For the second time in three months, the Fulton County Board of Elections is losing its chairperson.
Cathy Woolard is stepping down as board chair effective July 25. Although she held the role from September 2021 to May 2023, this time she only served through one primary and one runoff election following the resignation of Patrise Perkins-Hooker.
According to the county, Woolard has not yet provided a formal resignation letter. But she did send a letter to Fulton Commission Chair Robb Pitts on July 3, stating her intention.
“I took on this role in an interim capacity to ensure smooth execution of the Georgia Primary and Primary Run-Off elections, but it is time to let someone who can serve through the fall elections take the reins,” Woolard wrote. Those elections were held May 21 and June 18, respectively.
“In order to ensure a smooth transition, I submit my resignation effective July 25, a date that is two weeks after our next meeting on July 11,” she wrote. “We have a full agenda on that date and I’d like to remain in place to manage the business at hand and then have time to ensure the person you select next has a proper orientation and is ready for the task ahead.”
The Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections is scheduled to hold a regular meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday, at which Woolard may make a statement. Fulton Commissioner Dana Barrett said she’s disappointed and frustrated that Woolard stepped down so soon.
Barrett said Woolard had indicated she would only serve in an interim capacity, but Barrett hoped Woolard would stay on through the Nov. 5 general election.
Barrett said Pitts didn’t tell other commissioners about Woolard’s letter for two days, well past the deadline to put a new nominee on the commission’s regular agenda for July 10, its only meeting this month.
“It may or may not happen, but I have reason to believe the chairman will bring a nomination as an emergency item tomorrow,” Barrett said Tuesday.
But that would put commissioners in an awkward spot, and Barrett wasn’t sure how she’d vote: while chairing the elections board is a vital job, the county needs time to find the right candidate and vet them publicly, she said.
Pitts’ office says there will be a new nominee soon, but that it may not come until the Aug. 7 commission meeting.
Georgia’s election officials are focused on Fulton County ahead of this year’s presidential race.
The State Election Board on Tuesday was considering a new review of Fulton’s handling of the 2020 election, and it planned to consider appointing monitors to watch the county’s management of this year’s election.
Barrett said commissioners do have several good options for the position of election board chair, and that election administration is in good staff hands.
“The Department of Registration & Elections leadership is strong, they are doing a good job, and I have full faith and confidence they will do a good job through the general (election),” Barrett said.
The Democratic and Republican parties each nominate two members to the five-member elections board, but the chair’s nomination and selection is in the hands of county commissioners.
Pitts nominated Woolard for the seat, saying she had agreed to serve as interim chair; and Barrett then also nominated Woolard to serve out the rest of Perkins-Hooker’s term, which expires June 30, 2025.
Commissioners confirmed Woolard April 17 to replace Perkins-Hooker, who resigned to serve as interim city attorney for Atlanta.
County commissioners had questioned whether Perkins-Hooker’s service as city attorney would appear to create a conflict of interest in her county position, since city and county are occasionally at odds.
AJC reporter Mark Niesse contributed to this story.
