The Athens-Clarke County Commission appointed Judd Drake as the new interim ACC Manager on Tuesday, replacing Brad Griffin. The manager is the chief executive officer in the ACC government and is responsible for hiring and managing high-level staff, including the heads of each government department.
Drake, who has served as ACC Attorney since 2019, will continue in this role after the mayor and commission hire a permanent manager. ACC Deputy Chief Attorney John Hawkins will serve as the interim ACC Attorney while the national search for a new manager continues.
Drake has some experience as a county manager, having served as the interim manager of Macon-Bibb county at one point.
Drake is the third interim manager since the resignation of ACC Manager Blaine Williams in July of last year. ACC Assistant Manager Niki Jones was the first replacement for Williams. Jones served for about six months before he also announced his resignation. Jones was replaced by Griffin, the former ACC Planning Director, who came out of retirement to lead the ACC government and draft the fiscal year 2026 budget.
After five months of work, Griffin has exhausted the allowable time he could serve as a temporary employee, given that he had already retired from his former position in the ACC government. That made it essential to find an immediate replacement, leading to Drake’s selection.
Drake assumed his new responsibilities the day after being selected, on June 4 at 8 am.
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2 thoughts on “Judd Drake appointed as third interim ACC Manager since Blaine Williams’ departure”
R we paying enough for this job position?
Yes, the manager is well-paid, that’s not the issue. Although, given everything they have to deal with, I feel bad for the next manager. I’m not sure any amount of money would be enough.