Kelly Darryl Girtz (born November 12, 1971) is an American educator and politician currently serving as mayor of the unified government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, having succeeded Nancy Denson in January 2019.

Before he was sworn in as mayor, Girtz maintained a long career as a teacher and school administrator in Northeast Georgia.

On May 22, 2018, he defeated fellow commissioner Harry Sims and local businessman Richie Knight, earning over 60 percent of the vote, to become mayor-elect.

[3] During the 2020 COV-ID 19 pandemic in the United States, Girtz urged Athens residents to continue sheltering in place, opposing Governor Brian Kemp's April 20 announcement that non-essential Georgia businesses, like gyms and hair salons, could re-open that week.

The demand came after local law enforcement teargassed protesters at a March for a World Without Cops demonstration in front of the University of Georgia Arch on the night of May 31.