C. Jack Ellis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
C. Jack Ellis
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Ellis in 2002
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| Mayor of Macon, Georgia | |
| In office December 14, 1999 – December 12, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Robert Reichert |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 6, 1946 Macon, Georgia |
| Political party | Democratic |
C. Jack Ellis (born January 6, 1946) is a politician and the former mayor of Macon, Georgia.
Early life and career
Prior to taking office, Ellis served 20 years in the United States Army as a paratrooper, then served two years in Vietnam as a combat soldier. Upon retirement from the U.S. Army, Ellis managed a used car business, served as an executive for the United States Census Bureau, and hosted a public access television 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, and was elected as the city's first African-American mayor in the mayoral general election.
After his first term, he was re-elected in 2003 after defeating several challengers in the Democratic primary and write-in opposition in the general election.
2011 campaign
On April 16, 2011, Ellis officially began a third campaign for mayor of Macon against incumbent mayor Robert Reichert. In the July 19 Democratic primary, 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 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.
Religious views
Early in 2007, Ellis announced that he had become a Sunni Muslim during a ceremony in Senegal, and was seeking to change his legal name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. During a forum in the 2011 campaign, Ellis refused to comment on this topic, except to say that he was a member of Unionville Missionary Baptist Church.
