Shortly after the April 29 special elections for the Cobb Board of Commissioners were certified on Tuesday, the newest member was sworn into office.
Erick Allen took the oath as the new commissioner in District 2, which formerly included some of East Cobb and now comprises much of Smyrna/Cumberland/Vinings and along the Interstate 75 corridor.
A former legislator and Cobb delegation chairman and former head of the Cobb County Democratic Central Committee, Allen succeeds Jerica Richardson, whose office was vacated in January, shortly after her term was expired.
Since then, the five-member board has operated with four members.
Special elections in District 2 and District 4 for the Cobb commission were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, but never received a vote.
First-term Democrat Monique Sheffield easily won re-election to District 4 in South Cobb as Democrats regained a 3-2 majority.
Allen will have a ceremonial swearing-in celebration on Monday, May 12 at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Cobb Civic Center at 6:39 p.m. The event is free and is open to the public.
His first meeting as a commissioner takes place the next day, Tuesday, May 13.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday he will not be making a U.S. Senate run next year.
Multiple news outlets reported that he has decided against challenging Jon Ossoff when Kemp’s second term ends in 2026.
Kemp, 61, who is term-limited, had been considered the top potential challenger to Ossoff, a first-term Democrat who ousted then-incumbent David Perdue in a 2021 runoff election.
Kemp’s decision likely will open the floodgates for Republican candidates and could have a major domino effect in 2026 mid-term elections, which include state as well as Congressional races.
A recent poll had Ossoff and Kemp in a dead heat, but the AJC reported that Kemp told the newspaper “that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family.”
He didn’t elaborate on the reasons, but the report said Kemp pledged to President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in the Senate that he will help GOP efforts to flip the seat from Democrats, who lost party control after the 2024 elections.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Georgia was seen a possible pick-up state, given Trump’s win in 2024. Ossoff has been considered among the more vulnerable Democrats in the mid-terms.
According to Axios, Republican Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Tim Scott personally lobbied Kemp to run.
Among those considered possible Republican candidates now are members of Georgia’s delegation to the U.S. House, including Rich McCormick and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who trailed Ossoff by double-digits in the above-linked poll.
The AJC said its poll showed that Kemp had a 60 percent approval rating in the middle of his second term as governor.
But Kemp has had differences with Trump, which has caused divisions in Georgia Republican ranks. When he ran for re-election in 2022, Kemp formed his own fundraising committee, and has declined to appear at Georgia Republican Party gatherings.
He drew Trump’s ire after the 2020 elections for not working to overturn presidential results in Georgia, which gave former President Joe Biden a 12,000-vote victory.
At the time, Georgia had two Republican senators who were locked in runoffs with first-time Democratic candidates. But both Perdue and Kelly Loeffler lost, to Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively, in January 2021, after Trump cast doubt on the integrity of Georgia’s elections system.
Kemp and Trump have buried the hatchet to some degree, and both former senators are now part of the Trump administration.
Loeffler is the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Perdue, who was trounced by Kemp in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary after being recruited by Trump, was recently confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. Ambassador to China.
Both Ossoff and Warnock voted against Perdue’s nomination.
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Erick Allen won a special election Tuesday to fill a vacant seat in District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, ensuring that Democrats once again will control the majority.
Erick Allen
He and incumbent District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield cruised to victory over Republican opponents, restoring a 3-2 majority that had been in limbo since January.
Allen, a former state representative from Smyrna and ex-head of the Cobb Democratic Central Committee, defeated Republican Alicia Adams with 58 percent of the vote.
Turnout was very light, both in early voting and in Tuesday’s balloting.
Allen received 5,403 votes to 3,820 for Adams (sumary here) in a race that included several precincts in the East Cobb area (precinct breakdown here).
Sheffield, who has served one term, defeated Republican Matthew Hardwick with 64 percent of the vote in a heavily Democratic district in South Cobb.
Democrats held the board majority from 2021 until January, when the District 2 seat formerly held by Democrat Jerica Richardson was declared vacant.
That followed more than 30 years of Republican majorities on the board, including in District 2, where Bob Ott retired in 2020 after three terms, and was succeeded by Richardson.
Democrats also hold a one-seat edge in the 22-member Cobb legislative delegation. Republicans maintained a 4-3 majority on the Cobb Board of Education in November after holding all three GOP seats on the ballot.
Special elections in District 2 and District 4 for the Cobb commission were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, but never received a vote.
Adams challenged the Democratic commissioners’ used of those electoral maps that led to her disqualification bu the Cobb Board of Elections for seeking the District 2 seat in 2024.
After the court rulings, Cobb commissioners voted to vacate the District 2 seat that had been held by Richardson, who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in redistricting.
Richardson and her two Democratic commissioner colleagues honored the Allen maps for more than two years in making a “home rule” challenge. But two Cobb judges ruled those maps were illegal because only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment.
In January, Richardson lost her final appeal to stay in office—although her term expired on Dec. 31—and the commission has been operating with four members since then. Sheffield has continued serving on the board, which had been deadlocked at 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans.
The elections of Allen and Sheffield must be certified the Cobb Board of Electi0ns, which is scheduled to meet May 5.
Allen finished third in the 2024 Democratic primary, won by former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard, that was later invalidated.
In the February special election primary, Allen defeated Howard in the Democratic runoff.
Allen will be the only male to serve on the board, which has been all-female since January 2021. And like the previous Democratic majority that included Richardson, the new majority will be all-black.
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Voters in a few East Cobb precincts will be going to the polls Tuesday in a special general election for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The candidates are Democrat Erick Allen and Republican Alicia Adams, and party control of the board is at stake.
Currently there are two Democrats and two Republicans on the commission, which also has been all-female since 2021.
Early voting in special elections in District 2 and District 4 ended Friday and turnout has been light, according to Cobb Elections, with fewer than 6,000 total votes cast in both races.
The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the District 2 precincts in the East Cobb area that are in District 2 are as follows:
Chattahoochee 01: The Paces Foundation, 2730 Cumberland Boulevard
East Piedmont 01: Shady Grove Baptist Church, 1654 Bells Ferry Road
Elizabeth 01: Cobb EMC, 1000 EMC Parkway
Elizabeth 02: Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2881 Canton Road
Elizabeth 4: Gracelife Church, 1083 Allgood Road
Marietta 6A: Kenyan American Community Church, 771 Elberta Drive
Marietta 6B: Mt. Paran Church of God North, 1700 Allgood Road
Powers Ferry 01: Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road
Sewell Mill 03: Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church, 945 Old Canton Road
(Please note: Not all voters in these precincts are in District 2. To check your status, visit the My Voter Page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.)
District 2 contains only small portions of the East Cobb area.
District 2 formerly included much of East Cobb when it was represented by Democrat Jerica Richardson from 2021 through earlier this year.
Special elections in District 2 and District 4 were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, of Smyrna, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, but never received a vote. Since leaving office, Allen has been the head of the Cobb Democratic Party.
Adams is a Republican activist who challenged the Democratic commissioners’ used of those electoral maps that led to her disqualification for seeking the District 2 seat in 2024.
After the court rulings, Cobb commissioners voted to vacate the District 2 seat that had been held by Richardson, who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in redistricting.
Richardson and her two Democratic commissioner colleagues honored the Allen maps for more than two years in making a “home rule” challenge. But two Cobb judges ruled those maps were illegal because only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment.
In January, Richardson lost her final appeal to stay in office—although her term expired on Dec. 31—and the commission has been operating with four members since then.
Also on Tuesday, in District 4, which covers most of South Cobb, first-term Democrat Monique Sheffield will face Republican Matthew Hardwick.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
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The 2025 Cobb County Legislative Delegation Forum is jointly sponsored by the Senior Citizens Council of Cobb County and Cobb County Senior Services, and is being held on Tuesday, April 22 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Senior Wellness Center, 1150 Powder Springs Street, Marietta, GA 30064.
This event is a rare opportunity for the Cobb senior community to hear important information and engage directly with their state legislators. Every Georgia house representative and senator serving a Cobb County district has been invited to participate. All persons who attend will leave the forum knowing more about which critical issues affecting seniors were addressed in the most recent legislative session at the Gold Dome.
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Mary Clarice Hathaway, an insurance business owner and political activist in the Kennesaw area, was elected at the party’s election in late March.
She succeeds chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs, who was term-limited, after defeating challengers Sophia Farooq and Dr. Fun Fong.
Hathaway’s immediate priority is campaigning for Alicia Adams, the Republican nominee in the April 29 special election for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Her larger task is revitalizing Republican politics countywide. After the 2024 elections, Democrats hold all countywide seats in Cobb County, from Commission Chairwoman down to State Court Clerk.
The GOP had dominated county government since the 1980s, but in 2020 the commission went from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democrat. Democrats also control the Cobb legislative delegation by one seat, while the GOP holds a 4-3 majority on the Cobb Board of Education.
Hathaway, who has six children and also is a grandmother of six, vowed to bring new energy across the county for Republican candidates.
“There are people whom I think if we had the right outreach and the right message, we could reach a lot of people who have previously been unreached,” she said at March candidate forum.
While Hathaway is new to Cobb GOP politics, said that “having a fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes to solve problems is an asset.
“My goal is not to come in and take over anything. My goal is to steer and guide an organization . . . to get Cobb County trending red again.”
While East Cobb and North Cobb remain Republican strongholds, Hathaway said she wants to cultivate grassroots support even in South Cobb, which is dominated by Democrats.
“I’m not afraid to go anywhere,” she said. “Give me a shot.”
She was elected with a slate of officers that include her oldest son.
Jeff Hathaway Jr., an East Cobb resident, was voted first vice chair of the Cobb GOP. He and his wife have three children who attend Mt. Bethel Elementary School.
Another East Cobb resident, Arielle Kurtz, was voted Cobb GOP secretary, and was involved in John Cristadoro’s recent election to the Cobb school board.
The treasurer is Scott Brandenberg and the assistant treasurer is Skyler Atkins of Smyrna, a national board member of Log Cabin Republicans, which represents gay and lesbian Republicans.
The Cobb GOP will have its first monthly breakfast with the new leadership Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the Taco Mac on 2650 Dallas Highway.
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Former State Rep. Erick Allen has defeated Jaha Howard in a Democratic runoff in a special election for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Allen will face Republican Alicia Adams in the April 29 general election for District 2, with the winner to succeed Jerica Richardson.
In the runoff, Allen received 1,958 votes to 1,494 for Howard, a former member of the Cobb Board of Education (56.7 percent to 43.2 percent), with only three percent turnout (full results here).
District 2 formerly included much of East Cobb, but now includes only several precincts in the East Cobb area.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, of Smyrna, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, but never received a vote. Since leaving office, Allen has been the head of the Cobb Democratic Party.
Howard, a dentist in Vinings, served on the Cobb school board from 2019-22. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Georgia Senate and for Georgia Superintendent of Schools.
After the court rulings, Cobb Commissioners voted to vacate the District 2 seat that had been held by Richardson, a Democrat, who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in redistricting.
Richardson and her two Democratic commissioner colleagues honored the Allen maps for more than two years in making a “home rule” challenge. But two Cobb judges ruled those maps were illegal because only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment.
In January, Richardson lost her final appeal to stay in office—although her term expired on Dec. 31—and the commission has been operating with four members since then.
In the other special election, first-term Democrat Monique Sheffield won her primary in February in District 4 in South Cobb, and will face Republican Matthew Hardwick in the April 29 general election.
Sheffield’s term also expired on Dec. 31, but she has been allowed to continue serving until the special elections are decided.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
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Democratic voters will decide on Tuesday their party’s nominee in a special election for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Early voting ended Friday in the runoff between former State Rep. Erick Allen and former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard, and turnout has been very light.
Only 1,469 votes were cast in early voting this week, according to Cobb Elections.
On Tuesday, voters will go to their assigned precincts to vote. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the precincts in the East Cobb area that are in District 2 are as follows:
Chattahoochee 01: The Paces Foundation, 2730 Cumberland Boulevard
East Piedmont 01: Shady Grove Baptist Church, 1654 Bells Ferry Road
Elizabeth 01: Cobb EMC, 1000 EMC Parkway
Elizabeth 02: Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2881 Canton Road
Elizabeth 4: Gracelife Church, 1083 Allgood Road
Marietta 6A: Kenyan American Community Church, 771 Elberta Drive
Marietta 6B: Mt. Paran Church of God North, 1700 Allgood Road
Powers Ferry 01: Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road
Sewell Mill 03: Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church, 945 Old Canton Road
(Please note: Not all voters in these precincts are in District 2. To check your status, visit the My Voter Page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.)
The runoff winner will face Republican Alicia Adams in the April 29 general election.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Those maps were drawn by Allen, of Smyrna, then the chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation but never received a vote. Since leaving office, Allen has been the head of the Cobb Democratic Party.
Howard, a dentist in Vinings, served on the Cobb school board from 2019-22. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Georgia Senate and for Georgia Superintendent of Schools.
After the court rulings, Cobb Commissioners voted to vacate the District 2 seat that had been held by Democrat Jerica Richardson, who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in redistricting.
In January Richardson lost her final appeal, and the commission has been operating with four members since then.
One of them, first-term Democrat Monique Sheffield, won her primary in February in the special election in District 4 in South Cobb, and will face Republican Matthew Hardwick in the April 29 general election.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
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U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, who represented a portion of East Cobb in the 6th Congressional District, announced Wednesday that she has filed paperwork to explore a run for governor of Georgia.
McBath, a Democrat from Marietta, represents a 6th District that includes part of South Cobb, Douglas County, southwest Atlanta and part of Fayette County.
She said in a release that “Georgians deserve a Governor who understands what’s at stake—because they’ve lived it. As a mom and breast cancer survivor, I’ve seen firsthand how regular people are too often left out of the political process. I look forward to continuing this conversation with my neighbors and fellow Georgians.”
An advocate of gun-control legislation, McBath is touting her work on legislation to lower insulin costs for seniors, and helping veterans in financial trouble.
Her release Wednesday didn’t indicate specific agenda should she decide to run for governor. Exploratory paperwork is only preliminary, and allows her to raise campaign funds. It is not a formal declaration of a candidacy.
McBath is the first Democrat to declare an interest in running for governor in 2026, when current Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s term expires.
He cannot run again, and may be eyeing a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat John Ossoff.
GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has raised $2 million in an anticipated run for governor.
McBath has been the subject of efforts by Georgia’s Republican legislative majority to be redrawn out of her Congressional seat.
She defeated Republican Karen Handel in 2018 on a theme of gun-control rights, then was drawn out of the 6th in 2021.
McBath moved to the Gwinnett-based 7th District and served a term there before the legislature was ordered to redraw Congressional districts for the 2022 election. That year, she won in the redrawn 6th.
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Advance voting for the District 2 Special Democratic Primary Runoff Election will be held March 3 – 7. On Election Day, March 11, voters must go to their assigned polling location.
The District 2 Democratic Primary contest will be held between candidates Erick Allen and Jaha V. Howard. District 2 Republican candidate Alicia Adams was unopposed. There will be no voting March 8 – 10.
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Two former public office holders will square off next month in the Democratic primary in special elections for the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Former State Rep. Erick Allen and former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard each received more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s special election in District 2, which includes a small portion of East Cobb (precinct-by-precinct results here).
They will be on the March 11 runoff ballot, since neither surpassed 50 percent of the vote.
Allen, who also was chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, received 1,669 votes, or 46 percent, to 1,568 votes for Howard, or 43 percent.
Tracy Stevenson, a retired general contractor, had 432 votes, or nearly 12 percent.
The runoff winner will face Republican Alicia Adams in the April 29 general election.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
Jaha Howard
District 2 was held until last week by Jerica Richardson, a first-term Democrat who was drawn out of her East Cobb home by the Georgia legislature during reapportionment in 2022.
She and her two fellow Democrats on the commission voted to honor electoral maps drawn by the Cobb legislative delegation, then headed by Allen, that would have kept her in office.
Those “home rule” maps never received a vote in the legislature, but they were also used by the Cobb Board of Elections for the primaries.
Howard defeated Whorton in a Democratic runoff. At the same time, Adams appealed her disqualification under the “home rule” maps and won her legal challenge, setting off another wave of court battles involving Richardson.
Her last-ditch appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals to stay in office was ignored last week, for now the commission has only four of its five members.
Richardson was not on the dais at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
In District 4 in South Cobb, Democratic incumbent Monique Sheffield easily won the primary, getting more than 72 percent of the vote in a race with attorney Yashica Marshall.
In the general election, Sheffield will face Republican Matthew Hardwick.
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Special elections for District 2 and District 4 for the Cobb Board of Commissioners will include a primary on Tuesday.
District 2 contains only small portions of the East Cobb area.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
District 2 includes a portion of the East Cobb area along Interstate 75 and the Powers Ferry Road corridor.
Precincts in East Cobb that are partly or all in District 2 include East Piedmont 01, Marietta 6B, Marietta 6A, Sewell Mill 03, Marietta 7A, Powers Ferry 01, Terrell Mill 01 and Chattahoochee 01.
If you live in one of those precincts and are unsure of your commission district, check the My Voter page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s office website.
Democratic candidates for District 2 include former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard, former State Rep. Erick Allen and Marietta resident Tracy Stevenson.
Another Democratic candidate, Taniesha Whorton, dropped out but her name is still on the ballot.
If a runoff is needed, it would be held on March 11.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Alicia Adams, the only Republican to qualify, in the April general election.
Early voting in the primaries took place last week, and Cobb Elections reported light turnout—around 3,300 votes in both races.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
District 2 was held until last week by Jerica Richardson, a first-term Democrat who was drawn out of her East Cobb home by the Georgia legislature during reapportionment in 2022.
She and her two fellow Democrats on the commission voted to honor electoral maps drawn by the Cobb legislative delegation, then headed by Allen, that would have kept her in office.
Those “home rule” maps never received a vote in the legislature, but they were also used by the Cobb Board of Elections for the primaries.
Howard defeated Whorton in a Democratic runoff. At the same time, Adams appealed her disqualification under the “home rule” maps and won her legal challenge, setting off another wave of court battles involving Richardson.
Her last-ditch appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals to stay in office was ignored last week, for now the commission has only four of its five members.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
The District 4 seat also is getting a do-over. First-term incumbent Monique Sheffield easily won the 2024 primary for the South Cobb seat, and Yashica Marshall once again is challenging her.
There are two Republicans on the ballot in that race, Matthew Hardwick and Julien Grhas.
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Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson is no longer in office after the Georgia Court of Appeals declined to hear her appeal.
Richardson, a one-term Democrat whose tenure representing District 2 expired at the end of 2024, is no longer a “de facto” commissioner, as she described herself in taking up the appeal last month.
A Cobb Superior Court judge ruled on Dec. 31 that Richardson could no longer serve, due to Cobb residency requirements.
Her district lines were changed in 2022 during reapportionment and drew her out of her East Cobb home, triggering a legal battle lasting more than two years.
On Wednesday, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid issued a statement saying that “I respect the decision of Georgia’s Court of Appeals and look forward to moving beyond the divisive issues of the past few years.
“Unfortunately, this process has temporarily left residents of one district without their commissioner on the board. However, our intent from the beginning has been to uphold the rights of our citizens and ensure that those they elect have the opportunity to serve.”
For the time being, the five-member commission is down to four members, and will likely stay that way until the end of April, at the conclusion of special elections for District 2 and District 4.
Updated, 10:30 pm:
Here’s what Richardson posted on social media Wednesday night:
I stand by my statement that it is unacceptable for 200,000 to go unrepresented and for our legislature to have the legal authority to systematically remove elected officials. For the last four years, this office has been under attack by the entire state infrastructure because change is scary for so many. Unfortunately, the unknown is exploited so that power can be transferred from the hands of many to the hands of few.
Early voting in those primaries began on Saturday. District 2 formerly included some of East Cobb, which is now mostly in District 3.
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said Wednesday there wouldn’t be an interim appointment to fill the District 2 seat, since the special elections fall outside a 180-day window for such action.
District 2 includes some areas of East Cobb near I-75, as well as most of the city of Marietta, Smyrna and the Cumberland-Vinings area.
The special elections were ordered by another Cobb judge following May 2024 primaries that followed “hone rule” maps approved by Cupid, Richardson and Monique Sheffield, the other Democratic commissioner, that differed from the legislative maps signed into law.
Court rulings rejected the “home rule” maps, since the Georgia Constitution requires that county redistricting be approved by the legislature.
District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, a Republican, said last month that “it’s time to put an end to ignoring the Constitution and the laws of this state and the county and go back to the real business of the county at hand.”
Richardson hasn’t commented on the appeals court’s decision not to hear her appeal. Her colleagues declared her seat vacant in December, but she had the right to appeal.
But when Richardson resumed her seat in January, she was adamant that it was important to fight a “precedent” in the legislature not honoring a local delegation redistricting map.
“This fight was never about me but about protecting American values,” she said.
Commissioners meet for their first business meeting without Richardson on Tuesday, with split 2-2 partisan lines.
More from Richardson’s statement:
“To my community: In many ways we won the minor battle- I was able to serve a complete term, although tumultuous, as a result of bold leadership and constant action from an empowered and educated community. I hope that the legacy of this office is to know if we take ownership of our government, we can accomplish so much and fight off some of the most terrible threats to our safety and stability. While there is much to be proud of, the warfront is bigger than the battle. This precedent is set, and our state delegation now has a legal, but undemocratic power. We must not cease in our fight to reinstate checks and balances. That is true from the top of our government all the way to the bottom. No one should be above the law, and everyone should be equally protected by the law. That is this nation’s moral high ground and we cannot lose it. I may be out of office, but I am not out of ideas, nor am I out of a community. We will continue to stand up for what is right and pull together to accomplish the impossible.
“As I have mentioned before, there is an election underway to choose my successor. A lot is at stake, and we need people in office who are going to go beyond the bare minimum. That means, as a voter, more than the bare minimum is required from you. Get to really know each of the candidates. Challenge them on the challenges we face today. Ask them how they are going to tackle all of facets of the job. This is your representation, and if the last few weeks have demonstrated anything — elections have consequences.
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In partnership with several nonpartisan organizations, Scout Troop 2700 and 312 will host a candidate forum for Cobb County’s District 2 Commissioner at the Atlanta Area Council offices. The event is free and open to the public.
The purpose of the forum is to give voters in Cobb County’s newly drawn District 2 an opportunity to hear and interact with candidates. The candidate forum will follow a nonpartisan, unbiased, and impartial format where candidates will receive questions from a moderator and answer written questions from the public.
Commissioner candidates:
Alicia Adams
Erick Allen
Dr. Jaha Howard
Tracy Stevenson
The forum is 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 1800 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta. Register for the forum by clicking here.
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“This fight was never about me but about protecting American values,” Commissioner Jerica Richardson said.
The day after filing a last-gap appeal to stay in office for a little while longer, Jerica Richardson took her familiar seat on the dais of the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
After a Cobb judge ruled on Dec. 31 that she must vacate her seat, the District 2 commissioner got a reprieve on Monday when she appealed that ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
That means that the ruling by Judge Ann Harris to vacate the seat is stayed during the appeal. The Georgia Court of Appeals has 30 days to decide whether to hear the appeal.
Richardson was appealing a decision by her colleagues last summer to vacate the seat after Harris ruled that she did not live within the boundaries of District 2 and therefore was ineligible.
On Tuesday, she cast votes from a short roster of agenda items and introduced a new assistant.
Richardson’s term expired on Dec. 31, as did the term of District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield. But special elections have been called after another court ruling invalidating 2024 primaries in those races after county-observed “home rule” electoral maps were ruled unconstitutional.
But a two-year drama over those maps, and who’s legally qualified to serve on the board now, continues.
At the board’s first meeting of the year Tuesday, all four district commissioners read from prepared statements.
Richardson, a Democrat who was drawn out of her East Cobb home in legislative maps passed in 2022, said she was continuing her legal battle because of “precedent”—Republican Cobb lawmakers pushing through maps not submitted by the county delegation—and for being reapportioned during the middle of her term.
The Georgia Constitution delegates county reapportionment only to the legislature. Cobb’s “home rule” claims to draw electoral maps, Harris ruled last fall, violated that Constitution.
Richardson labeled herself a “de facto commissioner” as the appeal continues, and with her successor to be determined by the end of April (She unsuccessfully ran for Congress last year).
“Some would say that’s unacceptable, to take this seat on the dais,” she said. “I would say that having 200,000 people not represented for nearly half the year is unacceptable. I would say that the right of the General Assembly to remove elected officials at any point in their term is unacceptable. I would say that overturning elections is unacceptable.”
She said that “this fight was never about me but about protecting American values.”
Richardson’s old District 2 included a portion of East Cobb. But most of East Cobb is now represented by District 3 Republican JoAnn Birrell.
While she still thinks it’s unfair that Richardson was redrawn out of her seat, Birrell said the court rulings have been clear that she’s no no longer eligible to serve.
“When will this stop? Enough is enough. Taxpayers should be furious of the time spent and the cost involved by the county in these actions.”
She said she didn’t it was right for Richardson to continue to serve past the end of her term and because the courts have ruled her to be ineligible.
“It’s time to put an end to ignoring the Constitution and the laws of this state and the county and go back to the real business of the county at hand.”
Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb said “Welcome of Cobb County’s J 6″—a reference to the January date in 2021 when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the Electoral College process.
Gambrill, whose initial lawsuit challenging the “home rule” maps was thrown out due to a lack of standing, objected to the Cobb County Attorney’s Office unilaterally concluding that one commissioner is “ruled de facto.”
“There are no laws that govern de facto status, those have only been awarded by judges based on legal challenges,” she said.
“Because of an unconstitutional home rule resolution, the chair of the Cobb Board of Commissioners is now extending the term of commissioners.”
Sheffield is a Democrat who won her primary in May and has qualified for the special election in District 4 in South Cobb.”
She said that during the two years of the home rule maps, commissioners made a number of important decisions, including the current fiscal year 2025 budget with improved salaries and benefits for public safety personnel.
“Were there any gaps in the efficiency of the county?” she said. “Were we able to move the county forward? For me that answer is yes.”
She disputed assertions that she was wrongfully occupying her seat past the end of her term, saying state allow allows for a continuation until a special election is decided.
“The role is temporary and tied to a proper transition,” in this case a special election meant to bridge a gap, Sheffield added.
Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, presiding over her first meeting since being re-elected in November, didn’t offer her thoughts, but said “the public was due an explanation as to why we are here the way we are today.”
You can watch all the comments on the issue on the video below, starting around the 20:00 mark.
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Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson said she is pursuing legal options after a Cobb judge this week declared her seat immediately vacant.
Superior Court Judge Ann Harris on Tuesday upheld the commission’s vote to declare a vacancy after the county lost a legal effort in court to keep her in office. You can read the ruling by clicking here.
“I will be reviewing the Court order to determine what, if any, other options are available in the attempt to continue to fight for Georgia’s Republic,” Richardson wrote in a social media posting shortly before her term expired on Tuesday.
She had filed an appeal to remain in office until her successor is chosen in a special election in April.
In a statement issued by the county, Cobb County Attorney William Rowling said “the Court’s well-reasoned decision affirmed the correctness of the County’s determination that the Office of BOC District 2 Commissioner is vacant, given that Commissioner Richardson does not reside within BOC District 2 under the currently applicable state legislative map.”
It’s unclear how the commission will be constituted when it holds its first meeting on Jan. 14. An interim replacement for Richardson could be appointed through the special election.
The term of District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield also expired on Tuesday. Special elections for District 2 and District 4 will culminate in April.
County ordinance requires that commissioners reside in the district they represent.
Richardson, a Democrat elected to the District 2 post in 2020, moved to a home in East Cobb that was later drawn into District 3 during reapportionment.
She and the board’s other two Democrats tried to claim home rule powers in 2022 to draw commission electoral maps after balking at the Georgia legislature’s maps.
Her District 2 initially included some of East Cobb, but the redrawn maps placed most of East Cobb in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell.
For more than two years, commissioners used the “home rule” maps to conduct county business, and the Cobb Elections Board used those maps in the May primaries.
Along the way, Richardson reiterated what she said was an “unprecedented” action to force her from office. As the dispute lingered, she decided to run for the 6th Congressional District, but was routed by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the Democratic primary.
And court rulings later reaffirmed that only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment in Georgia.
The May primary elections in District 2 and District 4 were thrown out by a Cobb judge, who ordered the special elections.
Here’s more of what Richardson posted on Tuesday:
“It is now precedent that the General Assembly has the blanket permission to remove a sitting elected official, at any time, and for any reason.
“While the General Assembly should not work to unilaterally overturn elections, they clearly and legally have the ability to, in accordance with this ruling. The future of elected representation is at stake in this state. Not only does the ruling reaffirm this undemocratic power, it also renders the purpose and authority of local state delegations powerless, local law unnecessary, and local calendars a voluntary exercise. A state representative in one area can override a whole group of state representatives in a completely different part of the State with impunity.
“Then, to know that the cosponsor of this bill felt it was inconsequential to remove me because I was ‘young and urban and should move to the Southside’ to ‘protect his community’ and make sure that the ‘representation matched’ bodes an unstable future for this State and is indicative of the fear that has permeated our communities
“Trust and believe that my vacancy is but a canary in the coal mine for what is to come. We have already seen other legislative bills chip away at the essence of the delicate checks and balances that have made our Country great. It is a slippery slope that we find ourselves on, and the fact that I am being removed from office this much later than originally thought is only because those in opposition struggled to file a legitimate legal challenge against the County for over a year.
“The County fought hard to prevent this precedent and stop a government branch from encroaching on local control. As an institutionalist, I am quite proud of the County’s legal work in defending a Constitutional procedure put in place to specifically protect the checks and balances between the State and the County, and the diligence of the community along the way.”
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Three candidates who ran in the Cobb Commission District 2 election in May that was later invalidated in court have qualified to run in a special election for the same seat in February.
They include former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard, who won that primary, as well as former State Rep. Erick Allen and Taniesha Whorton, who lost to Howard in a runoff.
All three qualified this week for the special election in the Democratic primary to culminate on Feb. 11.
A fourth Democrat also has qualified.
Tracy Stevenson, who lives in the East Cobb area and has been a frequent critic of the current commission’s Democratic majority, announced his candidacy on Friday,
A retired general contractor now residing in the city of Marietta, Stevenson said he will be stressing “fiscal responsibility and transparency” in his campaign, and pointed to the Cobb government budget as a pressing concern.
“Our Cobb county General budget has risen almost 30% in the last 3 budget cycles and that is unsustainable.”
He also opposed the Cobb transit tax referendum that was defeated in November.
Friday was the last day for qualifying.
District 2 contains only small portions of the East Cobb area.
Special elections for District 2 and District 4 were ordered in July by a Cobb Superior Court judge who threw out the May primaries. Judge Kellie Hill said the electoral maps used in those elections violated the Georgia Constitution because they were not approved by the legislature.
The commission’s Democrats approved maps under “home rule” auspices that retained some of District 2 in the East Cobb area in a ploy to keep Commissioner Jerica Richardson in her seat.
The Cobb Board of Elections used those maps for the primaries, but Hill said only the legislature can conduct redistricting.
Hill made the ruling after Alicia Adams filed a complaint for being disqualified for the District 2 race by the elections board, saying she didn’t live within its boundaries.
Adams is the only Republican to qualify for the special election in District 2, which contains small portions of the East Cobb area, mainly around Marietta city limits and the parts of the Powers Ferry Road area.
Richardson, who lives off Post Oak Tritt Road, ran unsuccessfully for the 6th Congressional District seat but continues to serve on the commission.
Her colleagues voted in September to vacate the District 2 seat, and Richardson is appealing that decision in Cobb Superior Court.
Most of East Cobb is in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell, whose term expires in 2026.
In District 4 in South Cobb, Democratic commissioner Monique Sheffield qualified, as did Yashica Mitchell, who also ran in the 2024 primary that Sheffield won handily.
Two Republicans have qualified, Julien Grhas and Matthew Hardwick.
Both District 2 and District 4 are considered Democratic-friendly seats. Democrats have a 3-2 majority.
The general election for both commission seats is in April.
It’s unclear whether Richardson and Sheffield will be able to continue serving after their terms expire on Dec. 31.
Richardson’s appeal was heard in Cobb Superior Court Friday but no ruling was issued.
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The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration voted on Tuesday to schedule special elections for two seats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners in early 2025.
District 2 no longer includes areas of East Cobb that took part in a 2024 primary election later invalidated in court.
The primary election for District 2 and District 4 will be held on Feb. 11, and the general election will take place on April 29.
If runoffs are necessary, they would take place on March 11.
Qualifying for both seats takes place from Dec. 18-20.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge in July after she struck down electoral maps that the commission’s Democratic majority approved in 2022, claiming home rule redistricting powers.
Those maps had part of East Cobb in District 2. But the ruling declared that only the Georgia legislature can conduct county reapportionment and that the “home rule” maps were unconstitutional.
District 2 Democratic commissioner Jerica Richardson, who had been redrawn out of her East Cobb home by the legislature, ran unsuccessfully for Congress this spring.
Primary elections were held in May under those maps, but Judge Kellie Hill ordered a do-over in both.
Hill’s ruling was based on an appeal by a Republican candidate, Alicia Adams, who had been disqualified.
Adams’ qualification was challenged by Mindy Seger, an East Cobb Democratic activist and Richardson ally, who claimed Adams didn’t live in District 2 under the home rule maps.
The Cobb elections board agreed and voted to disqualify Adams, but she prevailed in Cobb Superior Court.
Previous legal efforts to void the home rule maps failed in the Georgia Supreme Court, which claimed that the plaintiffs didn’t have standing.
Former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard won the Democratic primary for District 2, and East Cobb resident Pam Reardon qualified under the home rule maps.
But under the legislative maps, she lives in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell, whose term expires in 2026.
The only East Cobb-area precincts still included in District 2 are Terrell Mill 1, Powers Ferry 1, portions of Sewell Mill 1, Sewell Mill 3, Elizaebeth 2, Elizabeth 3, Elizabeth 4 and East Piedmont 1.
Democratic District 4 commissioner Monique Sheffield easily won her primary. The District 1 seat, held by Republican Keli Gambrill, also expires in 2026.
It’s unclear whether Richardson and Sheffield will be able to continue serving after their terms expire on Dec. 31.
Commissioners voted in September to vacate the District 2 seat, and Richardson is appealing that decision in Cobb Superior Court.
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But Democrat Kamala Harris, who won Cobb County, was competitive in a number of precincts in what has been a traditional GOP stronghold.
In Cobb, Harris received 227,640 votes, or 56.8 percent (results here), the third consecutive Democratic candidate to win the county, as metro Atlanta continues to be a state battleground.
But after losing a disputed state election in 2020, Trump reclaimed Georgia on Tuesday en route to his return to the White House.
Trump’s 2,660,936 votes in Georgia were good for 50.75 percent, while Harris 2,543,929 votes, or 48.51 percent (results here).
He won all of the seven national battleground states—including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada—to collect 312 electoral votes.
That’s the most for a Republican presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
As Cobb has turned Democratic in general (there are no Republican elected countywide officials any longer), parts of East Cobb have followed that trend.
Trump won 29 precincts in the East Cobb area to 18 for Harris, but many of them were close.
Trump won the Dickerson 1 precinct with only 50.5 percent of the vote, and by similar slim margins in both Eastside precincts.
In Fullers Park 1, Trump got more votes but only 49.98 percent, compared to 48.25 percent for Harris.
A similar result occurred in Timber Ridge 1, with Trump collecting 49.9 percent and Harris 49.19.
Trump just got 50 percent of the votes in both of the Roswell precincts.
Harris won the Mt. Bethel 3 precinct with exactly 50 percent of the vote, and she took two of the three Sope Creek precincts.
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Incumbent federal and state lawmakers with East Cobb constituencies easily won re-election on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk
In Congress, Republcian U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk of the 11th District cruised to his sixth term in office, defeating Democrat Katy Stamper with nearly 68 percent of the vote (full results here).
Some Democrats urged their supporters to write in another candidate, saying that Stamper had a history of supporting and voting for Republicans.
But the 11th District, which was redrawn after the 2020 Census to include most of East Cobb, is heavily Republican, and includes Loudermilk’s home base of Bartow County, as well as Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties.
In East Cobb, Loudermilk’s margin was smaller, at 54 percent (results here), and Stamper won the Blackwell 1, Elizabeth 1, Elizabeth 4, East Piedmont 1, Sewell Mill 3 and Terrell Mill 1 precincts.
Georgia’s Congressional delegation includes nine Republicans and five Democrats, and the GOP will retain the majority in the Housey. Final results are pending, but Republicans currently have a 213-200 lead.
Republicans also will continue to control both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly after Tuesday’s elections.
In the Senate, all three members with East Cobb constituencies were returned to office. Republican Kay Kirkpatrick of District 32 and Democrat Doc Rhett of District 33 were unopposed.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper
In District 56, which includes Northeast Cobb, Republican incumbent John Albers got 61 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat JD Jordan (results here) to continue serving in a seat he has held since 2011. The district includes north Fulton and parts of Cherokee.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper of East Cobb, a Republican and a senior House leader, won District 45 with 57 percent of the vote over Democrat Eric Castater (full results here).
GOP member John Carson of District 46 also prevailed over Democrat Micheal Garza (full results here), while in District 44, veteran Republican lawmaker Don Parsons was re-elected with 53 percent of the vote over Democrat Danielle Bell (full results here).
Democratic Rep. Mary Frances Williams will serve another term in District 37 after downing Republican Shea Taylor with 55 percent of the vote (full results here). First-term Democratic Rep. Solomon Adesanya was unopposed in District 43.
The Cobb legislative delegation will continue to be in Democratic control.
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