East Cobb Politics & Elections

Walton HS parent announces campaign for Cobb school board

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The mother of four children in the Walton High School cluster who pushed for the Cobb County School District to drop its mask mandate during the 2020-21 school year has declared her intent to run for the Cobb Board of Education.

Cobb Board of Education Post 6
CCSD map

Amy Henry, who moved with her family to East Cobb from DeKalb County in 2019, filed her declaration with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on Tuesday.

It says she is running as a Republican in Post 6, which includes most of the Walton and Wheeler clusters and part of the Campbell cluster.

That seat is currently held by first-term Democrat Charisse Davis, who has not announced whether she’s seeking re-election.

Henry was the leader of a group called “Let Parents Choose” (since renamed CCSD Parent Alliance) that pushed for in-person learning at the start of the 2020-21 school year.

That school year began with all-virtual learning after Superintendent Chris Ragsdale initially announced in-person classes, but switched due to high COVID-19 metrics.

Henry also spoke at school board meetings as a mask mandate continued in Cobb schools through the school year, urging the district go make masks optional. 

“They need to have a normal childhood,” Henry told the school board in March. “We’re teaching them that they’re dirty. We’re creating a fearful environment that for these kids cannot be normal.”

That was right before other Cobb school parents filed a lawsuit trying to overturn the mask mandate (Henry wasn’t one of them). The suit was dropped when Ragsdale said in May that masks would be optional for 2021-22.

When contacted by East Cobb News, Henry declined to comment on why she’s running and to state her priorities, saying she wanted to wait until she makes a formal announcement at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast on Nov. 6.

She’s also involved in the revived East Cobb Cityhood effort, and has listed as her campaign chair Cindy Cooperman, who handles publicity for the current Cityhood committee. 

Post 6 has traditionally been in Republican hands. In 2018, Davis, who lives in the Campbell cluster, edged two-term GOP board member Scott Sweeney, who is now the chairman of the state board of education (and also is part of the Cityhood group).

That seat is one of three up for grabs in 2022 elections, with the lines for those three posts expected to change.

Members of the Cobb legislative delegation will redraw Cobb Board of Education post boundaries after the first of the year, following Congressional and legislative reapportionment.

In Post 4 (Sprayberry and Kell clusters), three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain has said he is seeking re-election but hasn’t formally announced; the only announced Democrat is Kennesaw State University student Austin Heller (previous ECN story here).

Democrat Jaha Howard, a first-term board member from Post 2 (Campbell and Osborne clusters), recently announced his intent to run for state school superintendent.

Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the school board. In 2020, three of the current GOP members won re-election to maintain that edge.

Davis and Howard have challenged their GOP colleagues on racial and equity initiatives and have questioned the Cobb school district’s COVID-19 protocols, often leading to contentious disputes at board meetings.

In 2019, the Republican majority passed a policy change to bar board members from making comments during public meetings, with Davis and Howard objecting, calling it censorship.

In late 2020, after the elections, the GOP members approved a policy change that allowed board members to add agenda items to public meetings only if a board majority approved.

At the October board meeting, and in a party-line vote, the Republicans approved a resolution condemning Antisemitism and racism that the Democrats said took them by surprise. Davis was absent from the meeting.

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Cobb Republican Party opposes East Cobb Church rezoning

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Political parties at the local level don’t often get involved in what are typically non-partisan issues, especially zoning cases.

But the Cobb Republican Party has come out in opposition to the North Point Ministries/East Cobb Church rezoning case, which is being heard again by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.Cobb Republican U.S. Senate rally

In a statement issued over the weekend on its Facebook page, the Cobb GOP said while it wasn’t against the church, the “density and intensity of this over-reaching zoning is a deal breaker.”

(UPDATE: This post appears to have been deleted or is not available to the general public. Here’s an archived version.)

Like much of the opposition that has formed against the proposed mixed-use project at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads, that’s a reference to the residential portion of the assembled 33 acres.

North Point last week submitted yet another site plan, and is now asking for 44 townhomes and 51 single-family detached homes.

“They are using flood plain in the density calculation to make it appear there are only 5.37 homes per acre, knowing there is already down stream flooding,” says the Cobb GOP message, which urges its followers to contact the two Republican commissioners, JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill, in particular and tell them to vote no.

At the September zoning hearing, Democratic commissioner Jerica Richardson of District 2 asked to hold the case when traffic, density and stormwater issues were renewed. “Jerica needs one of their votes for this to pass as Chairwoman Cupid has recused herself,” the Cobb Republican message states.

In recent weeks, the Cobb Democratic Party has been holding forums about municipal elections in Cobb County, which are non-partisan. They’ve invited candidates running in Acworth and Kennesaw and the party has been canvassing for unspecified candidates in Marietta, where voting for city council and school board races is continuing through the Nov. 2 elections.

From a Sept. 30 social media message that was also repeated last week:

“All politics is local and it doesn’t get more local than City Council elections. Let’s build those true blue grassroots by electing some local officials that represent our values. Blue from the bottom-up.”

Otherwise, both local major political parties have stuck to internecine and boilerplate partisan matters.

The Cobb GOP passed a resolution censuring Gov. Brian Kemp, prompting the resignation of former chairman Jason Shepherd from the county committee. The Cobb Young Republicans then denounced the censure.

Cobb Democrats have been sounding off on the GOP-led Cobb Board of Education, most recently blistering chairman Randy Scamihorn for an anti-Semitism resolution passed without input from the three Democrats on the school board.

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Cobb superintendent defends Ed-SPLOST funding distribution

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Cobb Education SPLOST critics
A Cobb school district graphic shows how SPLOST funds have been distributed by school board post.

During a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night, school superintendent Chris Ragsdale took issue with criticism of how Education SPLOST funds have been distributed across the county.

Early voting began Monday in a Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum that would extend the one-percent sales tax for school construction, maintenance and technology from 2024-28.

That extension, if approved, would provide nearly $900 million for the Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools.

The Education SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) began in 1999 and has been extended by voters ever since. The current SPLOST V expires Dec. 31, 2023, and is expected to collect nearly $800 million.

At a SPLOST virtual town hall earlier this week held by the Mableton Improvement Coalition, there were complaints that some parts of Cobb County were being left behind in SPLOST funding.

“I truly do not understand how anyone in due conscience can propagate such a false narrative,” he said. “I need to present data to show a true and accurate picture of SPLOST. Some continue to push the idea that only certain schools or areas of Cobb get the majority of SPLOST funding.”

Ragsdale then showed a pie chart illustrating how SPLOST revenues from the first five sales tax collections have been distributed, according to school board post (above).

Although dollar figures were not provided, the chart showed that Post 2 (Smyrna/South Cobb), Post 1 (North/West Cobb), Post 6 (Part of East Cobb/Cumberland) and Post 3 (South Cobb/Mableton/Austell) have had the highest percentages.

The other two East Cobb-area posts, 4 and 5, and Post 7 (West Cobb/Powder Springs) had the lowest percentages, at around 10 percent each.

“Cobb has always provided SPLOST funds to the areas of greatest need,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks. “Those areas change over time. . . . When those needs change, that’s where the funding will be provided as well.”

Ragsdale did not respond to citizens who spoke earlier in the meeting that they were opposing SPLOST because they think the Cobb school district isn’t doing a good job handling the money.

Among the critics is Heather Tolley-Bauer, an East Cobb resident and a co-founder of Watching the Funds, a citizen watchdog group that’s been tracking Cobb school district finances since late last year.

The group (we profiled WTF in July) has been critical of district spending on COVID-19 safety measures, as well as the AlertPoint emergency system that has malfunctioned.

Her message was “No Accountability, No SPLOST.”

“In the past I’ve voted yes, but as a parent and an advocate for fiscal responsibility in our schools this year I will vote no,” Tolley-Bauer said during a public comment session. “And I am not alone.

“Because of the actions of this board, we have no confidence in you. . . . Why have you neglected your fiduciary responsibility to us?”

Later Thursday, the school district posted the pie chart on its Facebook page but faced more criticism from voters who made similar complaints.

Some wanted to know more details of how the district has been spending federal money designated for COVID-19 recovery, and the district linked to a Georgia Department of Education page with related information.

That didn’t satisfy some citizens, including one who wrote “Clean house, CCSD leadership and I, along with a large number, will happily vote for this 2024 SPLOST.”

Those responses have concerned parents who are advocating for SPLOST VI, which includes a rebuild of the main campus building at Sprayberry High School (full list of projects here).

They’re having a community meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the school (2525 Sandy Plains Road) to go over the proposed rebuild, as well as newly approved projects for a new Sprayberry gym and renovations to the school’s career training facility.

Shane Spink, a leader of the Sprayberry rebuild effort, has continued to counter current criticisms by saying that the “Ed-SPLOST is not about the curriculum or school board policies. The Ed-SPLOST is not partisan. The project list for Cobb County School District reaches across party lines of the school boards and each and every Cobb County School gets improvements through this.”

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Family law attorney to run for Cobb Superior Court judge

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Daniele Johnson, Cobb Superior Court Judge candidate

Submitted information:

Daniele Johnson is running for Cobb County Superior Court Judge. Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over family law matters, including divorce, custody, legitimation, child support and  domestic violence. Daniele Johnson has practiced family law in Cobb County for the last 22 years. She is also a certified Guardian Ad Lite, meaning, she is trained to represent the best interests of children. 

Superior Court also has exclusive jurisdiction over felony crimes, such as homicide, sexual assault, and aggravated assault. Prior to beginning her family law career, Daniele Johnson served as a Deputy District Attorney in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There, she was lead prosecutor for misdemeanor crimes. She was also assigned to the Special Victims Unit, a team dedicated to prosecuting felony crimes committed against children. Prior to her time as a prosecutor, Daniele Johnson was court-certified to represent victims of domestic violence in their pursuit of restraining orders against their abusers. Daniele Johnson has dedicated her entire career practicing exactly the type of law the position of Cobb County Superior Court Judge calls for.  

To Daniele Johnson, serving on the bench is a natural extension of what she has been doing for the last 25 years, serving families and community. She is specifically seeking to succeed the Honorable Robert Flournoy who has decided to retire at the end of his term. She and her husband have been part of the Cobb Community since 1999 where they are raising their three children within the Cobb County School District. 

To learn more about Daniele Johnson and her professional accolades, visit her website at www.daniele4judge.com.

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Cobb Ed SPLOST headlines 2021 ballot; early voting to start

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Sprayberry High School, Cobb Education SPLOST

Cobb County voters can cast in-person ballots as soon as Tuesday as early voting starts for the 2021 elections, which culminate on Nov. 2.

Advance voting will conclude on Oct. 29 and will include two Saturdays, Oct. 16 and 23.

The only advance voting location in the East Cobb area is The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road); for more on locations, dates and times, click here.

While citizens in Cobb’s six cities will be voting in municipal elections, voters across the county will be asked if they want to extend the one-percent sales tax to fund construction, maintenance and technology projects for the Cobb County School District.

It’s called Cobb Education SPLOST VI, and it would raise $894 million from 2024-29 (our summary story from May; full project notebook here).

Among the major projects on the project list approved by the Cobb Board of Education is a reconstruction of the main Sprayberry High School classroom building. Also slated for new classroom additions are Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.

Sprayberry rebuild supporters have been publicly advocating for several months for extending the SPLOST, noting that the 50-year-old building at Sandy Plains Road and Piedmont Road is wearing down while other high schools in the East Cobb area have had major renovations and rebuilds (Walton, Wheeler).

They’re holding an Oct. 19 open house to provide more information, where details of the new Sprayberry gymnasium and CTAE facility also will be available.

“We’re excited about being on [the ballot],” Sprayberry parent Shane Spink said.

In recent weeks some citizens have expressed concerns about renewing the SPLOST amid turbulence on the Cobb Board of Education. A reader wrote on the East Cobb News Facebook page this week saying that’s why she’s voting against a SPLOST for the first time.

“I have little confidence in some of the current Cobb County School District Board members and its Superintendent,” Melissa O’Brien wrote. “In a year and a half full of COVID-related chaos, one would expect the 25th largest school district in the country to step up to the challenge.”

She said she thinks the Cobb school district hasn’t wisely spent federal CARES Act funding and implemented stronger COVID-19 safety protocols, and was upset at board member David Banks sending an e-mail from his official address discouraging the vaccines.

Spink said he understands the concerns but said the SPLOST isn’t a partisan issue and has broad countywide impact.

“Every school benefits from this,” he said. “We shouldn’t be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. This is about our kids, the teachers and our community.”

As we noted previously, you can request an absentee ballot just as you did last year; the deadline for that is Oct. 22; absentee ballots will start going out in the mail on Monday for those who’ve already signed up.

Cobb Elections must receive your absentee ballot by 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, election day, either by mail or at an early voting location during voting hours. There won’t be the outdoor dropboxes that were available in 2020.

Voters who elect to go to the polls on Nov. 2 will cast ballots at their normal precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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

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Cobb school board member to run for state school superintendent

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First-term Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard has filed paperwork run for Georgia Superintendent of Schools in 2022.Cobb school board COVID safety letter

Howard, a Democrat from Post 2 (Campbell and Osborne clusters) registered his campaign committee with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission on Sunday.

In late June, he filed a Declaration of Intent form with the same agency but didn’t specify which office he was seeking.

Official qualifying begins early next year for the May 2022 primaries.

A pediatric dentist from Vinings, Howard has been a controversial figure in his nearly three-year tenure on the school board, pressing for action on racial and diversity issues and challenging the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 policies.

When he attempted to question Superintendent Chris Ragsdale about those protocols at the September board meeting, he was cut off by chairman Randy Scamihorn.

He and fellow board Democrats Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins then walked out of the meeting room in protest.

That was the latest of several instances of party conflict on the Cobb school board since 2019.

Earlier this year, the three Democrats requested a special review by Cognia, the Cobb school district’s accrediting agency, that is expected to be released soon.

Howard is one of three school board members up for re-election in 2022.

Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters in Post 6, has not announced whether she’s seeking a second term.

Also in East Cobb’s Post 4, Republican David Chastain has said he will be running again. Kennesaw State University student Austin Heller is an announced candidate as a Democrat for that post, which includes the Kell and Sprayberry clusters.

No candidates have yet announced for Post 2. That was one of two school board seats that swung from GOP to Democrat in 2018 (along with Post 6), reducing Republican majority to 4-3.

Howard unsuccessfully ran in a special election for a State Senate seat in 2017, losing to Jen Jordan. She has announced she’s running for Georgia Attorney General next year.

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Ga. Senate GOP leaders release Congressional district map draft

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Ga. Senate GOP Congressional district draft map
You can view the proposed map in full by clicking here.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and state Senate Reapportionment Committee Chairman John Kennedy on Monday released a draft map of proposed Congressional districts based on 2020 Census figures.

As anticipated, the lines for the 6th Congressional District—a swing seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath—would be moved substantially.

The proposed new lines for the 6th still include most of East Cobb, which has remained a relative Republican stronghold, as well as North Fulton and Sandy Springs.

But the GOP leaders have created a new map taking away more Democratic terrain of north and central DeKalb and would include all of Forsyth County, a strong GOP area with a growing population.

Based on the proposed map, it’s hard to tell how much of East Cobb has been removed from the 6th District and placed in the adjoining 11th because it doesn’t get down to census tract details.

An independent site, called Dave’s Redistricting App, has a zoom feature better showing the proposed lines that would take out some East Cobb precincts closer to the city of Marietta that have been trending Democratic in recent elections.

We’ve included a screen shot at the bottom of this post to show that in more detail; essentially the line runs below the Ashebrooke and above the Crossgate subdivision and bisects Indian Hills.

The area around Wheeler High School and extending to the Atlanta Country Club and below River Hills would be included in the 11th District seat currently held by Republican Barry Loudermilk.

The reapportionment process begins on Nov. 3 in a special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp to redraw Congressional, legislative and local elected districts.

Here’s what Georgia’s current Congressional districts look like now, per the Census Bureau; inset metro Atlanta photo is below.

Ga. 117th Congress maps
View the current Georgia statewide map in the 117th Congress by clicking here.

Republicans hold sizable majorities in the House and the Senate. In the U.S. House, there are eight Republicans and six Democrats from Georgia, including McBath.

The Democrats have a 224-214 edge in the 117th Congress (with three vacant seats) and McBath’s re-election in 2022 is considered crucial for their chances of maintaining party control.

McBath ended 40-year GOP control of the 6th District when she unseated former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 2018, then defeated Handel in a rematch in 2020. Several Republicans have announced they will be running in 2022, but no other Democrats have announced.

The proposed GOP Congressional map, if approved, would likely solidify the 7th District for a Democrat. That’s currently held by Carolyn Boudreaux, who won in 2020 by a slim margin. The draft map would take a portion of Forsyth County currently in that district and reshape the 7th to include most of Gwinnett County.

Cobb County has two other members of Congress, Loudermilk, whose 11th District currentlly includes Marietta, Smyrna-Vinings and Northwest Cobb.

Democrat David Scott represents District 13 that includes most of South Cobb.

Some areas of East Cobb currently in the 6th District would be in the 11th in the proposed GOP map. For more details, click here.

The maps proposed by Duncan and Kennedy would not alter those areas by much.

Nor would the proposed map changes affect the lines in the 14th Congressional District, where Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, has gained national attention since her win in 2020.

She was briefly a candidate in the 6th before switching to the 14th, which is considered the most conservative Congressional district in the state, and includes Paulding County. The new lines would take in some of Bartow County and retain most of northwest Georgia.

“It is clear that this map not only meets principles of redistricting, but we are proud to present a map that regardless of political party, Georgians can be proud of,” Duncan said in a statement “Ensuring that any maps we produce are fair, compact, and keep communities of interest together, will continue to be of upmost importance.”

In response, the Democratic Party of Georgia posted on its social media channels a Gwinnett Daily Post op-ed by State Rep. Sam Park calling for a “fair” redistricting process that includes “establishing [reapportionment] committee guidelines in a public forum” before the special session begins.

Several voting advocacy groups placed the piece, including Progress Georgia, All on the Line, Fair Districts GA and the ACLU of Georgia.

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Ex-Cobb Magistrate judge announces Superior Court candidacy

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Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy III is retiring after 2022 and candidates are beginning to announce for the May 24, 2022 non-partisan primary to succeed him:
Gerald Moore, Cobb Superior Court Judge candidate

Gerald Moore, Cobb County’s Assistant District Attorney and previous Magistrate Court Judge, announced today that he will run for the open seat in the county’s Superior Court. Moore has served the county since he was appointed to the bench as a part-time judge in 2013. 

“I’ve lived in Cobb County for over 20 years. During my time here, I’ve built family and community and have dedicated my life to serving and protecting my neighbors,” said Moore. “I believe the people of this county deserve to be treated fairly and with respect while feeling safe. If I’m elected Superior Court Judge, my goal is to see that reflected in my courtroom.”  

In 2016, Moore was appointed to the bench as a full-time Magistrate Judge where he served a four year term. During this time, he also sat as an Assisting Superior Court Judge, making him the only candidate who has already served in this position. Currently, Moore represents the state as an Assistant District Attorney handling a large volume of criminal proceedings, working to protect the community and ensure every defendant is treated with fairness and respect. In addition to these responsibilities, Gerald also works with the North Georgia Elder Abuse Task Force to educate and protect Cobb’s elderly community.

Moore is a widower who lost the love of his life to cancer in 2019. As a single dad of two teenage boys, he hopes to honor her life through meaningful community engagement and honest public service. 

For more information about his candidacy please visit www.mooreforcobb.com.

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Ga. special legislative session called for reapportionment

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Gov. Brian Kemp signed a proclamation Thursday calling for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly to conduct reapportionment tasks.Kemp extends Georgia public health emergency

The special session will start Nov. 3 and will not include any other topics.

Georgia legislators redraw Congressional and state legislative districts, and local delegations draw county commission and school board districts every 10 years with a new Census.

The U.S. Census Bureau released some of that data in August, and is expected to release more data at the end of September.

The information is being released later than usual due to collections delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The General Assembly has strong Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate, and some Congressional reapportionment redrawings will be closely watched.

They include the 6th Congressional District, which includes most of East Cobb, as well as North Fulton, Sandy Springs and north and central DeKalb.

The 6th has been represented since 2019 by Lucy McBath, the first Democrat to hold the seat in 40 years.

She unseated former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 2018 and defeated her in a rematch in 2020. Several Republicans have announced they will be running in 2022.

All of the state legislators from East Cobb are Republicans, although Democrats have been making strides in the last two elections.

Among them is Luisa Wakeman, who has come close in 2018 and 2020 to unseating veteran GOP lawmaker Sharon Cooper, the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee.

The Cobb legislative delegation, which has a one-seat Democratic majority, will be redrawing lines for the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education.

In the 2020 elections, party control of the commission flipped from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democrat. In 2022, both of the GOP members, Keli Gambrill of District 1 in West Cobb and JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in Northeast Cobb, will be up for re-election.

The Cobb school board has a 4-3 Republican majority and three of those seats will be affected by reapportionment in 2022.

Two of them are in the East Cobb area: GOP member David Chastain of Post 5 (Kell, Sprayberry clusters) and Democrat Charisse Davis of Post 6 (Walton, Wheeler clusters).

Along party lines, the school board voted 4-3 in August to hire Taylor English, a Cobb-based law firm, to draw up a proposed map of reapportioned school board posts to submit to the legislative delegation.

State Rep. Matt Dollar, a Republican from East Cobb, is a member of the House reapportionment committee.

State Sen. Michael “Doc” Rhett, whose Cobb district includes some of East Marietta, sits on the Senate reapportionment committee.

More state reapportionment information, including procedures, maps, meeting schedules and population updates, can be found by clicking here.

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Cobb Elections announces 2021 advance voting information

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Cobb Elections has released advance voting dates, times and locations for the Nov. 2 elections, which include the Cobb Education SPLOST and municipal elections. Georgia runoff elections

Among the locations having advance voting include The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road,  from Oct. 12-29.

A few other things to know, especially regarding absentee ballots, from Cobb Elections:

  • All precincts will have an education SPLOST question on the ballot.

  • Precincts within incorporated cities will also have municipal offices on the ballot.

  • Voters must register to vote or update their address by Oct. 4 at MVP.sos.ga.gov.

  • Voters may submit an absentee ballot application only between Aug. 16 and Oct. 22.

  • Voters must use the new absentee ballot application to request an absentee ballot. One may be found here. Former absentee ballot applications will not be accepted.

  • Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters beginning Oct. 11.

  • Voted absentee ballots must be received by Cobb Elections staff before 7pm on Nov. 2, 2021.

    • Ballots can be returned by postal mail, or
    • hand-delivered to the ballot box inside the Cobb Elections office, or
    • hand-delivered to any early voting location during voting hours.

  • In a pilot program, Cobb Elections staff will also accept voted ballots at certain libraries starting on Oct. 25.  A schedule or dates, times and locations will be published soon.

  • Early voting will begin on Oct. 12. A schedule of dates, times and locations will be published no later than Sept. 27.

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

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UGA football legend Herschel Walker to run for U.S. Senate

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Former University of Georgia football star Herschel Walker has announced he will be running for the U.S. Senate in 2022.Herschel Walker, U.S. Senate candidate

A first-time political candidate, Walker said Tuesday he will be seeking the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by Democrat Raphael Warnock.

Walker, who guided the Bulldogs to the college football national championship in 1980 and won a Heisman Trophy, announced earlier this week that he had registered to vote in Georgia after living in Texas for many years.

He played for the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams as well as the New Jersey Generals of the U.S. Football League in the 1980s.

That team was owned by former President Donald Trump, who’s maintained a close friendship with Walker and who said several weeks ago that Walker would be “unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. . . . Run, Herschel, Run.”

In an introductory video on his campaign website, Walker said that too many politicians like to divide America, by race as well as in other ways.

“I don’t believe in that garbage,” said Walker, who hailed his small-town roots in Wrightsville, Ga.

“I’m a conservative not because someone told me to be,” he continued. “I’m a conservative because I believe in smaller government, a strong military and making sure all people have the same opportunity to pursue their dreams.

“That’s an America worth fighting for.”

As he spoke, the background featured the voice of Georgia football radio announcer Larry Munson and footage of Walker’s days at UGA.

Among the Republican candidates in the Senate race is Georgia Agriculture Secretary Gary Black.

Walker has name recognition and Trump’s backing, but according to a report in Politico, some Republican leaders in Washington are concerned about his chances in the 2022 general election.

Warnock, the former pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, won a runoff election in January to unseat Republican Kelly Loeffler. She was appointed in Jan. 2020 by Gov. Brian Kemp following the retirement of Johnny Isakson.

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Top Cobb law firm to draw school board reapportionment map

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David Banks, Cobb school board
David Banks is the only sitting member of the Cobb Board of Education who’s gone through a previous reapportionment process.

The Cobb Board of Education last week voted to hire a high-profile law firm in Cobb County to draw a map of school board posts for reapportionment.

While the board’s three Democrats were in the minority of a 4-3 vote, David Banks of East Cobb, part of the four-member Republican majority, initially said he couldn’t support the hiring of Taylor English Duma LLP, based in the Cumberland area.

Banks, the only sitting board member to go through reapportionment from the 2010 Census, said at a board work session last Thursday that he didn’t think hiring a third party was appropriate and that the maps would be “whatever the legislature decides it looks like.”

But he joined his GOP colleagues later in approving the hiring of Taylor English Duma to draw the board’s political lines based on 2020 Census results.

The board will be asked later to approve a contract for Taylor English Duma after a cost estimate is determined.

(PLEASE NOTE: These lines are for the seven posts, or districts, for elected Cobb school board seats, which are determined by the Georgia General Assembly. They have no bearing on specific school attendance zones, which are drawn administratively by the Cobb County School District staff.)

Board chairman Randy Scamihorn said he wanted Taylor English Duma because of what he said was a bipartisan track record of reapportionment work. He presented no other bidders.

The Democrats objected on other grounds, saying they weren’t given much information beforehand, including how much the mapping work will cost.

They also wanted to consider additional bidders, and didn’t like that former State Rep. Earl Ehrart of West Cobb, a staunch Republican, is the CEO of Taylor English Decisions, a government and economic development consulting arm of Taylor English Duma.

Taylor English Decisions—whose staff includes noted Cobb zoning attorney James Balli and former Cobb County Manager Rob Hosack—is not involved in reapportionment matters.

Cobb school board post map
For a more detailed view, click here. The area in white is the map for Marietta City Schools.

The map forwarded to the Cobb legislative delegation from the school board would only be advisory. While Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the county delegation, the final decision on the map would come from the Republican-dominated legislature.

So how those boundaries may change figures to be a subject of intense scrutiny, given the board’s partisan divide.

Until 2018, the board held a 6-1 Republican majority. That’s when Democrats Charisse Davis and Jaha Howard were elected to seats held by Republicans.

They’ve vocally and openly clashed with the Republicans on a number of issues in their nearly three years on the board.

And both of their seats will be up in the 2022 elections, after the new map takes effect. How Post 6, represented by Davis, may change could prove worth watching.

That post includes most of the Walton and Wheeler clusters, but Davis, who lives in the Campbell High School cluster, edged Republican incumbent Scott Sweeney of East Cobb due to a high turnout in her part of the post.

Also up for election in 2022 will be the seat of Republican David Chastain of Post 4 in Northeast Cobb, which includes the Kell and Sprayberry clusters.

He’s indicating he will seek a fourth term; Howard and Davis have not announced their plans.

Democrats missed a golden chance to swing the majority in their favor with the other three Republicans on the ballot in the 2020 elections. Scamihorn won easily in Post 1 in Northwest Cobb, while Brad Wheeler foiled a Democratic challenger by fewer than 2,000 votes in his West Cobb Post 5.

So did Banks in Post 5—the Pope and Lassiter clusters—who held off Democratic newcomer Julia Hurtado by 2,639 votes to win a fourth term.

East Cobb school board post map
Current school board maps in East Cobb—Post 4 (green), Post 5 (pink) and Post 6 (purple) and the schools included in them.

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Voting information for 2021 Cobb elections, including Ed-SPLOST

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UPDATED, Nov. 2:

You can follow real-time results compiled by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office by clicking here.

Original Post:

As approved last month by the Cobb Board of Education, there’s a referendum coming in November to extend the Cobb Education SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax), which pays for school construction, maintenance and technology costs.cobb advance voting, Cobb voter registration deadline, Walton and Dickerson PTSA candidates forum

If approved, the Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI would collect an estimated $894 million from 2024-29 for projects in the Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools.

Among the major items on the Cobb project list is a rebuild of the main Sprayberry High School classroom building.

It’s the only countywide item on the 2021 Cobb ballot, with county, state and federal elections coming in 2022. Municipal elections will take place this year in Cobb’s six cities, including Marietta, where there’s a contest for mayor.

Incumbent Steve “Thunder” Tumlin is being challenged by council member Michelle Cooper Kelly, whose ward includes part of East Marietta.

Late last week Cobb Elections put out some information for voters on registration, absentee ballot procedures, advance voting and more for the November elections. Here are some of those details and deadlines:

  • Voters must register to vote or update their address by Oct. 4 at MVP.sos.ga.gov.

  • Voters may submit an absentee ballot application only between Aug. 16 and Oct. 22.

  • Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters beginning Oct. 11.

  • Voted absentee ballots must be received by Cobb Elections staff before 7pm on Nov. 2, 2021.

    • Ballots can be returned by postal mail, or
    • hand-delivered to the ballot box inside the Cobb Elections office, or
    • hand-delivered to any early voting location during voting hours.

  • In a pilot program, Cobb Elections staff will also accept voted ballots at certain libraries starting on Oct. 25. A schedule or dates, times and locations will be published soon.

  • Early voting will begin on Oct. 12. A schedule of dates, times and locations will be published no later than Sept. 27.

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

More in the video below on how absentee voting will be different from 2020:

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Former Army Airborne Ranger running for 6th District Congress

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Harold Earls, 6th Congressional District candidate

Continuing our series of introductory articles about 2022 political candidates: Harold Earls, a previously announced Republican who’s filed for the 6th Congressional District seat.

(Here’s his campaign website.)

One of four who’s announced on the GOP side (profiles here of Meagan Hanson and Jake Evans) to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, Earls lives in Roswell and is a former Army officer, having served as an Airborne Ranger.

He’s a graduate Fellowship Christian Academy in Roswell and the U.S. Military Academy, where was captain of its baseball team. He also has led a group an Army combat team and veteran amputee on trips to Mt. Everest.

Those experiences were the subject of a book “A Higher Calling: Pursuing Love, Faith and Mt. Everest for a greater purpose.” He and his co-author and wife, Rachel Earls, run a digital media business in Roswell and are the parents to two sons.

He was a fellow for former Georgia U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall and was a guard commander of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

More on Earls and his background can be found here.

After another GOP candidate, Eric Welsh, pulled out in July, Earls said that the two of them were “not part of the Good Ol’ Boys Club.’ Welsh wanted to make a difference here in Georgia and was not a political opportunist waiting on favorable district lines.”

Earls continued that “over the last few years, there has been a growing disrespect in our government for our country and those who serve and have served to protect it. This makes me sick. Congress has become a melting pot of weak leaders who don’t care about you, me, or the United States. I am here to change that. I will lead. I will stand for our values, and I will stand up for you and your family. That is my promise.”

Earls said he will advocate for smaller government, and deplored trillions of dollars of American debt and noted that China is the country’s largest debt collector.

“That means that my two little toddlers are going to bear the burden of this generation’s failure to address balancing our budget at the behest of our biggest adversary,” he said.

On immigration, Earls said he supports a “merit-based system where the best and brightest who want to enter America have the chance to do so and allows us to keep bad actors out of the country.”

Earls said he wants to make permanent the Tax Cuts & Job Act to foster business innovation and also supports school choice options.

But he said he and his wife have had their business affected by occasional demonetizing by YouTube, where they have more than 540,000 subscribers.

Earls said he supports revisions to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to encourage “free speech, privacy, safety, competition and honesty.”

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Fitz Johnson appointed to Georgia Public Service Commission

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Former Cobb Commission candidate Fitz Johnson was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday to serve on the Georgia Public Service Commission.Fitz Johnson, Cobb Commission candidate

Johnson will replace PSC chairman Chuck Eaton, whom Kemp named to serve as a Superior Court judge in the Atlanta circuit.

Johnson, a Republican from Vinings, is a retired Army officer and business executive who was defeated in the November 2020 election by Democrat Jerica Richardson for the Cobb Board of Commissioners District 2, which includes some of East Cobb.

“Fitz Johnson’s remarkable record of service to our nation, experience as a private sector business leader, and dedication to his community uniquely qualify him to serve our state on the Public Service Commission,” Kemp said in a statement. “With his diverse background and real-world leadership credentials, I know Fitz will work hard every day to ensure Georgia remains the top state for business and the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

In a statement issued on social media page, Johnson said “I am honored that Governor Brian Kemp has appointed me to the Public Service Commission. I look forward to serving our great State.”

Johnson is a trustee of the Wellstar Health System and the Kennesaw State University Foundation, serves on the State Charter Schools Commission and is active with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

The PSC is a five-member elected board that regulates utilities in the state of Georgia. They serve six-year terms, and Johnson’s appointment means that the current composition remains all-Republican.

He will serve the remainder of Eaton’s term, which expires in 2024.

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Ga. Secretary of State to speak to Rotary Club of East Cobb

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is the guest speaker at the Wednesday breakfast meeting of the Rotary Club of East Cobb. Georgia recount presidential race, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

The meeting is from 7-8 a.m. at the Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive).

There’s limited in-person attendance but the event also can be seen online. Registration is required and you can sign up by clicking here.

Raffensperger is a Republican from Johns Creek who is in his first term, and he has announced he will be seeking re-election in 2022.

He has been in the national spotlight since the presidential election last year, when former President Donald Trump’s campaign made accusations of voter fraud in Georgia, which current President Joe Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes.

Raffensperger ordered a manual recount before the Trump campaign requested an automated recounts, both of which confirmed Biden as the winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.

In a piece for The Wall Street Journal on in December, Raffensperger wrote that Trump was using the “same playbook” as Stacey Abrams, a Democratic former legislator who lost to Brian Kemp in the 2018 Georgia governor’s race but never conceded.

Trump has vowed to work against Raffensperger’s re-election, and supports U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Secretary of State.

This past weekend, Abrams held a voting rights roundtable in Atlanta that included Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

On Monday morning, Raffensperger tweeted that Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020, “has pushed the lie that Stacey Abrams’ election was stolen to support the elections takeover. She must be held accountable.”

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KSU student launches campaign for Cobb school board Post 4

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Austin Heller, Cobb school board candidate

Austin Heller, a rising senior at Kennesaw State University, announced this week he’s running for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education in 2022.

Heller, a political science major who is 20 years old, is running as a Democrat for the Post 4 seat held by Republican incumbent David Chastain.

That post includes the Kell and Sprayberry clusters and also covers the KSU campus area. Heller is a graduate of the Hardaway School in Columbus, and initially majored in elementary education at KSU. He also is a senior resident assistant for housing and as a member of the school’s Civic Engagement team he encourages students “on their right to vote and community engagement opportunities.”

Heller, who made his announcement after the Cobb school board meeting Thursday, said he’s running because “I see a desperate need for our county and our Board to lead with empathy and pass equitable policies that uplift all our students.”

He referenced his youth as a “military brat” for being exposed to different cultures and said “I believe our community deserves to be fully represented as we are all important to creating a Cobb that we are proud of.”

He said he is running on a platform of “empathy, equity, and advocacy,” and mentioned the three Democrats on the board—Jaha Howard, Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins—for doing “amazing” work for Cobb school students.

” I would be honored and humbled to join them on the Board fighting for Cobb families,” Heller said.

Heller said he opposes the Cobb school board’s recent vote to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the Cobb County School District. That was a 4-3 vote on party lines, with Chastain voting in favor and the three Democrats against.

“Honest and comprehensive history is crucial to understanding where we are today,” Heller said in his campaign announcement. “I believe in our trained educators to have hard conversations with our students in safe spaces inside the classroom. I also know and understand how important it is to see yourself represented in and out of the classroom. Every student in our county matters and I am ready to help them be the most successful and healthy individuals they can be.”

Heller doesn’t have a campaign website for now but his e-mail address is: austin4cobb@outlook.com. He also is on Instagram and Twitter.

Chastain, a systems engineer at Lockheed-Martin, has indicated he will be seeking a third term. In his most recent filings with Cobb Elections in May, he filed a personal financial disclosure report.

He won re-election in 2018 over Democrat Cynthia Parr with 53 percent of the vote.

Another East Cobb seat on the school board, held by Davis in Post 6, also will be up in 2022. That includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters.

Post 2 in the Smyrna area also will be on the ballot next year. Howard, like Davis, will be completing his first term.

Before those elections, however, all seven posts on the Cobb school board will be redrawn by the county legislative delegation in reapporionment.

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Ex-Ga. ethics head announces bid for 6th District Congress

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Jake Evans, the former chairman of the Georgia Ethics Commission, is seeking the Republican nomination for the 6th Congressional District seat.Jake Evans, 6th Congressional District candidate

Evans is an attorney who said he is running “to usher in the great comeback to retake America.”

He describes himself as a “conservative trailblazer” and mentioned the 1994 Republican resurgence that led to former Congressman Newt Gingrich becoming Speaker of the House when he represented the 6th District.

“The Northern Arc of metro Atlanta is a thriving, dynamic region that cares about education, public safety, national defense and fair trade,” Evans said in a statement.

“But we’re stuck with a member of Congress who only cares about one issue – taking away the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans and leaving them defenseless against out-of-control crime. We need change, and I’m here to offer bold, conservative leadership that delivers an America First agenda to restore the values that make this country exceptional.”

That’s a reference to current Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, whose main priorities include gun control.

Evans (you can view his campaign website here) is the second Republican this week to announce a challenge to McBath, following an announcement by former legislator Meagan Hanson.

They both have employed strong conservative language in a 6th District that includes East Cobb, North Fulton and Sandy Springs and North DeKalb. Those political dynamics figure to be affected by reapportionment later this year.

The East Cobb area remains a GOP stronghold in a 6th District that has been trending Democratic elsewhere.

Most recently Evans has advocated for counting “only legal votes” during the 2020 presidential election. He also supports and defends election reforms passed by the Republican-led legislature that led to Major League Baseball moving this year’s All-Star Game away from Truist Park.

Evans resigned from the ethics commission on June 30 after five years amid speculation of a Congressional run.

He’s from Lithia Springs and earned a bachelor’s and law degree from the University of Georgia.

A newlywed, he and his wife Bayley, also an attorney, live in Cobb County.

“As the representative for the 6th District, I’ll fight for Georgia, not against it like the radical Left,” Evans said, “and we’ll once against have a conservative voice in Congress who has the courage to stand up to the Woke Mob and Cancel Culture and to fight for the conservative principles that made America the greatest country on earth.”

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Ex-Ga. legislator announces 6th Congressional District run

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Former Georgia State Rep. Meagan Hanson on Monday announced her campaign for the 6th District Congressional seat.Meagan Hanson, 6th Congressional District candidate

Hanson, an attorney who represented Brookhaven in the legislature from 2017-18, is a Republican who said in a release she’s running on a conservative platform to counter a House Democratic majority that includes two-term 6th District incumbent U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.

The 6th District includes East Cobb, North Fulton, Sandy Springs and North DeKalb.

“With the direction our country is going, the America I had growing up will not be the same America my kids will live in. I’m not content to watch this nation’s promise slip away,” Hanson said in a campaign release. “We need a Congresswoman who will fight for Georgia’s families, not Nancy Pelosi’s radical agenda. I’ll work every day to lower taxes, end out-of-control government spending, and get America back on track.”

Her campaign website can be found by clicking here.

Hanson is an attorney who is the executive director of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, an arm of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and is a conservative commentator and lobbyist.

She said her priorities include curbing government spending, strengthening border controls, boosting law enforcement resources and fighting what she calls “the radical left agenda and cancel culture.”

“Conservative values aren’t just a talking point for me. They are what I’ve been fighting for my entire life,” she said in the statement. “With liberals like Lucy McBath in office, our communities have felt the full force of the left’s wish list: higher taxes, bigger government, more crime, a crisis at our border, and a radical cancel culture movement that has cost our local economy over $100 million. I’ve never backed down—and I’m ready for this fight because my family’s future, and the future of those in our community, depend on it.”

McBath is one of two Congressional Democrats from metro Atlanta who are targets for GOP pickups in the 2022 elections.

She unseated Republican U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 2018, then defeated Handel again in 2020.

But a major factor factor in 2022 figures to be Congressional redistricting. The East Cobb area remains a GOP stronghold in a 6th District that has been trending Democratic elsewhere.

For now, Hanson, a resident of Sandy Springs, is the only Republican specifically running in the 6th District. Eric Welsh, a retired Army officer and former Coca-Cola Co. executive, announced his candidacy in May, but on July 1 announced his withdrawal.

No Democrats have announced for the 6th District seat.

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Kemp touts Georgia’s ‘resilience’ in response to COVID-19

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Kemp Georgia COVID-19 response

Still chastened by Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game away from nearby Truist Park, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a Cobb Chamber of Commerce audience Monday that the Atlanta Braves were also robbed on the field Sunday night.

“The refs screwed us at the Braves game Sunday night,” Kemp said, a reference to a controversial ninth-inning run by the Philadelphia Phillies that was upheld on a video review, and turned out to be the game-winner.

Kemp quickly moved on to assessing the state of the state, and especially its economic recovery and COVID-19 response, during the Cobb Chamber’s annual meeting at the Cobb Galleria.

During an appearance Saturday at AJ’s Famous Seafood and Poboys in East Cobb, Kemp blamed Democrats for MLB’s relocation of the All-Star Game due to Georgia’s disputed new election law.

On Monday, he defended the law and said the All-Star Game decision was “misguided.”

But “despite the actions by some to torpedo economic growth in the Peach State,” Kemp said, he’ll be eager to sign a new law providing tax incentives for Georgia companies that manufacture personal protective equipment.

The benefits of such measures, he insisted during a luncheon speech, “will expand opportunities for citizens across our state . . . . despite measures to try to divide us.”

(You can watch Kemp’s full address by clicking here; his remarks begin at the 37-minute mark.)

He said Georgians have “overcome a lot together and our future is bright.” While challenges remain, “I have never been more optimistic because we on our way to defeating the virus and returning to normal in the Peach State.

“Our resilience as Georgians has carried us this far,” Kemp said.

As of Monday afternoon, there have been more than 862,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia since March 2020, and more than 17,000 deaths.

In Cobb County, there have been more than 59,000 cases and 932 deaths, the second-highest total in the state.

Kemp applauded Cobb officials and the Georgia National Guard for quarantining passengers from a California cruise ship at the start of the pandemic.

He said while some states wouldn’t take their own citizens for quarantine at the time, “this community stepped up. This is who we are as a state.”

Georgia was one of the first states to begin lifting COVID restrictions last April, and Kemp said the state is on the road to a strong economic recovery as a result.

The state has maintained its AAA bond rating, and in the recent legislative session major budget cuts were avoided and some funding was restored to areas such as education, public safety and health care.

A tax cut with a reduction in the standard deduction was also enacted this year, and Kemp said he also was proud of reforms to the state’s citizens arrest law.

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