Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas to seek third term in office

ALBANY — There’s an adage that rings all too true for politicians and politics: Don’t tell me what you’re going to do, tell me what you’ve done for me lately.

As he announced his plans to run for a third term as chairman of the Dougherty County Commission, Chris Cohilas was all too glad to do a little bit of both. He has a plan, a vision, for the future of the county, he said during a candid conversation. But he’ll go toe-to-toe with anyone over the question of recent accomplishments and his eight years of service on behalf of southwest Georgia’s largest community.

“I had no idea what it would be like to be tested under the circumstances we’ve faced as a community over my eight years in office; we’ve been through so much,” Cohilas, an attorney with the Albany-based Watson Spence firm, said. “But it became clear as we worked to overcome the hardship of four presidentially declared disasters — tornados, storms, straight-line winds, a hurricane, a recession, a pandemic — that we were all, from the poorest poor to the most comfortable, beaten up over these emergencies.

“For some reason, though, we never had anyone who’d ask for the things we needed, the things that other communities were getting. We were just told, ‘You don’t meet the formula.’ I knew that wasn’t true, so I thought it important that we tell our story, that we bring officials here to witness what we were going through. What that did, what getting in a car and driving to Atlanta to talk to folks in state government or flying to Washington to talk to federal leaders, is it positioned us for a seat at the table.”

That seat, that foot in the door, Cohilas said, eventually led to millions of dollars in state and federal recovery funds pouring into the community, providing an opportunity to rebuild and, in some cases, provide unprecedented relief to some of the state’s poorest citizens.

“It took a lot to get folks to come down and see what was happening in our community; it took getting out and advocating on behalf of these people who had no food, no electricity, no access,” the commission chairman said. “Now, though, those funds are here, and we have an opportunity to make this community special again.

“And I’ll be honest with you: One of the reasons I’m running for another four years in office is that, now that we have an opportunity to maybe catch our breath without some disaster staring us in the face, I want to see Albany and Dougherty County become all they can be with the money we fought so hard for.”

Cohilas, who once was chief assistant district attorney for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit, has never been much of one for self-promotion. But his resume is an impressive one. Among the highlights:

♦ Young Lawyers Ethics and Professionalism award, State Bar of Georgia;

♦ Founding member of the Lily Pad SANE Center, an Albany-based child advocacy and rape crisis center that provides services to physically- and sexually-abused women and children;

♦ Named to Southwest Georgia 40 under 40;

♦ Chairperson of the Martin Luther King Day Celebration Committee;

♦ Recipient of the Martin Luther King Day “Dream Award” for community service;

♦ Past president and chairperson of the Artesian City Sertoma Club;

♦ Graduate of Leadership Georgia;

♦ Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal to serve as a member of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, which ensures that poor/indigent criminal defendants have adequate and competent legal representation;

♦ Elected chairman of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council;

♦ Received the Justice Robert Benham Award from the State of Georgia Supreme Court in recognition of support of the Albany-Dougherty community through natural disasters;

♦ Led the team that brokered the deal to bring Georgia Pacific Plant to Dougherty County, which received the “Deal of the Year Award” from Gov. Deal;

♦ Helped bring solar farm, biomass plant to Dougherty County.

“I like to think it’s an honor and it’s certainly humbling to be recognized, but what means more to me is being stopped in the grocery store — and I mean at any grocery store in any part of town — and being told thank you by one of our citizens,” Cohilas said. “That’s what really makes me feel connected.”

The commission chairman said his blue-collar upbringing, led by a Greek grandfather who fled Nazi occupation with his family and a firefighter/carpenter father who taught him early the importance of strengthening the whole self, mind and body, influenced greatly the man he’s become.

“One of the things I’ve taken from my upbringing is that you have to embrace the whole community, not try to build by slapping up a building and putting together a slick marketing campaign,” he said. “I have the kind of foundation that I think we need in our community, and that’s important in every corner of the community. Fortunately, I’ve worked as an attorney for clients who are among the poorest of the poor. I’d say 99.9% of the victims I’ve represented are minorities, many of whom are among the poorest of the poor.

“But I feel that I can walk into a room and have a conversation with the janitor or the president of the business.”

Cohilas said he and his fellow elected board members on the County Commission have developed a strong rapport that’s allowed them to work toward what’s best for their constituents.

“I think we’ve done some good work on the citizens’ behalf,” he said. “We don’t always agree, but we’ve found the ability to disagree collegially and professionally. I’m proud of the fact that about 97% of our votes are unanimous. That’s a sign of building consensus among the board members.”

As he prepares for a re-election campaign, Cohilas said he’s heard no rumblings of possible opponents. But that, he says, is not a concern.

“Certainly, any citizen has the right to qualify and run, and if that’s the case so be it,” he said. “Honestly, if someone came along that I thought could do a better job, I’d gladly step aside. To do this job right, though, takes a lot. Not many people are aware, but while we were fighting so hard in 2017 to get help from FEMA and other agencies, I ended up not practicing law for six or seven months.

“I also think it’s a mistake for anyone to run for this or any office for the wrong reasons. It’s certainly not for the money. And, you know me well enough to know I’m not scared of competition. I don’t mind saying, I’m running for this office again to win. And I want to be a part of building Albany and Dougherty County back bigger, stronger and better than ever.”

File Photo: Carlton FletcherStaff Photo: Carlton Fletcher