East Cobb Politics & Elections Archives

Cobb GOP cancels event on anniversary of U.S. Capitol attack

January 5, 2022 3:14 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb GOP cancels Jan. 6 event — *The flyer for the original event, which included a welcome from Cobb GOP chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs.*

The Cobb Republican Party has cancelled a candlelight prayer vigil scheduled at its Marietta headquarters for Thursday.

That’s the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump as members of Congress were certifying results of the 2020 presidential election.

In a brief statement, the Cobb GOP said it was calling off the vigil, which was to have included a livestream of a press conference held by Trump, “due to the mischaracterization of the event . . . “and the ensuing concerns of safety of those in attendance.”

Earlier this week press reports revealed that the Cobb GOP had scheduled a “Celebrate Freedom” event to start at 5 p.m. Thursday at its Roswell Street offices that included a prayer vigil to commemorate the Jan. 6 events.

Trump also has cancelled his press conference.

A woman protestor was shot and killed during the siege, and four others, all police officers responding to the rampage, later died, including some by suicide.

More than 700 people have been charged for participating in the attack, including more than a dozen from Georgia.

The Cobb GOP statement Wednesday also said those who were planning to attend the Thursday event were “encouraged to pray for those families who suffered the loss of a loved one, along with the pre-trial prisoners held in DC prisons in inhumane conditions in thoughtful prayer.”

The party also took down a social media posting on Tuesday from chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs, who said the intent of the event was to “acknowledge the Americans who lost their lives and to pray for those who have been denied justice.”

They were, she said in reference to those arrested for the attacks, being denied their Constitutional rights as criminal defendants.

“To those who have cast quick judgement concerning this event, under no uncertain terms are we condoning any form of violence nor the glorification of what happened at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”

Her message concluded by saying that “it is unfortunate that so many have issues with prayer. Everyone should be concerned when our Constitutional rights are being abused.”

Former Cobb GOP chairman Jason Shepherd was critical of the event, saying it was sending the “wrong message” as the party is struggling to believe in certain “core values” and “principles” or “are we simply following one person?”

In a social media posting, State Rep. Teri Anulewicz, a Cobb Democrat, referred to the Cobb GOP event as an “homage to treason.”

The Cobb COP statement Wednesday ended by saying that “it is our fervent hope that all those who committed unlawful acts against our Nation’s Capital are brought to swift justice.”

The vigil was to have taken place several hours after a memorial service to late former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson in Atlanta.

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Memorial service for former U.S. Sen. Isakson to be livestreamed

January 4, 2022 5:41 PMJanuary 4, 2022 1:28 PM by Wendy Parker

On Thursday the late former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson will be honored at a memorial service in Atlanta. Isakson blisters Trump

That service, scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at Peachtree United Methodist Church (3180 Peachtree Road NE) can be seen online via the Vimeo streaming platform by clicking here.

Isakson, 76, the longtime East Cobb resident who served a total of 45 years combined in the Georgia legislature and U.S. Congress, died Dec. 19 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease (official obituary here).

This week his former official social media accounts have been posting news about the service, as well as links to speeches.

After his retirement at the end of 2019, Isakson started the Isakson Initiative, a non-profit that conducts research into and raises awareness for neurocognitive diseases including: Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and related dementia.

The Isakson family is asking that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Isakson Initiative by clicking here.

Those planning to attend the memorial service in person are asked to have been vaccinated for COVID-19 and to wear masks.

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Memorial service for former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced

December 25, 2021 2:40 PMDecember 24, 2021 12:10 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Board of Commissioners recognizes retired Sen. Isakson — *Cobb commissioners honoring Johnny Isakson in Jan. 2020, shortly after his retirement.*

A memorial service for former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson will be held on Jan. 6, his family announced Friday.

Isakson, a Republican from East Cobb who served 45 years in the Georgia legislature and in Congress, died Sunday at the age of 76 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

The memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 6 at Peachtree United Methodist Church (3180 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta).

Those planning to attend are asked to have been vaccinated for COVID-19 and to wear masks.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Isakson Initiative, a non-profit started by Isakson after his retirement to conduct research into and raise awareness for neurocognitive diseases including: Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and related dementia.

Since his passing, many national, state and local officials have paid tribute to Isakson, whose legislative hallmarks were for veterans services and education and a commitment to bipartisanship.

In her weekly newsletter, Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell noted that the Johnson Ferry Road bridge over the Chattahoochee River connecting Cobb with Sandy Springs was named after Isakson in December 2016.

“Sen. Isakson has always been a friend to Cobb County,” Birrell said. “He has been a fine example of a true leader and patriot. We can’t thank him enough for his wisdom, advice and service to the county, state and nation.”

Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson said that “during his time in the political sphere, Isakson worked to reach across party lines and saw people as ‘friends and future friends,’ ” she said.

“Although we may have lost an important public servant, his impact on the lives of Georgians will forever be in our hearts.”

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid issued a statement saying that “I appreciate his insight, his candor and encouragement of me as a community advocate and later, as a district commissioner. Cobb is fortunate to have a national statesman as one of our own.”

Isakson’s first run for office was a losing campaign for the Cobb Board of Commissioners in 1974.

He was elected to the Georgia House in 1976, then the Georgia Senate in 1992. He was the 6th District Congressman from 1998-2004, and served in the U.S. Senate from 2005 until his retirement due to health reasons at the end of 2019.

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Former U.S. Sen. and East Cobb resident Johnny Isakson dies

December 20, 2021 4:59 PMDecember 19, 2021 11:38 AM by Wendy Parker

Isakson farewell speech — *Johnny Isakson giving his farewell speech in the U.S. Senate in December 2019.*

The family of former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced Sunday that he died overnight.

Isakson, who was 76, served in the Georgia legislature and the U.S. Congress for more than 40 years.

The owner of a successful real estate agency, the longtime East Cobb resident also was active in civic affairs for much of his adult life.

He also was chairman of the Georgia Board of Education during his public career.

A Republican who espoused bipartisanship, Isakson was chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee when he retired in late 2019, during his third term, due to Parkinson’s Disease.

In a statement issued by his family, his son John Isakson said that “we are grateful for everyone’s prayers as we mourn the loss of our father.”

Funeral arrangements have not been completed for Isakson, who would have been 77 on Dec. 28.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement Sunday that “Georgia has lost a giant, one of its greatest statesmen, and a servant leader dedicated to making his state and country better than he found it.”

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said that “Johnny believed that we are at our best when we work together for the common good and that who gets the credit doesn’t matter as much as what we get done.”

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who was Isakson’s Georgia colleague, said that “Johnny’s entire life revolved around service. He always put others before himself. The last few years have not been easy for Johnny, but he responded to every obstacle with stalwart resilience. His dry wit and kind heart will be missed by everybody who knew him.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who unseated Perdue in a January 2021 runoff, said that “Senator Isakson was a statesman who served Georgia with honor. He put his state and his country ahead of self and party, and a great legacy endures.”

State. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, a Republican from East Cobb, called Isakson “a great role model and friend. Sincere condolences to his family. It’s a sad day for Georgia as we mourn this giant.”

Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, said Isakson “served the whole of Georgia with attention and fairness. . . . Though he held different ideologies, I was honored to call him a friend.”

Isakson moved to East Cobb from Atlanta in the late 1960s as he was building up Northside Realty and getting involved in the local business scene.

He was elected to the Georgia House in 1974 as a Republican in a Democrat-dominated legislature, and developed a reputation for working across party lines.

After a failed bid for governor in 1990, Isakson was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1992. He lost in the GOP primary for U.S. Senator in 1996, then was elected to succeed outgoing U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich to represent the 6th Congressional District of Georgia in 1998.

Isakson was re-elected twice before winning his first race for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

He won a third term in 2016 after acknowledging his Parkinson’s diagnosis. In July 2019, he was hospitalized after falling in his Washington apartment, and he announced his retirement in November.

Kemp appointed businesswoman Kelly Loeffler to succeed Isakson until the 2020 election, when she was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock, whose term expires in 2022.

Isakson and his wife Dianne raised their family in East Cobb, their children and grandchildren having attended Walton High School.

He was on hand when the new Walton classroom building was opened in 2017. In the 1970s, when he was working in the real estate industry, Isakson said former Cobb school superintendent Kermit Keenum asked him to help find some land for a new high school to accommodate rapid growth in East Cobb.

He noted during the ribbon-cutting ceremony that the Bill Murdock Road properties on which Walton and nearby Dodgen Middle School are located cost around $4,500.

“That would cost at least 10 times that amount today,” said Isakson.

In 2018, was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year and was recognized by the Cobb Board of Commissioners for his service to the community shortly after his retirement.

Isakson was a longtime member of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, where he taught a Sunday School class well into his political career.

As Isakson prepared to leave office, he was given a special tribute in the U.S. House, where Atlanta Congressman John Lewis gave the wheelchair-bound senator a warm embrace.

After hearing the tributes of his Senate peers, Isakson in his final remarks implored his colleagues to “find a way to find common ground.” He said, “America, we have a problem,” but that “we can do anything” by dropping hard party labels. “Bipartisanship will be the way you accomplish things, the way you live.”

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East Cobb would lose school board seat in recommended map

December 11, 2021 4:31 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school reapportionment map — *For a larger view of the map to be submitted to the state reapportionment office, **click here**.*

After having three representatives on the Cobb Board of Education in recent decades, the East Cobb area may be down to two for the next decade, starting with the 2022 elections.

A proposed map that’s being recommended by the board’s four-Republican majority would take Post 6 completely out of East Cobb.

That seat is held by Democrat Charisse Davis, who lives in the Cumberland-Vinings area, which would form the new heart of Post 6.

The current Post 6 includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters.

The school board voted 4-3 Thursday along partisan lines to submit a map proposed by GOP chairman Randy Scamihorn (see inset of East Cobb area above) to the state reapportionment office.

*Cobb school board member Charisse Davis*

In that map, Walton and Wheeler clusters would be included in Post 5, currently represented by Republican David Banks, whose new post also would maintain Pope High School.

Republican David Chastain represents Post 4, which would have the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry clusters. He’s up for re-election next year.

The Cobb legislative delegation will be drawing lines for Cobb school board, Cobb commission and municipal elected bodies in January; the school board’s proposal is only advisory.

The map was drawn by attorneys at Taylor English, a Cumberland-area firm that was paid $200,000 by the Cobb County School District.

Scamihorn said the map he proposed met all the criteria, including adjusting to shifts in population.

Davis, who said the map is not “fair and competitive,” made a motion to keep the current post boundaries. But that vote failed along partisan lines.

She and fellow Democrat Tre’ Hutchins had proposed their own maps, which they later withdrew.

“I will be losing two of the three high schools that I currently represent,” Davis said. “It is not a fair map.”

A declared candidate for the Post 6 seat also wants to keep the post maps the way they are.

Amy Henry, a Republican who has four children in the Walton High School cluster, said she understands the need to shift lines to accommodate population changes, but Post 6 should remain largely as-is,” according to a statement issued by her campaign.

“She is prepared to run and win in a competitive post,” the statement said. “Early support for her campaign since the announcement has been strong and she looks forward to seeing how the Cobb legislative delegation weighs in on the final maps.”

Davis and fellow first-term Democrat Jaha Howard, who are both up for re-election in 2022, would be drawn together in Post 6; he’s declared his intent to run for Georgia School Superintendent.

Scamihorn noted that Davis and Howard—who have battled the Republican majority repeatedly on a variety of topics—live so close together.

Scamihorn said he’s losing 40 percent of his Post 1 seat in northwest Cobb, and reminded his colleagues that he didn’t draw the map.

“The dice rolled where it rolled,” he said.

But Democrats weren’t buying any of that.

Jackie Bettadapur, an East Cobb resident whose two sons graduated from Walton, said during a public comment session at Thursday’s work session that “by stonewalling and shutting down the three minority members” the Republican majority has “cancelled the voices of nearly half of Cobb’s constituents.”

Bettadapur is the chairwoman of the Cobb Democratic Party, but did not identify herself as such during her comments, which accused the GOP of pushing “a political agenda and not the best interests of our county.”

Should the board’s recommended map be adopted, current Post 6 voters living in the Walton and Wheeler clusters would not have a school board election on their ballot for six years.

Banks, a Republican and current board vice chairman, was re-elected last year to serve a fourth term.

Bettadapur took aim at Banks, who has come under fire from critics for comments about racial matters and an e-mail he recently sent out discouraging COVID-19 vaccines.

Bettadapur warned the board not to assign “Wheeler and Walton high school representation to a board member that trafficks in quack science, conspiracy theories and the old Southern Lost Cause politics of segregation and racism.”

Critics of the Republican-approved map also complained about the process for making them public and the short time for citizens to offer comment.

The proposed maps were added to the agenda late Wednesday and were voted on at the work session Thursday afternoon.

The state reapportionment office will review the recommended map and could request technical changes that may require more action by the school board before Cobb legislators draw the final lines.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Kirkpatrick announces re-election campaign for Ga. State Senate

December 12, 2021 1:28 PMDecember 11, 2021 3:36 PM by Wendy Parker

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, a Republican from East Cobb, has announced her 2022 campaign for re-election to the Georgia State Senate in District 32. Ga. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick, a retired orthopedic surgeon, has held the seat since 2017. Her campaign website can be found by clicking here.

She is the Chairwoman of the Senate Veterans and Military committee and also serves on the Health and Human Services, Insurance, Judiciary and Appropriations committees and represents Dobbins Air Reserve Base on the Georgia Joint Defense Commission.

In her announcement, Kirkpatrick said that “I am proud of my track record of service since 2017″ and that “I will continue to work tirelessly to support lower taxes, election integrity, public safety, life, families and businesses.”

Kirkpatrick will be facing a Republican primary challenge from State Rep. Charlice Byrd, who announced her campaign earlier this week.

District 32 has mostly covered East Cobb and a portion of Sandy Springs, but last month the Georgia legislature redrew the lines to include some of northeast Cobb and parts of Cherokee County, including a part of Woodstock (see map below).

In a social media posting after reapportionment ended Kirkpatrick said that “I am looking forward to representing Cherokee County and Marietta City in addition to East Cobb. I will work hard to get to know my new constituents.”

Last weekend she participated in the Woodstock Christmas parade with the Young Republicans of Cherokee.

Kirkpatrick, who was a President of Resurgens Orthopaedics, included in her legislative accomplishments her work for free-market solutions to health care in Georgia.

“I fight for patients as they navigate our very complex healthcare system. As a conservative, I believe in a limited role for government, increased involvement by parents in their kids’ education, and lower taxes,” she said. “I look forward to working hard to represent the citizens in Cherokee and Cobb counties in the Senate and continuing to pass good legislation.”

Qualifying for the 2022 elections begins in March; primaries are scheduled for May.

Georgia 2022 state senate maps — *For a more detailed view, **click here**. Source: Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office.*

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Proposed Cobb school board map aimed at keeping GOP majority

December 9, 2021 8:27 PMDecember 9, 2021 6:24 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board proposed reapportionment map — *The map proposed by board chairman Randy Scamihorn. For a more detailed view, **click here**.*

UPDATED:

The school board voted 4-3 along party lines Thursday to submit the map proposed by Scamihorn to the state legislative reapportionment office.

The four Republicans voted in favor and the three Democratic members voted against.

A motion by Davis to keep the current lines failed 3-4, along the same party divide.

Original Report:

A reapportionment map to be proposed by the outgoing Cobb Board of Education chairman on Thursday is designed to maintain the board’s slender Republican majority.

Two others proposed by Democratic members attempt to prevent the GOP from building on that advantage.

The maps are included in the school board’s agenda for its December work session starting at 2 p.m. Thursday (previous ECN post here).

The GOP holds a 4-3 edge on a Cobb school board that has been deeply divided along partisan lines for the last two years, after Republicans held a comfortable 6-1 margin before that.

The proposal by Republican chairman Randy Scamihorn of Post 1 of northwest Cobb (see map at top) was added late Wednesday, and was crafted by Taylor English Duma LLP, a law firm based in the Cumberland area and which was hired to draw a new map for the Cobb legislative delegation to consider in January.

Democrats hold a one-member majority in the Cobb delegation, which also will decide new district lines for the Cobb Board of Commissioners, the six Cobb municipal council districts and Marietta school board boundaries.

The proposed Cobb school board maps are purely advisory.

In Scamihorn’s map, the East Cobb area of Post 6 that includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters would be shifted entirely to Post 5, represented by Post 5 Republican member David Banks, the board’s current vice chairman, who was re-elected in 2020.

That new post would also include the campus of Pope High School and some of the Lassiter High School attendance zone that Banks has represented since 2009.

He won a third term in November by fewer than 3,000 votes.

The new Post 6 that Democrat Charisse Davis has represented since 2019 would move to the Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings area under the chairman’s proposal.

She lives near Teasley Elementary School, and that post would also include the residence of current board member Jaha Howard, another first-term Democrat who was elected to serve in Post 2, which includes the Campbell and Osborne clusters.

Davis has not made public whether she’s seeking re-election. Amy Henry, a parent of four children in the Walton cluster, has announced her candidacy as a Republican.

But Davis also has proposed a map that would keep some of East Cobb in Post 6 (see below).

That includes most of the Wheeler cluster and some of the Walton cluster; Davis and Howard also would both be drawn into Post 6 and a new board member would come from Post 2.

Proposed Cobb school board maps — *For a detailed view of the Davis map, **click here**.*

Howard has declared his intention to run for Georgia school superintendent.

Under Scamihorn’s proposal, the clockwise shift in the new lines would push Post 3 into the McEachern High School cluster. That’s currently in Post 7, where GOP incumbent Brad Wheeler barely won re-election last year.

The realigned Post 7 would include the Hillgrove, Harrison and Kennesaw Mountain high school clusters.

Scamihorn, who was was re-elected last year, would just barely fit into the new Post 1, made up of the Allatoona and North Cobb high school clusters.

Scamihorn’s proposed Post 4 would continue to include the Kell and Sprayberry clusters, and well as part of the Lassiter cluster.

Republican David Chastain, who has held that seat since 2014, has said he will be seeking a third term.

The only other candidate who has announced for Post 4 is Democrat Austin Heller, a Kennesaw State University student.

Davis’ map would keep most of the Kell and Sprayberry clusters in Post 4, and Post 5 would include the Lassiter, Pope and Walton campuses.

Her map would place Chastain and Scamihorn in Post 1, prompting a new board member to come from Post 4.

Post 3 board member Tre’ Hutchins, a Democrat in his first year in office, also has a map proposal that will be discussed Thursday afternoon (see below).

His Post 6 would retain some of the Wheeler and Walton clusters, but it would call for a new board member.

That’s because he’s proposing a Post 2 with Davis and Howard drawn together.

The South Cobb-area post Hutchins represents would include the Pebblebook, South Cobb and McEachern high school clusters.

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Cherokee legislator announces run for Georgia Senate 32 seat

December 12, 2021 1:30 PMDecember 8, 2021 2:40 PM by Wendy Parker

Charlice Byrd, Georgia State Senate candidate

Charlice Byrd, a Republican who represents Cherokee County in the Georgia House of Representatives, announced her candidacy for the Georgia Senate District 32 seat.

That’s a newly drawn seat that has contained most of East Cobb but will include Woodstock and part of Cherokee County following reapportionment.

Byrd’s campaign website can be found here.

Kay Kirkpatrick, an East Cobb Republican, has held that office since 2017.

Byrd was in the legislature from 2005-2013, and was a paid staffer for the Donald Trump presidential campaign in 2016. She won her old seat District 20 back in the 2020 elections.

She said she’s running for the state senate because “if the Democrats win in 2022, they will have control of both our State and our Nation. Our local communities are next in line. We cannot afford to let the Stacey Abrams Liberals and Joe Biden RINOs control our destiny, drain our bank accounts and trample our freedoms.”

Byrd is a former president of the Cherokee Republican Women’s Club and served on the Executive Committee for the Georgia Republican Party.

As a lawmaker, she worked on reforms in the Georgia foster care system and on election security issues. She and her husband live in Woodstock and they attend the First Baptist Church of Woodstock.

Georgia Senate reapportionment sliced up East Cobb into four districts. District 32 stretches up to southern and western Cherokee County.

District 56, currently represented by Republican John Albers of North Fulton, will include northeast Cobb.

District 6, which will cut into southern areas of East Cobb, will have a new senator, as incumbent Sen. Jen Jordan is running for Georgia Attorney General.

Some areas of East Marietta will remain in District 33, represented by Democratic Sen. Michael Rhett.

In her announcement, Byrd did not reference Kirkpatrick, who has indicated she will be running for re-election in 2022. Last weekend she participated in the Woodstock Christmas parade with the Young Republicans of Cherokee.

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Reports: Former U.S. Sen. Perdue to run for Georgia governor

December 5, 2021 2:22 PM by Wendy Parker

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue will announce his candidacy for Georgia governor on Monday, according to published reports on Sunday.

Citing unnamed sources, Politico reported that Perdue has been actively recruited to seek the Republican nomination from sitting GOP Gov. Brian Kemp by former President Donald Trump.

The story comes several days after Democrat Stacey Abrams, who barely lost to Kemp in the 2018 governor’s race, announced she was launching another bid for the office.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported that Perdue would be announcing, saying that he “has told allies he was motivated to join the race because he fears Kemp can’t defeat the Democrat again.”

Perdue, who lost his Senate seat earlier this year, had considered running in 2022 against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is completing the term won in 2016 by the now-retired Johnny Isakson.

Trump narrowly lost Georgia in the 2020 presidential race, and was critical of Kemp for not working to overturn the election results.

Kemp has come under fire from some Georgia Republicans for that and other reasons.

In October, the Cobb County Republican Party passed a resolution censuring Kemp, over immigration and COVID-19 passports and not over issues directly related to Trump or the elections.

That action prompted the resignation of former chairman Jason Shepherd from the county committee. The Cobb Young Republicans then denounced the censure.

Former Democratic legislator Vernon Jones, a declared Republican gubernatorial candidate, has been trying to court Trump supporters with his criticisms of Kemp.

The former president held a rally in September in Perry, Ga., suggesting support for Abrams.

“Having her, I think, might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know what I think,” he said.

Kemp recently received an endorsement from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Trump’s complaints about the election results being “rigged” in Georgia diminished Republican interest in the January U.S. Senate runoffs.

Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who had been appointed by Kemp to succeed Isakson until the 2020 elections, were unseated by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Warnock, respectively.

Trump also is backing Herschel Walker, the former University of Georgia football star, who is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat held by Warnock.

There’s also a GOP primary forming that includes Georgia Agriculture Secretary Gary Black.

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Stacey Abrams announces 2022 campaign for Georgia governor

December 1, 2021 4:21 PM by Wendy Parker

Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost to Brian Kemp in the 2018 campaign for Georgia governor, said Wednesday she’s seeking the same office in 2022.

Abrams, a Democratic former state representative from Atlanta, announced on her Twitter account that “I’m running for Governor because opportunity in our state shouldn’t be determined by zip code, background or access to power.”

The Tweet included a link for donations to her campaign and a video that referenced Medicaid expansion, access to COVID-19 vaccines, cleaning up from storm damage and reviving small businesses.

“In the end, we are one Georgia,” Abrams narrates in the video, “regardless of the pandemic or the storms, the obstacles in our way or the forces determined to divide us.

“My job has been to keep my head down and keep working toward one Georgia. . . If our Georgia is going to move to its next chapter, we’re going to need leadership.”

Abrams is the first Democrat to announce for governor, and she’ll be headlining her party’s efforts to win more statewide offices after Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff unseated GOP U.S. Senate incumbents earlier this year.

Warnock is seeking a full six-year term in 2022, but the emergence of Abrams—who’s become a Democratic fundraising, voting-rights and candidate recruiting powerhouse—will also generate national attention.

Republicans hold all other statewide offices in Georgia, including governor.

Kemp has not formally declared he’s seeking a second term. Vernon Jones, a former Democratic state legislator from DeKalb County, has announced his campaign in the Republican primary.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue also is considering a GOP run for governor.

Abrams lost to Kemp in 2018 by less than 1.5 percent of the vote and never formally conceded, claiming that voting access was curtailed for many Georgians.

She launched a voting-rights and access organization, called Fair Fight, that also advocates for such issues as Medicaid expansion and medical debt relief.

Fair Fight also has filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Attorney General’s office and the Georgia Board of Elections over voting rights that is expected to go to trial in February.

Abrams won Cobb County in an election in which local Democrats made incursions in the Republican stronghold of East Cobb.

In 2020, Democrats gained control of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, while Republicans held on to a slight majority on the Cobb Board of Education.

Among the Democrats who won local office in 2018 is Charisse Davis, who defeated GOP incumbent Scott Sweeney for Post 6 on the Cobb school board, which includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters.

Davis has not announced whether she’s seeking re-election; the Cobb legislative delegation will be conducting reapportionment for school board posts and county commission districts in January.

Amy Henry, the mother of four students in the Walton cluster, is running for Post 6 as a Republican.

Formal qualifying for 2022 elections takes place in March, with party primaries scheduled for May.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

McBath to leave 6th Congressional District after redrawn map

November 22, 2021 3:49 PM by Wendy Parker

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat who ended a 40-year hold on Republican representation in the 6th Congressional District in Georgia, is running for a new seat next year. U.S. Rep Lucy McBath, gun violence research funding, McBath border-funding vote

The second-term Congresswoman from Marietta—who has made gun-control one of her major priorities in office—said Monday she will be running in the 7th district, as Georgia’s Republican-led legislature was finalizing reapportionment.

The 6th District that includes East Cobb will soon contain more conservative territory, extending into Cherokee, Forsyth and Dawson counties.

The 6th has included North Fulton and North DeKalb, the latter being the strongest Democratic base for McBath, who defeated former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 2018 and 2020.

“It is no mystery why Republicans and the NRA [National Rifle Association] have decided I’m their top target,” McBath said in a statement issued by her campaign office. “As a Black woman, activist, and mother on a mission—they would like nothing more than to stop me from speaking truth to power about the gun lobby and Republican Party in Congress.

“So let me make something very clear: I refuse to stand down. We must fight Republicans every step of the way, and now is not the time to lose a mother on a mission in Congress.”

A former Delta Air Lines flight attendant, McBath had announced her campaign for a state legislative seat in East Cobb in 2018, then switched to the 6th Congressional District after a mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

After her teenage son Jordan was shot to death in Florida, she became active in gun-control efforts.

McBath noted the the new 6th District went 26 points for Trump in the 2020 elections, and the new 7th District—which includes South Gwinnett, Johns Creek and Alpharetta— has a voting population that’s 67 percent minorities.

McBath’s decision sets up a potential Democratic primary battle with U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, although there’s not presently an incumbent inside the newly drawn boundaries.

It also leaves the 6th without an announced Democratic candidate. Starting with Newt Gingrich, the GOP controlled the district handily, continuing with Johnny Isakson and Tom Price through the 2016 elections.

But when Price resigned to join the cabinet of former President Donald Trump, a 2017 special election revealed how the 6th had changed politically.

Political newcomer Jon Ossoff, a former aide to Democratic U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of DeKalb, jumped into the race, fueled by out-of-state funding in what became the most expensive U.S. House race in history.

Handel won the special election and got strong support in East Cobb, but served only for a little more than a year after McBath unseated her.

Ossoff is now Georgia’s senior senator, after defeating former U.S. Sen. David Perdue in a runoff in January.

Several Republicans announced their intention to run in the 6th before the reapportionment session, including Jake Evans, who said in a statement that McBath’s record “won’t fly in the Sixth District, and it’s no wonder she has fled to another district. Our voters are ready for the Great American Comeback with the leadership of a bold and unafraid America First conservative.”

Georgia’s current Congressional delegation has eight Republicans and six Democrats, and once the final maps are approved, it’s likely the GOP will have nine seats.

As noted over the weekend, the proposed map would divide Cobb into four Congressional Districts, with East Cobb being split into the 6th and 11th. Three of those four seats will likely be in GOP hands, including freshman firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Proposed Congressional map would split Cobb into 4 districts

November 22, 2021 4:04 PMNovember 19, 2021 4:26 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Congressional district map — *A Republican-backed proposal would split East Cobb into two Congressional Districts. For details, including precinct breakdowns, **click here**. Source: Dave’s Redistricting.*

UPDATED, MONDAY, NOV. 22, 2021:

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath announced Monday she’s leaving the 6th Congressional District and will be running in the newly drawn 7th District, accusing the GOP of trying “to stop me from speaking truth to power about the gun lobby and Republican Party in Congress.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

Georgia lawmakers are considering proposed maps for the state’s Congressional districts that would add a member of the U.S. House to the Cobb County delegation.

Cobb currently has three representatives, two of them Democrats, including Lucy McBath of the 6th District, which includes most of East Cobb.

But as the legislature continues a special reapportionment session, the latest proposed lines in the Republican-dominated General Assembly aim to dilute Democratic political gains in Cobb County.

Georgia’s 14-member Congressional delegation currently has eight Republicans and six Democrats, and in recent elections Cobb has become a major metro Atlanta political battleground.

The latest map proposal would split East Cobb into the 6th and the 11th District, which currently is represented by Republican Barry Loudermilk.

On Thursday the Senate reapportionment committee approved the boundaries in a party-line vote, with the full Senate and House still to act on the measure.

Until McBath was first elected in 2018, the 6th had been in Republican hands for 40 years, and whose conservative representatives included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, now-retired U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson and Tom Price.

Earlier drafts by GOP lawmakers took the strongly Democratic north and central DeKalb out of the 6th.

The version introduced this week would include Northeast Cobb, North Fulton, eastern Cherokee, much of Forsyth County, a slice of Gwinnett County and all of Dawson County.

Those are strong Republican areas, as is much of the 11th. Loudermilk, who hails from Cartersville, would retain all of his home Bartow County, most of Cherokee and Cobb County, including North Cobb, Marietta, some of Smyrna-Vinings and southeast Cobb.

Those areas currently in the 6th that would shift to the 11th are parts of East Cobb closest to the city of Marietta and that have been trending or leaning Democratic in recent elections.

You can find more details by clicking here; it’s an independent site called Dave’s Redistricting and shows precinct breakdowns and other data.

The only proposed district in Cobb that appears to be reliably Democratic is the 13th, currently represented by David Scott, and that would include Smyrna and South Cobb.

But the new map would take out parts of south and west Cobb that also have been strongly Democratic and have large numbers of minority voters.

Instead, the Republican map would place that area—in and around Powder Springs and Austell—into the 14th district.

It’s considered the most conservative district in Georgia, and includes most of the northwest parts of the state and Paulding County.

That district is represented by first-term Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s become a national figure for her strong support for former President Donald Trump and making fiery speeches and public statements on a variety of issues.

Greene initially filed to run in 2020 in the 6th District, but switched when the 14th became an open seat. McBath unseated former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 2018 and defeated her in a rematch last year.

Several Republicans have announced their candidacies for the 6th District, but qualifying isn’t until March 2022.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

McBath votes for Build Back Better bill that passes U.S. House

November 19, 2021 2:06 PM by Wendy Parker

In a mostly partisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted early Friday to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill, a vast expansion of the nation’s social safety net. U.S. Rep Lucy McBath, gun violence research funding, McBath border-funding vote

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of the 6th District of Georgia was among the Democrats voting in favor of the bill, which passed on a 220-213 vote.

Only one Democrat voted against the legislation (you can read through it here), which got 13 House Republican votes and that now goes to the U.S. Senate.

The bill includes funding for universal pre-kindergarten, lowers the cost of prescription drugs, guarantees parental and caregiver leave, expands Medicare coverage, offers renewable energy tax credits, creates a Civilian Climate Corps and provides money for pandemic preparedness, among other things.

In a statement McBath said that “the Build Back Better Act will set us on a course to create millions of jobs, get Americans back to work, lower health care costs, and provide tax cuts to hard-working families. This historic investment will help put America on the path back to normal, and I am proud to support this package to help meet the needs of our communities.”

Voting against the bill is 11th District Republican Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who represents part of Cobb County. He called Build Back Better a “tax big and spend bigger bill.”

The vote in Congress comes as Georgia lawmakers are redrawing Congressional district lines.

A map proposed by Republicans in the GOP-dominated legislature would cut some of East Cobb from the 6th, which would add more conservative areas in Cherokee and Forsyth counties.

The new 11th district would include some of East Cobb.

The General Assembly is continuing to meet Friday and Saturday and could vote on Congressional reapportionment by Monday.

2021 Cobb Education SPLOST results by East Cobb precincts

November 10, 2021 10:28 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb SPLOST VI referendum — *For more details, **click here**. Source: Georgia Secretary of State’s office*

Following up last week’s Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum passage with some precinct-by-precinct details and related election tidbits:

Turnout was low, just under 10 percent across the county, with most East Cobb precincts in the 10-20 percent range;
The highest turnout was in the City of Marietta, which had mayor’s, city council and school board elections.

As we noted then, “yes” votes in the SPLOST referendum won every precinct, and handily.

What follows below is the vote count in East Cobb precincts. These include election day, advance, absentee and provisional totals, as well as the turnout at each polling station.

	Yes	No	Turnout
Addison	290	84	15.53%
Bells Ferry 2	163	73	7.74%
Bells Ferry 3	126	46	7.33%
Blackwell	168	41	7.87%
Chattahoochee	133	45	2.96%
Chestnut Ridge	322	133	14.57%
Davis	176	64	11.49%
Dickerson	243	76	11.45%
Dodgen	227	75	14.51%
East Piedmont	127	57	7.25%
Eastside 1	301	134	14.58%
Eastside 2	376	159	13.30%
Elizabeth 2	208	79	11.94%
Elizabeth 3	329	76	14.66%
Elizabeth 4	164	72	8.10%
Elizabeth 5	323	81	14.12%
Fullers Park	310	110	12.33%
Garrison Mill	268	95	12.69%
Gritters	326	162	12.47%
Hightower	378	122	11.95%
Kell	153	75	11.70%
Lassiter	363	112	13.26%
Mabry	179	72	15.44%
McCleskey	200	56	14.67%
Marietta 6A	123	43	7.04%
Marietta 6B	528	175	25.69%
Mt. Bethel 1	317	140	11.18%
Mt. Bethel 3	209	82	8.84%
Mt. Bethel 4	207	86	10.02%
Murdock	466	181	16.24%
Nicholson	130	55	7.68%
Pope	252	144	13.23%
Post Oak	381	123	14.09%
Powers Ferry	178	102	8.14%
Rocky Mount	292	119	12.32%
Roswell 1	529	165	13.13%
Roswell 2	322	136	12.60%
Sandy Plains	292	151	15.23%
Sewell Mill 1	245	112	10.33%
Sewell Mill 3	251	103	7.64%
Shallowford Falls	272	133	12.10%
Simpson	187	51	13.06%
Sope Creek 1	207	92	13.91%
Sope Creek 2	262	114	8.02%
Sope Creek 3	146	74	7.71%
Terrell Mill	213	98	5.56%
Timber Ridge	252	65	13.18%
Willeo	224	85	11.06%

Proposed East Cobb legislative redistricting maps revealed

November 4, 2021 7:01 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Senate reapportionnent draft maps — *New Georgia Senate maps proposed by **Democrats**, at left, and **Republicans** differ sharply. Click the links for more details.*

Proposed redistricting of legislative seats in Georgia include some major changes in lines affecting lawmakers representing East Cobb.

As a special session got underway on Wednesday, legislators for both parties proposed new boundaries, based on the recent 2020 Census.

Republicans hold majorities in both the state House and Senate.

Since the last redistricting after the 2010 Census, most of East Cobb has been included in Senate District 32, which also includes slivers of Sandy Springs and North Fulton.

Since 2017, that seat has been held by Republican Kay Kirkpatrick.

The Democratic map revealed last week would keep those lines essentially the same, leaving all of the 32nd in East Cobb.

A map released Thursday by the Republican Senate Reapportionment Committee would slice up East Cobb into three Senate districts. The 32nd would include areas of Northeast Cobb and part of Cherokee County.

Senate District 6, which has been held by Democrat Jen Jordan, a candidate for Georgia Attorney General in 2022, is being proposed to include the Cumberland area and East Cobb closest to the City of Marietta and along part of the boundary with the Chattahoochee River.

Senate District 56, represented by North Fulton Republican John Albers, would be redrawn to include part of Northeast Cobb, south Cherokee and the Roswell area.

Cobb House reapportionment maps — *Proposed State House districts in Cobb from the **Democrats**, at left, and the **Republicans**. Click the links for details.*

In the House, a GOP map still includes five seats in the East Cobb area: District 37, held by Democrat Mary Frances Williams, and Districts 43-46, occupied by Republicans.

But notably, the Republican proposal drew two longtime GOP incumbents into the same district, State Rep. Matt Dollar of District 45 and State Rep. Sharon Cooper of District 43.

They are co-sponsors of the current East Cobb Cityhood bill that will be taken up in the 2022 legislative session, and they took part in a virtual town hall on the subject in April.

But on Thursday, Dollar announced he would not be seeking re-election after nearly 20 years in the legislature.

He did not explain his reasons in a response to the MDJ, but said he would be proud to be represented by Cooper.

She has been a lawmaker since 1997 and is the House Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman, but has had two closely contested wins over Democrat Luisa Wakeman in 2018 and 2020.

East Cobb News has left a message with Dollar seeking comment.

The other two East Cobb House seats are held by Don Parsons (District 44) and John Carson District 46), who would continue to have safe seats in either of the proposed maps.

In September, Senate Republicans proposed a Congressional redistricting draft that would redraw the 6th District seat, held by Marietta Democrat Lucy McBath, into a more Republican area that would continue to include East Cobb.

In late October, legislative Democrats proposed their own draft that would keep the 6th largely as it is, including East Cobb, North Fulton, Sandy Springs and North DeKalb.

The special reapportionment session is expected to last at least through next week.

In January, when lawmakers reconvene for their 2022 session, they will conduct local reapportionment.

Cobb commissioner districts and school board posts will be redrawn by members of the county’s legislative delegation.

For more on reapportionment, click here.

2021 Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum passes easily

November 3, 2021 1:48 PMNovember 2, 2021 7:01 PM by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry High School, Cobb Education SPLOST

UPDATED, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 1:35 P.M.

Just as the Atlanta Braves were completing a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros to clinch the World Series, voters in Cobb County finalized another rout on Tuesday.

More than 72 percent of the voters casting ballots in the Cobb Education SPLOST VI voted yes (35,427), while 29 percent said no (13,713), with all 145 precincts fully reporting.

That means that starting in Jan. 2024, a one-percent sales tax for construction, maintenance and technology projects in the Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools will be collected for another six years, ending in Dec. 2029.

The SPLOST extension is expected to generate $894 million in revenues for Cobb schools and $71.5 million for Marietta schools.

The results compiled by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office can be by clicking here; they are final and unofficial. Certification of results by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration is scheduled for Nov. 8.

Slightly less than 50,000 of the 530,000 registered voters in Cobb County voted, a turnout of 5 percent.

From the earliest returns of advance voters, “yes” votes never had less than 70 percent of the vote.

The “yes” votes claimed every single precinct in Cobb. Final precinct breakdowns are not yet available; East Cobb News will list them in a separate post later in the week.

Voters in East Cobb were galvanized the project list for the Cobb school district, which include a rebuild of the main Sprayberry High School building and classroom additions at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.

Voters in Cobb’s six cities also chose city council members and mayors on Tuesday.

In Marietta, three-term incumbent Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin was re-elected after he defeated city council member Michelle Collins Kelly by 57-43 percent of the vote.

Kelly’s Ward 6 seat, which includes East Marietta, will be filled by Andre Sims, who was unopposed in the non-partisan election.

In Marietta school board races, Kerry Minervini, the incumbent in Ward 6 that includes East Marietta, was re-elected without opposition.

UPDATED, 11:30 PM:

With 95 percent of precincts reporting (138/145), yes votes are 34,257 (72%), no votes are 13,261 (28%) in the Cobb Education SPLOST.

Final figures to come Wednesday.

UPDATED, 11:15 PM:

With 77 percent of precincts fully reporting, yes has 29,441 votes (71.6 percent) to 11,662 no votes (28.4 percent).

UPDATED, 10:30 PM:

With 44 percent of the vote counted, yes leads SPLOST 20,093 to 7,965 voting no, 71.6-28.4.

UPDATED, 9:45 PM:

With 12 percent of the vote in, yes votes are 11,796 and no votes are 4,687, still a roughly 71-29 split.

UPDATED, 7:55 P.M.:

The initial returns from the Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum show “YES” votes leading with 71 percent of the vote (advanced votes).

Those voting in favor are 6,928 thus far, and voting against are 2,824.

ORIGINAL POST, 7:01 P.M.:

The polls have closed in Cobb County and the the counting has begun for the Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum and municipal elections.

Voters in Cobb County were asked whether to renew a one-percent sales tax for construction, maintenance and technology for the Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools.

Voters in Cobb’s six cities were deciding city council races, including a contested mayor’s race in Marietta. Marietta voters also were voting in school board elections.

Headlining the SPLOST VI project list for the Cobb school district include a rebuild of the main Sprayberry High School building and classroom additions at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.

See the East Cobb News voters guide for more information.

Voters who were in line at the polls by 7 p.m. Tuesday were eligible to vote. Voters in eight precincts were able to vote beyond 7 p.m. due to various technical issues. They included the Hightower and Post Oak precincts in East Cobb, which were to close at 7:05 p.m.

Absentee ballots also were either mailed in or hand-delivered to the Cobb Elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday or dropped off at a designated location, including The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road).

Cobb Elections said nearly 13,000 people voted during the advance voting period the last two weeks, in-person and absentee voting combined.

East Cobb News will update this post all evening.

Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum voters guide information

November 2, 2021 7:39 PMOctober 30, 2021 2:06 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Education SPLOST VI

UPDATED, TUESDAY, NOV. 2, 7:40 P.M.: The polls have closed. Follow real-time results by clicking here.

ORIGINAL POST:

All the early voting has been completed for the 2021 elections in Cobb County, which feature municipal races in the six cities in the county and a referendum on whether to extend a sales tax for public schools.

Those who will be voting on Tuesday will go to their assigned precinct (if you don’t know where it is, you can check here and get a sample ballot).

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and if you are in line when the polls close you will be able to vote.

UPDATE, TUESDAY, 1:03 P.M.: Eight precincts, including two in East Cobb, will be open past 7 p.m. due to technical issues at those polls.

Cobb Elections said that 10,104 people voted in two weeks of early voting across Cobb County, including 2,038 at The Art Place in Northeast Cobb.

That’s the second-highest figure for any early voting location, after the main Cobb Elections office. On Friday, 349 people voted at The Art Place.

Citizens living in unincorporated Cobb County will have only one item on their ballots (above): the Cobb Education SPLOST VI, a one-percent sales tax for school construction, maintenance and technology to be collected from 2024-2029.

The tax would collect $894 million for the Cobb County School District, (our summary story from May; full project notebook here).

The main projects in Cobb include a rebuild of the main Sprayberry High School building and classroom additions at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools.

Cobb voters haven’t rejected a school SPLOST since the first referendum in 1998, but Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale has been actively defending the sales tax and how the money has been distributed following criticism of school district finances.

In 2017, Cobb voters overwhelmingly approved the current SPLOST V referendum, with 73.8 percent voting yes.

Turnout has typically been light for the Ed-SPLOST. In 2017, only 7.7 of registered Cobb voters took part, with 25,019 voting yes and 8,902 voting no. Some of the highest turnout has been in East Cobb.

Voters in the cities of Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Powder Springs and Smyrna also will have the Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI question on their ballots pertaining to the Cobb school district, as well as their city council elections.

For voters in the City of Marietta, they’ll get a school sales tax referendum question on their ballots too, since Marietta City Schools would collect $71.5 million if it is approved.

Marietta voters also deciding school board and city council members in their respective wards, as well as a contested mayor’s race in non-partisan elections.

Incumbent Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin is seeking a fourth term, but is being challenged by Michelle Cooper Kelly, a city council member whose ward includes much of East Marietta.

As we noted earlier in the week, if you have an absentee ballot that hasn’t been mailed (and you shouldn’t, since it won’t get to the Cobb Elections office by the 7 p.m. Tuesday deadline), you’ll need to drop it off at a designated location.

There aren’t the outdoor dropboxes as there were in 2020; here’s a list of where and when you can do this.

Those absentee locations include the East Cobb Library (4880 Lower Roswell Road) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

For questions and for more information, visit cobbcounty.org/elections email info@cobbelections.org, or call 770-528-2581.

Cobb schools push SPLOST vote with World Series pitch

October 27, 2021 2:39 PMOctober 27, 2021 9:19 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools SPLOST vote World Series

Bandwagon-jumping is nothing new with the success of a local sports team.

The Cobb County School District is urging citizens to vote to extend the Special-Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for schools by noting in a post that leads its website how schools have benefitted from having the Atlanta Braves in the county.

The Braves play their first World Series game at Truist Park on Friday against the Houston Astros—the final day of early voting for the Nov. 2 referendum, as it turns out—and the district is indulging in a special brand of cheerleading for the home team.

The proposed SPLOST VI, if approved by voters, would generate nearly $900 million from 2024-2029 for construction, maintenance and technology projects for both Cobb and Marietta schools.

Saying that “Cobb County will also win big due to the Braves’ success on the diamond,” the Cobb school district noted how out-of-town fans during the playoffs have already been boosting the local economy—and school SPLOST coffers by extension:

“Now, with worldwide attention focused on pro baseball’s most celebrated stage, Cobb County residents will once again benefit from outside money being spent locally, this time thanks to Astros fans. Every drink, snack, and souvenir purchased by every baseball fan at Truist will help fund education in Cobb County.

“Those 40,000+ fans won’t just be spending money at the park; they will also purchase many other items locally, like meals and gas, that help fund local businesses and services. The economic impact from the 2021 Braves will be felt long after the Commissioner’s Trophy is presented to the team.

“The NLCS and the World Series are high-profile events that bring notice to Cobb County, but they also bring dollars and help to stimulate and prosper our local economy. While most don’t often think of the economic impact of sports at the local level, they are incredibly significant. While we cheer for our home team to end Atlanta’s 26-year World Series win drought, we can also cheer that our local schools are being helped by dollars from Houston fans.”

The post linked to related news stories and a special video the district produced to promote the SPLOST but didn’t break down any dollar figures.

The one-percent sales tax was first approved by Cobb voters in 1998, but some critics wonder why the Cobb and Marietta school districts wanted a referendum two years before the current SPLOST expires.

There’s been some political pushback, both in terms of how previous school SPLOST funding has been distributed, and against current Cobb school board spending practices.

That prompted a reaction from Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, as well as from parents and citizens working to extend the sales tax, including those advocating for a rebuild of Sprayberry High School.

As the Braves swept to a 6-2 Game 1 victory over the Astros Tuesday night in Houston, the Cobb school district posted a similar SPLOST message on its social media channels.

The district also posted separately on the coming rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School, which is to be relocated to the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road, among other SPLOST-related stories on the district’s homepage.

The Eastvalley project is to be funded with revenue from the current SPLOST V, but a timetable for construction hasn’t been announced. The former ECMS campus is slated to be demolished by December.

Cobb 2021 elections advance voting continues through Friday

October 27, 2021 7:17 PMOctober 26, 2021 1:05 PM by Wendy Parker

Just a reminder that there’s one advance voting location in East Cobb for the 2021 elections—The Art Place, 3330 Sandy Plains Road—where you can cast your vote in Education SPLOST VI referendum.

The advance voting hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and there isn’t going to be any voting until election day, Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Through Monday, Cobb Elections is reporting 6,018 people have voted in advance, including 1,169 at The Art Place.

If you elect to vote on Nov. 2, you’ll report to your usual election-day precinct, and Cobb Elections has sent along the following info for that, as well as for those dropping off absentee ballots:

For personalized precinct information, please visit My Voter Page.
For information on voting by mail, visit the Absentee Voting page or call (770) 528-2581.
Absentee ballots may be dropped off in person to a limited number of locations though Saturday, Oct. 30, as well as Monday, Nov. 1, and Tuesday, Nov. 2. Click here for details.

Those absentee ballot drop-off locations include the East Cobb Library (4880 Lower Roswell Road) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this week, including Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

For questions and for more information, visit cobbcounty.org/elections email info@cobbelections.org, or call 770-528-2581.

We’ll have more later in the week setting up the culmination of the 2021 elections, which include municipal elections in Cobb’s six cities, as well as school board races for Marietta City Schools.

The Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI, as we’ve noted before (our summary story from May; full project notebook here), would generate $894 million from 2024-2029 for school construction, maintenance and technology in the Cobb and Marietta school districts.

In Cobb, the big-ticket items are a rebuild of Sprayberry High School’s main campus buildings, as well as classroom additions at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.

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