At a special called meeting on March 10, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners appointed Shirley Sessions to fill the District 4 post previously held by former Commissioner Patrick K. Farrell. 

Sessions was appointed to the seat with a unanimous vote, where she will serve until a replacement for District 4 is elected. The seat was vacated by Commissioner Farrell last week after he qualified to run for Georgia's First Congressional District. 

Commissioners also instructed the Chatham County Board of Elections to begin preparations for a special election to be held alongside the May 19 primary, where District 4 residents will elect a new representative. 

After being sworn in, Commissioner Sessions made her first comments from her District 4 seat, highlighting the respect she holds for the position, the commissioners, and for county staff.  

"I just wanted to say, what an honor and a piviledge to have this opportunity to not only serve District 4, but more importantly, work together with a team of professionals that I've had the opportunity to know over the years, and I do enjoy keeping up with what's going on with that cable channel, so I'm aware of some of the things that are going on," Sessions said. "I have the most respect for this position, for the Chairman and for each of the Commissioners. Public service is not always fun and games. It can be very challenging; it can be very tough, but I think people who are willing to put themselves out there and take on that challenge, I salute. For the time I'm here, I will do my very best for Chatham County in serving District 4."

Sessions was the first woman elected to serve as the mayor of Tybee Island in 2019, where she served through 2023. Before that, she served on the Tybee Planning Commission, held a city council seat for four terms, serving as mayor pro-tem for two of those terms.