East Cobb school board post draws another GOP candidate

Another Republican challenger has emerged as a candidate for the Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education.

Shelley O’Malley, a Delta Air Lines pilot and U.S. Navy veteran, filed paperwork on Dec. 26 with the Georgia Government and Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission declaring her intent to accept campaign contributions.

She is seeking the seat currently held by third-term GOP incumbent David Banks. Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter attendance zones.

O’Malley has been involved as a parent in the Rocky Mount Elementary School, Simpson Middle School and Lassiter High School communities.

Banks has not formally declared whether he’s seeking re-election.

Matt Harper, an IT manager and former Murdock Elementary School teacher, has announced his candidacy as a Republican, as has attorney Rob Madayag, who’s been critical of how the Cobb County School District handles bullying issues.

O’Malley’s community service work includes serving as a vice president of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, which formed in 2015 to build a memorial to honor veterans in the county.

Her husband Brian is also a Navy veteran and they have three children: Shannon, a former swim captain at the University of Georgia, Lauren, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and Luke, a freshman at Lassiter.

O’Malley is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where she was the captain of the varsity basketball team and was president of the tennis club while earning a mechanical engineering degree.

She also has volunteered with the Stringrays Swim Team and is a church school co-teacher at Transfiguration Catholic Church.

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