By Eric Curl
March 11, 2026 — During a special called meeting Tuesday, the Chatham County Commission appointed Shirley Sessions of Tybee Island to temporarily fill the District 4 Commissioner seat previously held by Patrick Farrell.
Sessions was officially sworn in following the commission’s vote. In accepting the position, Sessions said it was her honor to serve the district and work with the commission, noting her respect for the challenging nature of public service. Sessions previously served on Tybee Island’s city council and later as the city’s mayor.
“The time that I’m here, I will do my very best for Chatham County and certainly for district four,” Sessions said.
Commissioner Dean Kicklighter praised the appointment, highlighting Sessions’ experience and previous service on Tybee. Kicklighter said that Sessions is well-suited for the temporary role because she is experienced, independent, and does not plan to seek the seat permanently, ensuring no political advantage is gained by any party.
“I didn’t even know her name was submitted until this morning, but I feel like she is really the perfect kind of person to fill this seat,” he said.
The commission also approved holding a special election to fill Farrell’s unexpired term, scheduled for May 19. Candidate qualifying will run from March 18-20.
Farrell’s seat was vacated last week when the longtime commissioner qualified to run for Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, which is currently held by Earl “Buddy” Carter. Carter is running for the US Senate.
Farrell said Saturday that he did not “resign” as a county press release stated and he would prefer to continue serving on the commission during his campaign. However, under the Georgia Constitution, the office of any county elected official “shall be declared vacant” when the official qualifies for another office whose term would begin more than 30 days before the end of the current term. Because Farrell’s county commission term runs nearly three more years and the next congressional term would begin in January 2027, the constitutional provision automatically vacates his seat.
Farrell acknowledged that possibility Saturday and said he would discuss the matter with the county attorney prior to Tuesday’s special called meeting.
“If the Constitution says it’s vacated and I don’t have a choice, then I’ve chosen on my own free will to qualify for the U.S. Congress seat,” he said. “So, if that triggers some mechanism that vacates my seat, then so be it.”
Following Tuesday’s vote, Farrell said in an interview on Wednesday morning that he always understood that qualifying for Congress would likely trigger the constitutional rule. When asked about his comments on Saturday, he stated he was referring at the time to the question of his “resignation”.
“You asked the question, did I resign? And the answer is no,” Farrell said. “I didn’t resign. My seat got vacated.”
Farrell said he reviewed the law himself before qualifying but was never formally notified that his seat had been vacated.
“My research indicated that if you take this action, then the other action automatically happens,” he said. “But nobody officially notified me.”
Farrell said he received confirmation on Monday from County Attorney Jon Hart that his seat had been vacated.
With regard to Sessions’ appointment, Farrell said the choice was entirely up to the commission.
“I’ve worked with Shirley in the past when she was mayor, and she’s a nice person,” he said.
First elected in 2004 and sworn in the following year, Farrell was serving his sixth consecutive term representing the county’s 4th district.
The district covers much of the eastern and coastal portions of the county, including the barrier-island communities such as Wilmington Island and Tybee Island along with surrounding coastal and unincorporated areas near Savannah.
After such a long time with the commission, Farrell said he is now looking forward.
“I’ll continue to represent the 4th District in Chatham County, along with 14 other counties, once I complete the election process and get sworn into Congress next January,” he said.
Farrell will first have to outrun some competition eyeing that same Congressional seat. Fourteen candidates qualified for the open seat in Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, including six Republicans and eight Democrats. The May 19 primary will determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for the seat. The general election is Nov. 3.
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