in-house council for State Farm, and a short while later he started getting feelers from larger firms in and around metro Atlanta. But with his desire to work as a prosecutor still burning brightly, he spurned a potential big pay day and applied for an opening in the Dougherty County District Attorney’s office.

“I had a friend from law school who’d worked in Albany, and he told me about the opening,” Cohilas said. “I set up an interview with (then-district attorney) Ken Hodges, and it went well. He offered me a job on the spot.”

The promise of getting into the courtroom quickly was one of the determining factors in Cohilas’ decision to come to Southwest Georgia.

“I was 26 years old, and I wanted to save the world,” he says. “The thing that clicked most with me was that in a smaller town, you get an opportunity to have an impact immediately. In a larger metro area, you may work for three years in a district attorney’s office before ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. Here, I was trying murder cases within six months.

“I just have this Type A personality where I grab every opportunity I’m given. The more you wanted to work here, the more you could work.”

Only nine months into his career in the Dougherty DA’s office, Cohilas asked for and received the opportunity to head up a new division that would prosecute crimes against women and children. There, he had the opportunity to “be the strong voice for our most innocent victims.”

“Taking on the most complicated problems is in my nature, and I loved the opportunity to represent the victims of some of the most horrific crimes,” Cohilas said. “Sexual abuse, rape, child molestation … those are the things society doesn’t like to talk about, and the victims are the ones who most need a strong voice to speak for them. These are the ones it should be incumbent upon our government to protect.

“There are so many cases that stand out from my time in the district attorney’s office, but there is one that I keep going back to. (The defendant) held himself up as a minister, but he was committing habitual sexually abusive acts with certain of his family members and with members of his congregation. Some of the victims, after they reached the age of 18, talked about the abuse, so our office picked up on it as an independent investigation. After a two-week-long trial, I’ll never forget one of the victims standing up during the sentencing phase after the conviction to say thank you.”

Shortly after he came to Albany, the workaholic Cohilas took time from his demanding schedule to notice one of the local TV reporters who covered many of the cases he was working on. Karen Collier was a rising star among the local news media, and Cohilas knew right away he wanted to meet her.

“Actually, the first time I ever saw Karen on TV I wanted to meet her,” Cohilas laughs. “We had mutual friends, and I actually went out with her roommate before we dated. Through all of our mutual friends, we became friends, and we developed a close friendship before we ever started dating.

“Soon, it became this issue where I was a confirmed ‘single guy,’ and the next thing you know I’m thinking about proposing. I believe true love finds you when you least expect it, but Karen’s star was on the rise at WALB, and I was being courted by other district attorney’s offices around Atlanta. When Karen and I fell in love, though, that was it. Our priorities shifted.”

The pair married on Oct. 21, 2006, and soon they started working on plans to expand their family. Christopher Jr., now 6, was born while Cohilas was still working in the district attorney’s office, and the first-born son was followed by Nicholas, 4, Michael, who is 22 months old, and Isabella, who was born Nov. 23.

“Karen and I established quickly that we wanted a big family,” Cohilas said. “So I’ll say to anyone in the public who’s had the displeasure of sitting near us in a restaurant: I apologize for the noise, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

With seven years as a prosecutor under his belt, including a promotion to chief assistant district attorney, Cohilas started looking toward private practice. When word got out that he was looking, several area firms came calling. But Cohilas quickly knew that the Watson Spence firm was the perfect fit.

“I’m an out-of-the-box hire for them, but I believe my reputation as a litigator is what sealed the deal,” Cohilas said. “Watson Spence is a very progressive firm, and I’d put their litigation department against any in the U.S. I had a dialogue with senior partner Faison Middleton, and it became clear that this was a good fit.”

Cohilas quickly was named a firm partner two years after entering private practice, and he says his experience in the district attorney’s office has been pivotal to his advancement.

“I’ve worked across our community, with rich, poor, black and white,” he said. “A lot of those people have recommended me to clients, something for which I’m very grateful.”

When he made the decision to run for office, the same coalition of citizens across the community spectrum got behind his candidacy. Despite an overwhelmingly majority black constituency in the countywide election, Cohilas edged former County Commissioner Gloria Gaines, who had five years experience on the board, to claim the chairmanship.

“My message during the campaign was simple: I planned to represent all of Dougherty County,” Cohilas said. “I’ll be the first to admit I couldn’t have won the election without considerable support from the African-American community. I happen to think, to a large degree, that Dougherty County has moved beyond assessing things in terms of color.

“I believe we are a progressive community, and for anyone to assume or suggest that decisions are made here based on color is antithetical to everything this community stands for, especially given its rich history.”

Cohilas said he’s done his homework since winning the election. He’s attended as many commission meetings as he’s been able, met with county department heads, picked the brains of both Sinyard and County Administrator Richard Crowdis, reviewed the county’s budget, met with fellow commission members and completed training with the Academy of Economic Development and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. He’s also begun “preliminary conversations” with people whose influence is more “on the state level.”

“I want to work with the local school system, lend my support to a vital part of the community that impacts our overall well-being,” Cohilas said. “I believe the approach taken by Dr. (Dougherty School Superintendent Butch) Mosely, Dr. (Albany State University interim President Art) Dunning, Dr. (Darton State College President Paul) Jones and Dr. (Albany Technical College President Anthony) Parker is in everyone’s best interest.

“I believe Dougherty County has a lot of momentum right now. We have good leaders, and we are growing in a positive way. We have to continue to be creative, and all our stakeholders are going to be important in making strategic decisions that positively impact all of Albany and Dougherty County.”