East Cobb Politics & Elections Archives

Candidate spotlight: Larry Savage, Cobb Commission Chairman

May 29, 2020 8:05 PM by Wendy Parker

When he qualified as a candidate for Cobb County Commission Chairman for the first time in 2010, Larry Savage did so because he saw an incumbent who was unopposed in the Republican primary. Larry Savage, Cobb Commission Chairman candidate

A decade later, Savage, a retired businessman and executive who lives in East Cobb, is running for a fourth time for the same reasons.

Before he jumped in again this year, only incumbent chairman Mike Boyce had qualified.

“The idea that Mike Boyce was heading to a second term without opposition was disappointing,” said Savage, who is one of three GOP candidates in the June 9 primary.

“There are a lot of things he’s done that people don’t like.”

Savage is one of two challengers to Boyce (profile here) in the June 9 primary, along with retired Cobb police officer Ricci Mason.

(Here’s Savage’s campaign website.)

In a 2010 special election, Savage pulled 38 percent of the vote against Lee, who was elected to fill the last two years of former chairman Sam Olens’ term. In a four-man GOP field in 2012, Savage was last with 10 percent, trailing Lee, Boyce and another former chairman Bill Byrne.

In 2016, Savage also got 10 percent, enough to force a runoff between Lee and Boyce.

Savage was especially critical of how Lee handled the Atlanta Braves deal, filing a lawsuit, later dismissed, over the bond financing for what is now Truist Park.

But he thinks Boyce has not been fiscally responsible.

“Paramount is the money part—spending has gone up $100 million since he took office,” Savage said. “Those are big numbers.”

He’s dubbing his campaign “The Savage Truth,” and claims to be the true conservative in the Republican primary.

“He is probably the most politically liberal person on the board,” Savage said, referring to Boyce, and including Lisa Cupid, who will face the Republican nominee for chairman in November.

“If you look at their records, it’s almost indistinguishable,” Savage said. “Both emerged with the idea that government can do things that I don’t think government should do.”

(On his campaign website, Savage has highlighted comments he made to a Cobb Republican caucus meeting in February: “Let’s not run our liberal Republican against their liberal Democrat.”)

More than anything, Savage said Boyce hasn’t handled the financial management of county government very well.

He disputes Boyce’s contention that he came into office with a $30 million deficit, thanks to a millage rate reduction by the board on the day Boyce defeated Lee in the 2016 runoff. “He overspent the budget he had and that created the hole.”

As for the 2018 millage rate increase that Boyce pushed through on a 3-2 vote, Savage said “that wasn’t just a little nudge. I think that that increase could have been smaller or not at all.”

On an initiative that Savage supports, better pay and retention for police officers and firefighters, he said Boyce ended up promising raises to many more employees than he first announced.

“He’s got a problem telling people we’ve got a lot in reserve,” Savage said, adding that situation is more acute now with economic losses due to COVID-19 closures.

“One of the glories of government is that nobody is losing their jobs,” he said. “At the very least, just stop hiring” until a more clarified budget and economic picture emerges.

Savage said if he’s elected he’d also defer purchasing some equipment and halt some non-essential maintenance projects until conducting a thorough budget review.

“You’ve got to look at every department,” he said.

Savage also has been critical of tax abatements issued by the Development Authority of Cobb County. In 2018, he filed suit to stop the issuance of bonds sought by Kroger for a superstore at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project that’s in progress.

A judge agreed with Savage that the tax breaks for Kroger didn’t meet the authority’s definition of an essential project. But last summer, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the bonds.

On broader development and zoning issues, Savage thinks the county land use plan isn’t followed like it should be, and he would work to limit high-density projects, including apartments in areas where single-family neighborhoods dominate.

The mixed-use trend that is being seeing in commercial areas like Powers Ferry Road is spreading to areas where he thinks it’s not compatible.

“Some parts of it I like, some I don’t like,” he said. “And when you have to address things like schools and traffic that add complexities to a development, it’s just turned zoning upside down.

“So many things about it contradict the zoning code, and it’s jumped in there all at once, without much of a debate or discussion.”

Savage acknowledged that Cobb is going to continue to attract development, “but what’s it going to be?”

He’s received endorsements from former Georgia GOP chairwoman Sue Everhart, a Cobb resident, and the Cobb County Republican Assembly, a group made up of fiscal and cultural conservatives.

Savage said he’s still running from a grassroots perspective, trying to appeal to those who favor low taxes and small government and are disenchanted with the incumbent.

“I have no natural constituencies, no big church or veterans groups behind me,” Savage said, referring to Boyce, a retired Marine colonel who attends Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

“People who got burned by Mike Boyce are backing me.”

Candidate spotlight: Mike Boyce, Cobb Commission Chairman

May 29, 2020 5:25 PMMay 29, 2020 1:18 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb budget town hall, Mike Boyce, Cobb public safety bonus, Cobb millage rate — *Boyce has held numerous budget and other town hall meetings during his time as chairman. (ECN file)*

Ever since he unseated Tim Lee as Cobb Commission Chairman in 2016, Mike Boyce has acknowledged what was behind it.

“They didn’t vote for Mike Boyce,” he says now, as he’s campaigning for re-election.

“They were ticked off by the Braves deal.”

Four years ago, Boyce, an East Cobb resident who also ran in 2012, rode anti-Lee sentiment to capture the Republican primary.

Four years ago, Boyce didn’t have a Democratic opponent, but if he should prevail in a three-way GOP primary on June 9, he would face commissioner Lisa Cupid.

His primary opponents are East Cobb resident Larry Savage, a previous chairman candidate who has challenged the county legally on the Braves deal and business tax breaks, and retired Cobb police officer Ricci Mason, a first-time candidate.

“I have to run on my record,” Boyce said. “Before, I was selling an idea.”

Boyce said he’s proud to tout that record: Preserving the county’s AAA bond rating (via a 2018 property tax increase unpopular with some Republican voters), taking the first measures toward a step-and-grade pay policy for public safety employees and enhancing quality of life with additional park land purchases and expanding library hours.

“People move here for the amenities, and look what we have done for public safety,” Boyce said, referring to three pay raises as well as the first steps in a new compensation and retention plan for police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies.

(Here’s Boyce’s campaign website.)

Boyce defends the 2018 property tax increase, pointing to the commissioners’ vote—on the day he beat Lee in a runoff—to lower the millage rate.

“We faced a $30 million shortfall before I ever took office,” he said. “We came within an inch of losing our AAA rating,” the highest issued by creditors and highly desired by public bodies (the Cobb County School District also is rated AAA) when it borrows for short-term loans and bond issues.

Boyce said the county’s reserves were down to $10 million as well, and now it enjoys a $125 million contingency.

For the fiscal year 2021 budget that takes effect on October, Boyce is proposing to hold the line on the millage rate and continue with public safety pay measures. A merit pay raise for county employees is off the table, due to the economic hit to come from closures related to COVID-19.

Having that money on hand now, Boyce said, is vital.

“This isn’t just a rainy day,” he said. “It’s a rainy year.”

The county’s diversified business base also should help, but Boyce acknowledges it’s still a little early to tell “what the consequences of a loss of jobs, a loss of tax revenue will be.”

Commissioners voted this week to spend $50 million of an allotted $132 million in federal CARES Act funding for small business relief grants.

Continuing the work of addressing public safety issues would be a cornerstone of a second term for Boyce, who said “we have to show our first responders that this won’t be a one and done.”

If he should advance to the November ballot, a local referendum for Cobb voters will be on there too, asking whether to extend the Cobb SPLOST, which Boyce has stressed with road resurfacing and transportation projects, as well as other parks and recreation improvements.

When asked if he felt confident about the SPLOST’s chances of passing, Boyce said a 5-0 vote by commissioners this week to finalize the project list “was a big step. The board understands the importance of this. The emphasis on the roads really hits a sweet spot.”

Boyce also acknowledges he’s never been the candidate of choice by his party establishment. In 2016, Lee had GOP backing as the incumbent, as well as from business leaders.

During the tax increase debate, the Cobb Republican Party formally opposed it, and some critics have alleged all along that Boyce, a retired Marine colonel, is a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

Former Georgia GOP chairwoman Sue Everhart, a Cobb resident, and the Cobb County Republican Assembly, a group made up of fiscal and cultural conservatives, have endorsed Savage.

“I’ve just accepted the fact that they’re not in my corner,” Boyce said. “The only people who matter are all the voters.”

When he was first elected, the changes in the county’s demographics began to be revealed, as Cobb voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. Democrats will be unified behind Cupid, who’s attempting to become the first Democrat to lead county government since Ernest Barrett in the early 1980s.

Boyce said he’s proud to run on a pledge to continue a set of broad-based priorities, with voters across the county in mind.

“I know I’ve done what’s in the best interests of the county,” he said.

Cobb Elections update: Early voting expands; sample ballots; and more

May 29, 2020 1:07 PMMay 29, 2020 8:32 AM by Wendy Parker

Starting Monday and all next week, East Cobb voters will be able to cast their primary ballots in-person closer to home as early voting expands.

You’ll be able to vote at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. It’s one of three additional early voting locations that will be open in the county, in addition to the Cobb Elections office in Marietta.

There won’t be any early voting next Saturday, June 7, as well as Monday, June 8, the day before the election.

If you do vote next week, Cobb Elections is saying that it will be following CDC social guidelines regarding COVID-19, and to expect to wait in lines that may be longer than is typical.

Cobb Elections is strongly encouraging voters to cast absentee ballots, and you can either send yours via traditional mail or deposit it at a designated drop box at the East Cobb Government Service Center.

That can be done anytime, as long as it’s by 7 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, June 9.

However you vote, you’ll be asked for one of three ballot options: Democratic, Republican or non-partisan.

The latter is for judicial races, both local and state, and you won’t be able to vote for candidates of either major party.

Democratic and Republican ballots have the non-partisan judicial races included. Here are the sample ballots from Cobb Elections:

These ballots are countywide composites and contain candidates who may not appear on your actual ballot. You can download a precise sample ballot at the My Voter Page from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

What’s on the ballot?

East Cobb voters have several contested primaries in partisan races, including Republican primaries for Cobb Commission Chairman and Cobb Commission District 2, as well as Democratic and Republican primaries for Cobb school board Post 5.

There’s also a Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District race and a Democratic primary for State House District 46.

In countywide races, contested primaries include Democrats in the Cobb Sheriff’s race and Democrats and Republicans for Superior Court Clerk. Non-partisan races are taking place for three seats on Cobb Superior Court and one on Cobb State Court.

There’s a large field of Democrats pursuing their party’s nomination to face Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. David Perdue in November.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to succeed the retired Jiohnny Isakson, won’t be on the primary ballot. The election to determine who fills the final two years of Isakson’s term will be decided in a jungle primary in November, with candidates of both parties. She’s one of them, along with Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins.

The Democratic presidential primary also is scheduled, and like the local and state primaries has been delayed by COVID-19 closures. Even before that happened, however, former vice president Joe Biden had virtually wrapped up the party nomination.

He’ll be listed as one of a dozen candidates on the Democratic ballot, most of whom dropped out not long after the primaries began in February.

Party straw polls

If you choose a ballot from one of the major parties, you’ll also be asked questions that respective party leaders, either local or state, have formulated to gauge where their constituency stands on certain issues.

Democratic voters will be asked 12 questions about climate change; environmental protection; election-day registration; non-partisan redistricting; cash bail; voting rights for convicted felons; a Cobb one-cent transportation sales tax; Cobb MARTA expansion; background checks for buying firearms; senior exemption for school taxes; a Cobb non-discrimination ordinance and prioritizing affordable housing priorities for the elderly and disabled, low-income earners, teachers and first responders in Cobb County.

The Republican ballot has four questions related to educational vouchers, limiting voting in Republican primaries to registered Republican voters, partisan declarations for Cobb school board candidates and whether Cobb should be a Second Amendment “sanctuary county.”

The results are non-binding .

Tritt property purchase on Cobb 2022 SPLOST referendum list

May 28, 2020 10:04 AMMay 27, 2020 3:14 PM by Wendy Parker

Tritt property, Cobb 2022 SPLOST list

The project list for a six-year renewal of Cobb County government’s Special Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) is heavy on transportation projects, public safety improvements and community amenities, including more park space and development.

Among the latter is an $8 million earmark to complete acquisition of 24 acres of land owned by Wylene Tritt next to East Cobb Park.

It’s the most expensive item on a lengthy list of “community impact projects” that are part of a $810 million SPLOST list approved by the Cobb Board of Commissioners in a unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday.

That list will be included in a referendum on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. If voters approve, the county will continue to collect one percent in sales tax from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022 to fund the projects, which include technology and security upgrades, equipment and facilities and other capital improvements within county government.

(You can read through the full project list here.)

The current 2016 SPLOST expires on Dec. 31, 2021, but Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce asked for a renewal referendum this year. Boyce scheduled town halls this spring to solicit feedback on the 2022 project list, but they were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Nearly half of funding on that list—an estimated $329.8 million—would go for transportation and road improvement projects. The rest of the projects would be funded accordingly:

$82 million for public safety
$46 million in countywide projects
$32 million for community impact projects
$27.8 million for public services (parks, libraries)
$18 million combined for projects in Cobb’s six cities
$4 million for Cobb Sheriff’s Office improvements

In 2018, Cobb commissioners approved spending $8.3 million for 22 of the 53 acres of the Tritt property, and Wylene Tritt donated another 7.7 acres.

At the time, the aspirations were that the county would seek to acquire the remainder of former farm property that had once been eyed for a massive senior-living development.

That project generated strong community opposition and commissioners rejected a rezoning request.

Wylene Tritt had planned to sell her land for $20 million and sued the county in 2016. That case was later dropped, and the county entered into lengthy negotiations with her about a sale for park land.

The Tritt property acquired by the county two years ago has been designated for greenspace, with eventual (but for now unapproved) aspirations of turning it into an extension of East Cobb Park.

Those ideas fall along the lines of what a citizens group that opposed the senior-living project touted in 2014.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Concerned Citizens of East Cobb urged its supporters to contact commissioners to include the Tritt property on the project list.

Another park project on the list is $4 million for the repurposing of Shaw Park in Northeast Cobb. During a commissioners work session on Tuesday, District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell cited the need to change the nature of the park, since the ball fields aren’t used much any more, and to have it tie in with upcoming renovations at nearby Gritters Library.

Cobb Fire Station 12 — *Replacing the aging Fire Station No. 12 near Shaw Park is included on the Cobb 2022 SPLOST project list.*

Also in the vicinity is Cobb Fire Station No. 12, which is on the project list for a replacement. It’s among public safety construction projects that include a new Cobb public safety headquarters building on Fairground Street in Marietta.

A new Cobb animal shelter costing $15 million also is on the list.

Of the transportation projects, the bulk of the funding—pegged at $213 million—would go for road resurfacing, with another $13 million for bridge repairs and $10 million to maintain drainage systems. A total of $25 million would be spent for traffic management, including signal timing and planning, and another $11 million would be devoted to sidewalk construction and maintenance.

Of those new road projects, the big-ticket item is East Cobb is $3.9 million for intersection improvements at Post Oak Tritt Road and Holly Springs Road. Another $2.4 million would be used for Canton Road corridor improvements.

Public park land the county purchased in 2017 on Ebenezer Road would be fully developed with 2022 SPLOST funding, around $3 million, after a master plan for Ebenezer Downs was approved by commissioners last year.

Also on the project lists are renovations and improvements at Fullers Park, Sewell Park, Terrell Mill Park, the Mountain View Aquatic Center. additional amenities at East Cobb Park and video surveillance cameras at the Mountain View Regional Library.

Early voting underway; East Cobb location open June 1-5

May 18, 2020 12:43 PMMay 18, 2020 8:23 AM by Wendy Parker

Early voting started Monday across Georgia, and for now doing it in person will be limited in the county to the Cobb Elections office (736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta).

The voting hours there are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through June 5 (closed on Memorial Day, May 24).

From June 1-5 several other locations will open, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), also from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There’s also a drop box there where you can securely deposit your absentee ballot anytime.

More details can be found in the graphic below, and here are the links shown there for absentee balloting information and precinct information for voting on the June 9 primary date.

Here’s more from Cobb Elections:

“Because of public health precautions expect longer wait times. Social distancing guidelines will be in force with a limited number of people allowed in the building at one time. You can still apply for an Absentee Ballot up until the start of June to avoid the expected lines at Advance Voting and on election day due to COVID-19 precautions.”

Cobb early voting underway

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Julia Hurtado, Post 5

May 16, 2020 10:06 AM by Wendy Parker

Julia Hurtado, Cobb school board candidate

Julia Hurtado said she had never considered running for public office when she noted a familiar name on the ballot for the Cobb Board of Education post that includes her daughter’s school.

David Banks has represented Post 5 since 2009, and four years ago was re-elected without opposition. Hurtado, a physical therapist with a busy schedule balancing her career and family, thought to herself “that it’s time for a change.

“Once they’ve been there for so long, people are asking for something different. And I don’t think anyone should run unopposed.”

With that, Hurtado decided to toss her hat into what’s becoming a crowded ring to challenge one of the board’s most senior figures.

Hurtado, the mother of a daughter who attends Sedalia Park Elementary School, is one of two Democrats running in the June 9 primary for Post 5, which includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters, along with some of the Wheeler cluster.

The other Democrat is Tammy Andress, current co-president of the Lassiter PTSA. Three Republicans, including Banks, are running in the GOP primary. The challengers there are Shelley O’Malley and Matt Harper.

(Hurtado’s campaign website is here.)

Hurtado cited what she claims is a lack of transparency and vision, especially in light of quite a bit of economic and cultural diversity in the Cobb County School System, which has 112,000 students.

“There are people who feel they don’t have a connection with this guy,” Hurtado said, referring to Banks, who’s been extended an interview invitation by East Cobb News.

Like Andress, she’s been critical of the school board’s four-Republican majority’s vote to banish public comments from school board members during its public meetings.

She also pointed to increasing parental concerns over facilities at Eastvalley Elementary School, which will soon get a new campus at the former site of East Cobb Middle School.

But they’ve long complained about aging portable classrooms to handle overcrowding.

“Their kids are going to school in dangerous buildings, and nobody’s listening,” Hurtado said.

“The biggest thing we need to do is to communicate and collaborate. In East Cobb, we do a good job of that, because for so many family the center of the community is the schools.”

Hurtado supports the idea of having an equity officer in the district floated by two current board Democrats, including Charisse Davis of the Walton and Wheeler cluster.

That would include not just racial and ethnic minorities, but would attend to the needs of special education students and others in non-traditional situations.

“We need to give these families a platform,” Hurtado said. She advocates a greater distribution of resources for those students, as well as those in an Individual Education Program (IEP).

Hurtado said the current situation of “distance learning” has been challenging for her, homeschooling an elementary school student, and calls teachers “full-blown super heroes” for how they’ve handled online instruction.

“This has shined a light on some of the weaknesses in our system,” she said, referring to students who don’t have computers or other devices to learn from home.

“But it’s also shown how innovative we can be.”

Hurtado said her main advocacy would be “to offer teachers a platform for what they need,” regardless of learning circumstances to come.

School board Democrats also have raised the issue of examining Cobb’s senior school tax exemption, something else the Republicans, including Banks, have not wanted to revisit.

They rejected a proposal by Davis to study the issue, including possible financial impacts by tweaking the exemption.

Hurtado said the county has grown and changed tremendously since the exemption became law in the 1970s.

“Anytime a question is raised, it’s worth collecting data,” she said. “We can’t even ask questions? There’s never a reason to turn down a chance to find out more information.”

If she’s elected to the school board, Hurtado said her budget priorities would be to provide the resources “so that our teachers stay” in the Cobb district.

“Our school district is defined by the strength of our teachers, and in listening to what they need.”

Cobb commission candidate spotlight: Andy Smith, District 2

May 16, 2020 9:09 AM by Wendy Parker

Andy Smith, Cobb commission candidate

Serving two years on the Cobb Planning Commission underscored for Andy Smith what he has been stressing as his “overriding priority” in his campaign for the Cobb Board of Commissioners:

“To preserve Cobb County as the place where we all chose to settle,” he said. “The only way to do that is to plan for growth.”

That’s a delicate issue anywhere, and especially in District 2, which includes most of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.

Smith, who lives in East Cobb and is co-owner of Smith Todd & Co., a construction management company, is one of three Republicans running in the June 9 primary to succeed retiring commissioner Bob Ott.

The winner will face Democrat Jerica Richardson in the November general election.

(Here’s Smith’s campaign website.)

Smith was Ott’s appointee to the planning board as well as the Neighborhood Safety Commission (he resigned from the former when he launched his campaign).

Smith also attended the same high school as Ott in New Jersey, but neither knew the other had resettled in the same part of metro Atlanta until Smith had a case before the Cobb variance board when Ott served on that.

(Ott, who is completing his third term, has not made an endorsement in the race.)

Smith headed south to attend Georgia Tech, getting a degree in architecture, and settled in East Cobb 23 years ago.

At the same time, East Cobb continued to become a magnet for those like him, attracted by the quality of schools and the single-family residential character of the community.

The result is that there isn’t much land left, as high-density zoning cases and related development issues have begun to alter what’s been regarded as a classic suburban enclave.

“If we don’t protect the existing residential neighborhoods, we’ve already lost the fight,” Smith said.

The tricky part is doing that while acknowledging the need to plan for the future, especially around forecasts by the Atlanta Regional Commission of Cobb County surpassing a population of one million by the year 2030.

“We need a commissioner with experience in planning and zoning,” Smith said. “Zoning done right provides a significant benefit.”

Smith said he thinks high-density development needs to be restricted to the Regional Activity Center zoning category.

He realizes that “some people object to high-density in all cases, but some people like that, and want it in areas that are walkable.

“As long as we keep that development where it’s planned to go, then we’ll be fine.”

Senior housing also has generated growing conversation in Cobb, for density and school reasons (senior homeowners 65 and over are exempt from paying school taxes).

Smith noted that in District 2 there many senior residential units that are rentals (including a portion of a mixed-use development under construction on Powers Ferry Road on the site of the former Restaurant Row.

The two other Republicans running in the primary, Fitz Johnson and Kevin Nicholas, have said they are adamantly against East Cobb Cityhood.

Smith said he’s undecided on the issue.

Cityhood leaders had not fully revised the proposed city map and were still considering potential services when they chose not to pursue legislation this year.

“It’s my responsibility to keep an open mind until all the facts are in,” Smith said, acknowledging the cityhood issue has been an emotional one that has generated intense opposition.

“My focus will be to do the job to eliminate the need for cities. Everybody wants Cobb County to remain the place it was when they settled here. It’s going to evolve but we want to have control of how it evolves.”

That task figures to be more challenging as county leaders grapple with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Smith said he admires Cobb officials “for implementing standards that the state has asked for” but said the important issues facing the county remain the same.

Also among them is enhancing salary and benefit packages for public safety personnel. Smith supports the concept of a step-and-grade system that has begun to be implemented, but noted a “compression issue” has emerged in which officers and firefighters with more seniority are at times being eclipsed along that scale by those with less time in the county system.

Smith said that regardless of how such a plan is finalized, “it’s important to let officers know it’s a plan that they can count on.

“It’s not going to be cheap, but it needs to be fair.”

As for the county’s SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) program, Smith said he supports the current process of seeking extensive community feedback before finalizing a project list, but “we need to make sure they are true needs and not just wants.”

Smith is heavily involved in activities at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, and community organizations that include Habitat for Humanity. He’s also been involved as a youth sports coach.

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Shelley O’Malley, Post 5

May 15, 2020 4:16 PM by Wendy Parker

As a first-time candidate for public office, Shelley O’Malley said she’s running now for the Cobb Board of Education in part to give back to the East Cobb community where her children have attended school.

O’Malley said she also has been prompted to seek the Post 5 seat that’s been held for nearly 12 years by David Banks because of the incumbent.

“I’m something a term-limit person anyway,” said O’Malley, who’s one of two challengers facing Banks in the June 9 primary.

Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters. O’Malley, a U.S. Navy veteran and Delta Air Lines pilot, has had three children in the Lassiter. Her youngest attends Lassiter now.

(Here’s O’Malley’s campaign website.)

Another first-time candidate, Matt Harper, a graduate of Walton High School, is the other Republican hopeful.

“No disrespect to Mr. Banks, but I hope voters recognize that when an incumbent is being challenged by other people there ought to be a reason for that,” O’Malley said.

(Two other first-time candidates, Tammy Andress and Julia Hurtado, are vying in the Democratic primary.)

“I just feel he’s a vulnerable candidate generally,” O’Malley said of Banks.

She said he hasn’t been responsive and doesn’t think he’s fostered productive relationships on the seven-member school board.

“I feel like I’ve got a broad perspective” in addressing current issues in the Cobb County School District (East Cobb News has extended an interview invitation to Banks).

She says at times the district tends to “get caught up shiny objects.” Her focus is to prioritize improving the classroom experience, and pointed out that for some students reduced to “distance learning” with school closures due to COVID-19, technology has been an issue.

“Some of ours students are handling it just fine, but there are some things that we need to do better,” she said.

O’Malley gives high marks to the district for its CTLS portal (Cobb Teaching & Learning System), but said that “I want to make sure parents have the resources they need to oversee online learning.

Current circumstances, she said, are bearing out some of those concerns.

“This isn’t online learning. This is crisis learning.”

She’s appreciative of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale for being “mindful of all the players” he has to contend with in a district with more than 100 schools and 112,000 students.

The district faces several fiscal issues due to the COVID-19 crisis, and O’Malley said her belief in fiscal responsibility will be vital.

The district was just starting to “get back” what it had lost financially during the recession, but could face a shortfall in state funding alone of around $80 million.

“Let’s make sure we’re putting the best resources in the classroom setting,” she said.

O’Malley said it’s not just about class size, but implementing “smart technology” that’s easy for teachers to use.

Another issue important to her is addressing the different career needs of students. “Where are we taking kids?”

There’s a strong focus on preparing them for college, “but some of the more important life skill classes are lacking.”

She mentioned the teaching of personal finance as one example, but she thinks more needs to be done to cater to students who are pursuing vocational fields.

The Cobb senior exemption from school taxes has become a subject of intense discussion in the last couple of years. O’Malley said “it’s not right to take it away” from seniors who’ve lived in Cobb for many years and have put their own kids through the school system.

“I would never take an exemption away from someone who’s earned it,” she said. “It’s immoral.”

O’Malley said her aim on the school board would be to become a consensus-builder “instead of needing to win” on certain issues.

“Some can be lightning rods, and some are good at creating good teams,” O’Malley said.

Cobb commission candidate spotlight: Kevin Nicholas, District 2

May 16, 2020 9:11 AMMay 14, 2020 2:13 PM by Wendy Parker

Kevin Nicholas, Cobb commission candidate

Preserving and enhancing the quality of life in Cobb County is the primary reason Kevin Nicholas said he’s seeking a seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

That task figures to be more formidable in the wake of vast economic damage that’s been done due to business shutdowns stemming from the COVID-19 crisis.

Nicholas, an East Cobb resident of more than 20 years, said he’s running because the retirement of Bob Ott, the District 2 commissioner since 2009, has “created a void where we have to provide good leadership. We need to have good solutions, and I have good credentials.”

Nicholas is a business and technology executive who is Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce’s appointee to the Development Authority of Cobb County.

On the June 9 primary ballot, Nicholas will be one of three Republican candidates, along with retired business executive T. Fitz Johnson (profile here) and former Cobb Planning Commission member Andy Smith (profile here).

(Nicholas’ campaign website is here.)

This is Nicholas’ second attempt at seeking public office. In 2014, he ran for the Cobb Board of Education, but was defeated in the GOP primary by then-incumbent Scott Sweeney.

Nicholas has been touting his business experience in his campaign, which like others has had to change course due to the virus. He said he made 2,000 visits campaigning door-to-door and now with online and phone contacts, he said he’s reached about 10,000 potential voters.

One of the biggest issues he’s heard about from citizens in the East Cobb part of District 2 is cityhood.

Nicholas said he’s flatly against East Cobb Cityhood. An incorporation bill introduced in 2019 was put on hold in the legislature for this year.

“This was my view before the campaign,” he said. “I do not support an extra layer of government. The services we get in East Cobb are very good.”

New police and fire departments, he said, would not be any better than what’s provided now by Cobb County.

Providing better support and pay for public safety employees is a high priority for Nicholas. The county has taken initial steps toward implementing a step-and-grade salary structure, and he suggests that for more tenured officers and personnel, there could be an additional bonus structure for retention purposes.

“We’re paying more right now when we lose officers” than in additional salary increases might be in step-and-grade, he said.

Those additional costs figure to be a factor in the coming budget crunch due to declining tax revenue from the COVID-19 shutdowns. Nicholas said it’s hard to predict now how much of a downturn the county will be facing.

“This is why we need someone with a good business mind,” said Nicholas, who is adamantly against raising the property tax millage rate. “We really have to be careful here. We need to focus on our expenses first. You don’t have an unlimited budget.”

SPLOST receipts will be down, and Nicholas said he advocates for SPLOST reform, and in particular how to fund road maintenance.

Ott has warned repeatedly about Cobb’s heavy reliance on SPLOST to provide most of the funds for road projects.

Nicholas said a HOST (Homestead Option Sales Tax) in lieu of SPLOST would offer more flexibility to fund capital improvements, and that he would advocate it as an idea, an option to consider.

In zoning and development matters, Nicholas said it’s imperative “to keep high-density development in check. I hear that all over.

“I have concerns about it, and the way to manage it is to uphold the land-use plan. It’s there for a reason.”

As a member of Cobb development authority, Nicholas voted down tax incentives for redevelopment projects, including the Kroger at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill and a proposed hotel near the Cobb Energy Center, saying they would set a bad precedent.

“They need to be for companies that are bringing high-quality jobs” and not primarily service-industry jobs.

Nicholas is a member of and Stephen Minister at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and also has served as Ott’s appointment on the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission. He also was a board member of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, a civic group.

“We need a commissioner where you know what they stand for,” he said. “I believe I have the credentials and background, and you have to have a good relationship with the community.

“As a commissioner, I’ll continue to do that,” Nicholas said.

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Tammy Andress, Post 5

May 13, 2020 1:13 PM by Wendy Parker

Tammy Andress, Cobb school board candidate

Tammy Andress, a longtime PTA leader in the Lassiter High School cluster, said she has thought about running for public office for a long time.

The current co-chair of the Lassiter PTSA also has held leadership positions at her daughters’ previous schools—including Davis Elementary School and Mabry Middle School.

Andress is one of two Democrats vying for the Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education in the June 9 primary. Three Republicans are running, including incumbent David Banks.

She said she’s running now to address what she sees as one of the biggest challenges facing the Cobb County School District—meeting the individual needs of each student.

“There are many disparities in how those resources are distributed,” said Andress, a marketing specialist for the Zaxby’s Sandy Plains location who has two daughters who attend Lassiter.

Her oldest daughter, a Lassiter graduate, currently attends American University in Washington, D.C.

Andress also serves on the executive board of the East Cobb County Council for PTAs.

(Here’s Andress’ campaign website.)

Another major challenge, one that’s arisen since she announced her campaign, is how to address the loss of learning in the Cobb school district, which has been closed since mid-March due to COVID-19.

Since then, district officials have issued academic guidance regarding “distance learning” that calls for pass/fail grades being reported in grades K-8, and allows students to accept grades as of March 13 as final.

Andress doesn’t think much of those measures.

“The learning stopped,” she said. “Now you’re going to have some foundational learning that’s going to have to be done again next year.

“A lot of kids just stopped. There’s no incentive to learn from pass/fail.”

Those concerns dovetail into what Andress sees even in an area with plenty of wealth.

“We are very fortunate to be in Post 5,” Andress said of the district that includes the Lassiter and Pope clusters and has been represented for three terms by Banks.

“People come here for the schools, but some right next to us are struggling.”

Cobb BOE Post 5

The equity she’s referring to is resources for students with unique learning needs, especially in special education and those from different cultural and language backgrounds.

“We as a country need to do better for those students who are not in general education,” she said.

That’s part of her larger platform of increasing transparency in the district and empowering stakeholders, especially parents of children with those learning challenges.

One of her priorities would be to push for a Chief Resource Officer to provide more equitable distribution of funds across the district, which has an enrollment of 112,000 students.

It’s similar to what two current Democrats on the board—including Charisse Davis of the Walton and Wheeler clusters—have proposed, in calling for an equity officer.

Andress’ other priorities include providing dedicated teacher planning time and creating a College and Career Academy in East Cobb. She also would like to see more “social-emotional” counselors for students, especially below the high school level.

Although she’s a Democrat—she calls herself a moderate—Andress said she’s been disappointed with some of the partisan wrangling on the board in the last couple years. She said it’s caused “tension that has created a barrier to improving education. The bickering is getting in the way of the work that needs to be done.”

Andress said she would take a non-partisan approach, and thinks the board’s Republican majority did a disservice by eliminating board member comments during public meetings last year.

Another issue that has flared up on the board is over the Cobb schools’ senior tax exemption. Davis had called for a study to examine possible ways to close loopholes, but that request was rejected by the four Republicans on the school board.

Andress said she was shocked that was voted down.

“These are issues that should be explored and that information should be put out to the public,” she said. “What’s wrong with more information?”

Andess said she doesn’t favor completely eliminating the exemption—that would require action from the legislature. But she says it’s not right that seniors 65 and older can move into the county now, even in very expensive homes, lured by the exemption.

“There should be something that you should have to pay,” she said.

The bigger concern, she said, is that she thinks Cobb schools don’t get equitable state funding under the current Quality Basic Education formula.

Andress said it’s hard to tell how exactly how much of a financial hit the Cobb school district will take because of the Coronavirus, both in terms of the operating budget that gets half of its funding from the state and SPLOST projects funded by a county sales tax.

She has advocated for more teachers and smaller class sizes and the need for the Cobb school district to better accommodate what she calls “the invisible child.”

But “we’re going to have a new normal now,” she said.

Cobb commission candidate spotlight: Fitz Johnson, District 2

May 16, 2020 9:12 AMMay 7, 2020 5:07 PM by Wendy Parker

Fitz Johnson, Cobb commission candidate

After serving in a variety of military, business and community leadership roles, Fitz Johnson is seeking the District 2 vacancy on the Cobb Board of Commissioners as an extension of a question he says he’s asked many times in those other capacities:

“What can I do to help?” said Johnson, a Vinings resident, in an interview with East Cobb News.

“This job is the best way for me to get involved. The time is right.”

He’s one of three Republicans vying to succeed retiring three-term Commissioner Bob Ott in the June 9 primary.

The others are Kevin Nicholas (profile here) and Andy Smith (profile here).

(Here’s Johnson’s campaign website).

This isn’t Johnson’s first campaign for office; in 2014 he unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for Georgia school superintendent.

The retired U.S. Army officer, retired entrepreneur and former pro sports team owner (the Atlanta Beat women’s soccer team) said that he has the time and passion to represent a diverse District 2 that includes most of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.

“I have a passion for working with citizens and helping to make the county better,” Johnson said.

Since he began his campaign, he’s heard a lot from citizens about a wide range of topics, including East Cobb Cityhood, which he opposes.

“I’m not in favor of it,” Johnson said. “It would add another layer of government. I’m a fiscal conservative who believes in keeping taxes low.”

That mantra figures to be challenged in the coming months and years as Cobb County, like many other state and local governments, begins to address the financial fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.

Johnson said he recently tested positive for the virus and sought emergency room treatment and has been recovering for a few weeks. “It really takes you down,” he said.

He said his experience working with complex business budgets and employing a long-term perspective would be assets on the five-member commission.

Commissioners will soon be meeting to discuss how the county might use $132 million in federal stimulus funding, but that’s just the beginning of a long way out of what figures to be a fiscal challenge greater than the recession.

“Now more than ever, we need a commissioner who understands budgets and finance,” Johnson said. “And not just now, but the next 5-7 years. That’s what we’re going to be looking at.

“Now is not the time to panic, but we have to take care of our citizens.”

Johnson said he does not support increasing the property tax millage rate to fill budget gaps.

He also thinks the county can continue to implement a step-and-grade compensation system for public safety employees that took effect in March.

“It still can be done, we have to do that,” he said. “That’s going to cost us more money if we don’t.”

But the post-virus financial scenario also figures to be a factor in how that issue is addressed.

“We can’t see into the future but we can look at what we think is going to happen,” he said, suggesting that some modeling might be done based on what the county did during the recession.

Another major issue throughout District 2 is zoning and development, and Johnson said as commissioner he would adhere to the Cobb Future Land Use Plan.

During Ott’s time in office, he has overseen four master plans, including one in Vinings near Johnson’s home that favors preserving what’s already there.

“We need to continue to have the community put together what they want,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he supports the county’s Special Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), but said we’re going to have to do better. We have to make sure the oversight is there.”

Johnson and his wife Suzann have three children and four grandchildren.

His other community activities include serving on the Kennesaw State University Board of Trustees, the Cobb Hospital Authority and the Wellstar Health System Board of Trustees.

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Matt Harper, Post 5

May 7, 2020 8:35 AM by Wendy Parker

Three years in the classroom gave Matt Harper a whole new perspective on the value of education. Matt Harper, Cobb school board candidate

It also fueled his desire to do something more than be the typical involved parent.

After serving as a science lab instructor at Murdock Elementary School—where he once was a student and where both of his daughters have attended—Harper felt a stronger desire to make a difference.

That’s why he said he’s running for the Post 5 seat the Cobb Board of Education as a first-time candidate for public office.

(Here’s Harper’s campaign website).

“As a teacher, I saw on a daily basis the grind—and the joys—that teachers go through, and what we ask of them,” said Harper, who also has served on the Murdock School Council.

“Before that, I’d say I fell into the category of clueless dad.”

The former environmental planner-turned information technology consultant is one of three Republican candidates on the June 9 primary ballot, along with Delta pilot Shelley O’Malley and three-term incumbent David Banks.

Post 5 (see map below) includes the Pope and Lassiter attendances zones, and stretches into portions of the Wheeler cluster.

A graduate of Walton High School, Harper and his wife Sharon have daughters who attend Murdock (3rd grade) and Dodgen Middle School (6th grade).

As someone who grew up in East Cobb, Harper is clearly playing up his local ties, as well as his background as an educator.

He said he thought about running four years ago, “but the timing just wasn’t right. I just feel called to serve.”

Providing greater support for teachers in the classroom while maintaining a fiscally conservative approach to taxes and budgeting are among Harper’s priorities, but the COVID-19 crisis that closed Cobb schools since March 13 will prompt some difficult and dramatic decisions.

“Things are going to continue to change,” Harper said, “but things aren’t going to change about how schools work” and the roles they play in their communities.

When Gov. Brian Kemp closed public schools statewide for the rest of the current school year, the Georgia Department of Education also cancelled standardized testing.

Harper thinks standardized testing should be suspended for the 2020-21 school year as well.

“Teachers are going to have to be catching students up across the board,” he said.

Massive business closures also will impact the Cobb County School District’s Education SPLOST (Special Local-Option Sales Tax) collections that fund school construction, maintenance and technology projects.

The district’s pending fiscal year 2021 budget formulation also is in limbo because the Georgia legislative session was suspended before school funding was determined.

Cobb gets roughly half of its $1 billion budget from the state, and Kemp is proposing 14 percent 14 cuts at all departmental levels to address the shortfalls.

Cutting that much from Cobb’s upcoming budget would be around $70 million.

“That would be a big hit,” Harper said.

Cobb BOE Post 5

When, and how, Cobb schools would begin the next school year also factors into future funding issues that the school board will have to wrestle with.

“The biggest concern that I have is how do we do best with the funding we have while keeping our school staff healthy and bring children back so their parents can go back to work.”

Harper does not favor doing away with the Cobb schools senior tax exemption, which comes to around $100 million a year. It’s an issue that caused some flare-ups on the school board in the last two years, largely along partisan lines, with Republicans opposed to touching it, and Democrats wanting at least to study the matter.

In his teaching work at Murdock, Harper developed an environmental club at the school, and rebuilt its school garden.

He strongly favors a 30-minute recess period in all Cobb elementary schools, something that exists now at the discretion of principals.

Even though he’s a “self-proclaimed digital pack rat,” Harper thinks that recess should be technology-free. “It’s a no-brainer,” he said.

As for what awaits Cobb school students in the coming months, Harper said that while starting a new school year online-only is a very possible option, “no one wants that to happen.”

The personal connections students make with one another, their teachers and principals and bus drivers is vitally important, he said especially at the grade-school level.

“The stability that the school environment offers students is more than reading, writing arithmetic,” Harper said.

“Those baseline needs of school and community have not changed.”

East Cobb Government Center gets absentee ballot drop box

May 4, 2020 6:20 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Government Center, Cobb Police Precinct 4

The East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) is one of four locations in the county where an absentee ballot drop box has been installed for the 2020 primary elections.

That vote has been pushed back to June 9 from the original May 19 date, and Cobb Elections is encouraging the voting public to cast their ballots absentee.

The other locations are:

South Cobb Government Service Center, 4700 Austell Road, Austell
North Cobb Regional Library, 3535 Old 41 Highway NW, Kennesaw
Elections Main Office, 736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta

The boxes are being monitored by cameras for security purposes.

According to Cobb Elections, “Public health concerns will likely impact in-person voting availability and wait times may increase due to social distancing and sanitation requirements.”

The other standing absentee ballot return options remain the same:

Mail to the address on the outer envelope
Hand-deliver to an absentee clerk at the Elections Main Office
Hand-deliver to the poll manager of any Cobb County advance voting location

Any mailed or dropped off absentee ballots must be done so by 7 p.m. on primary election day, June 9, in order for them to be counted.

Two weeks ago, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office began mailing absentee ballots to voters who filled out an application.

All registered Georgia voters received the applications—which for now just pertain to the primaries and presidential primary, which is also on June 9—and have until June 5 to submit them.

Cobb Elections has set up an Absentee Voting Page with more information.

If you haven’t registered to vote, you now have until May 11 to do so, and can do that here.

If you’d like to view and download a sample ballot (Republican, Democratic or non-partisan) or if you need to change your registration information, you can do that at the My Voter page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.

Cobb Absentee Ballot Envelope

One other thing Cobb Elections wants you to note when you get your absentee ballot: It will look and work a little different, with an explanation below:

Instead of creating the usual white inner envelope and an outer envelope printed with an Oath, the vendor created a white paper “sleeve” as the inner envelope. Although the instructions say to enclose and securely seal the voted ballot in the smaller of the two envelopes, the white folded paper sleeve will work just fine.

Please put your voted ballot into the white paper sleeve and then place it into the Oath envelope, sign the Oath and return the ballot. Do not tape or staple the paper sleeve, because the ballot might become damaged as it is removed.

The reason there are two envelopes is to ensure ballot privacy. As staff prepares the ballots for counting, the voted ballot is separated from the outer envelope that identifies the voter’s name. Staff never sees how any person has voted. In this case, Cobb Elections staff will handle this sleeve in the same way as a sealed envelope.

Please email info@cobbelections.org with any further questions.

Ga. absentee ballot mailings start April 21; drop boxes OK’d

April 15, 2020 7:43 PM by Wendy Parker

The Georgia presidential and general primaries have been pushed back to June 9, but some absentee ballots that have been requested will start to be mailed back to voters next week.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has said the mailings will begin on April 21. The state’s estimated 6.9 million active voters were sent forms in the mail to request an absentee ballot.

Voters who wish to vote absentee must return their filled-out ballots by 7 p.m. on the primary date.

The broad absentee ballot access is just for the primaries for now, with a much higher return rate than usual expected due to safety and social distancing concerns over the Coronavirus.

Cobb voters over the age of 60 received two absentee ballot request forms, one from the county elections office and one from the state, due to an inadvertent overlap.

Cobb Elections said it mailed out absentee ballot applications to those older voters in late March, but its print vendor was late in fulfilling the order due to virus-related staffing shortages.

By the time those were sent out, the state mailed applications to all registered voters in Georgia regardless of age.

In a note on its website, Cobb Elections said both applications are valid, and voters 60 and older can fill out and return either of them to request an absentee ballot.

If you have not received an absentee ballot application, you can request one by clicking here and filling out the form.

The Cobb Elections office also said it is processing absentee voting applications in the order in which they are received. The preferred email to send in your application is absentee@cobbcounty.org.

More information can be found here on absentee balloting in Georgia at the Secretary of State’s website.

If you haven’t registered to vote, you now have until May 11 to do so, and can do that here.

On Wednesday the Georgia State Elections Board held an emergency meeting related to the delayed primaries and approved the use of drop boxes by county elections officials to handle returned absentee ballots.

The measure, which also is for the primary only, doesn’t require county elections offices to provide them, but offers some guidelines on how to set them up.

Cobb Elections is asking for a couple of other things while staff responds to so many absentee ballot requests.

One of them is patience. You’re asked not to call or e-mail to find out when your application was processed, and when you may get our absentee ballot. The office is updating its list of processed applications and making it public; a daily file of those forms can be found here.

Staff also is in need of homemade cloth masks. Starting May 4, Cobb Elections will be accepting masks at a donation bin at its main office at 736 Whitlock Ave. in Marietta. They’re seeking 1,400 masks to protect poll workers for the primaries.

If you’d like to help out, you can drop off masks in a plastic bag in the donation bin from 12-1 p.m. Monday-Friday.

BREAKING NEWS: Georgia primary election delayed until June 9

April 9, 2020 10:57 AM by Wendy Parker

The May 19 Georgia primary election has been delayed due to the Coronavirus crisis.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensparger announced Thursday that the presidential and general primaries will now take place on June 9.

His decision came the day after Gov. Brian Kemp extended the statewide shelter-in-place order through April 30, and a public health emergency until May 13.

“This decision allows our office and county election officials to continue to put in place contingency plans to ensure that voting can be safe and secure when in-person voting begins and prioritizes the health and safety of voters, county election officials, and poll workers,” Raffensparger said.

He had resisted calls from Georgia House Speaker Dennis Ralston and others to delay the elections due to the statewide response to COVID-19, which has claimed 370 lives and infected more than 10,000 people in the state.

The Georgia delay also comes two days after the Wisconsin primary took place following a legal battle in which the state’s Supreme Court overturned the governor’s attempt to postpone voting.

There were poll worker shortages reported and many polling places were closed and consolidated. Citizens showed up at polls waiting in long lines, not able to observe social distancing guidelines, to cast their ballots.

In his announcement Thursday, Raffensparger said there were concerns from county elections officials in southwest Georgia that they “could not overcome the challenges brought on by COVID-19 in time for in-person voting to begin on April 27.”

The Albany area and surrounding counties have been hard-hit by COVID-19, with a state-high 62 deaths reported in Dougherty County.

April 27 is the date early voting was to have begun, and it falls around the time a leading COVID-19 forecasting project is predicting the virus will reach its peak in Georgia.

The voter registration deadline has been pushed back to May 11, and early voting will take place on May 18.

Raffensparger had mailed out an absentee ballot application to all registered voters in Georgia, and the number of requests has overwhelmed county elections officials.

That includes Cobb Elections, which this week notified county voters that the Secretary of State’s vendor had not yet started mailing out absentee ballots.

According to Raffensparger, absentee ballot applications “will continue to be accepted and processed by counties even if the application said May 19. Once county election officials properly verify the signature on the application, the voter will be sent an absentee ballot for the primary election now to be held on June 9.”

More information on absentee ballots can be found here.

The general primary includes voting for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by David Perdue, Congressional races, state legislative races, county commission contests, school board campaigns and judicial seats.

Any runoffs will now take place on Aug. 11.

The race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kelly Loeffler will be a “jungle primary” held during the Nov. 3 general election.

The presidential preference primary had been moved to May 19 from its original date of March 24, but there won’t be anything unresolved on the ballot.

President Donald Trump is the only Republican candidate on the ballot, and former vice president Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign this week.

U.S. Sen. Loeffler says she’ll liquidate individual stocks

April 8, 2020 2:50 PM by Wendy Parker

After coming under fire for selling investments right before the Coronavirus outbreak, Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler said Wednesday she and her husband are liquidating their individual stock holdings and will be trading in exchange-traded and mutual funds from now on.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, the appointed successor to Johnny Isakson denied accusations of insider trading, and said she and her husband are changing their portfolios to “end media fixation” on the issue even though ethics provisions don’t require it.

Loeffler, who lives in Buckhead, was the chief executive of a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, a commodity and financial service provider founded by her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher. He is also the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Published reports indicated Loeffler and Sprecher bought and sold a total of $1.4 million in stock before financial markets suffered their worst fall since the recession in October 2008.

In the piece, entitled “I Never Traded on Confidential Coronavirus Information,” Loeffler wrote that she has never engaged in direct trading of investment accounts managed by third-party advisers, including Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs:

In its hunger to place blame, the media fixated on a fantasy of improper congressional trading, stemming from a Jan. 24 briefing I and other Senators attended with health officials. But based on contemporaneous reporting and public statements by the officials who provided the briefing, there was no material or nonpublic information discussed. All we did was meet public-health leaders and ask them questions about the emerging virus.

She referenced comments from Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut about the briefing that “what I heard in response to many questions is a tentative answer. . . . We need to know more.”

The full text of Loeffler’s op-ed was distributed to media outlets by her campaign.

Loeffler, a Republican appointed in December by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill Isakson’s unexpired term, is up for election in November.

She’ll be in a “jungle” primary that includes Republican Congressman Doug Collins of northwest Georgia, who was lobbying to be appointed and has been critical of her stock market activities.

In her op-ed, Loeffler said she expected attacks once she began her election campaign, “but these allegations go well beyond what should be considered acceptable. We have spent our entire lives building careers based on integrity and hard work.

“My family’s investment accounts are being used as weapons for an assault on my character at a time when we should all be focused on making our country safe and strong.”

The winner of the November election will serve out the final two years of Isakson’s term.

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!

All Georgia voters to be mailed absentee ballot applications

March 28, 2020 12:52 PM by Wendy Parker

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has announced that all 6.9 million registered voters in the state will be mailed absentee ballot applications in response to COVID-19.

In a release sent out this week, Raffensperger said this is a temporary measure that applies only to the now-delayed May 19 primaries. Voters aged 65 and older and those with disabilities can apply to vote absentee through the primary and general elections and any runoffs during the 2020 election cycle.

(Cobb Elections also said this week it’s mailing absentee requests to all voters 60 and older, and that the first absentee ballots are expected to be mailed out as soon as April 4.)

A few more items to note from the Secretary of State’s release:

Poll workers will receive additional resources to clean the equipment regularly. In-person voters who show up to vote in person will be instructed to maintain a safe distance when waiting to vote.

These measures will protect poll workers as well. Understanding the extra risk Georgia’s generally elderly poll workers face, Raffensperger is working to help counties hire more and younger poll workers. Extra staff will allow those who feel sick to be absent from the polls without significantly impacting continuity while a younger pool of workers will increase resiliency in the face of the COVID-19 threat.

On Friday, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston sent a letter to Raffensperger asking him to delay the primaries again, to a month or more, as the state grapples with a rising caseload of COVID-19 cases.

But Raffensperger has said the primary, which was to have taken place on Tuesday, will go on as rescheduled for May 19.

As of noon Saturday, Georgia had 2,366 confirmed positive tests and 69 deaths, with 617 hospitalizations.

Cobb County has 181 cases, and its death toll rose from five earlier this week to eight.

Ga. presidential primary delayed to May; advance voting halted

March 16, 2020 7:39 PMMarch 14, 2020 7:28 PM by Wendy Parker

Georgia’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak has prompted a delay in the state’s presidential primary.

Early voting has been underway since March 2 for the March 24 primary, which has now been pushed back to May 19.

That announcement was made Saturday by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (here’s his full statement).

May 19 is the date of Georgia’s general primary, which includes all other federal, state and local candidates.

“Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the community at large,” Raffensperger said. “Given these circumstances, I believe it is necessary and prudent to suspend the voting in the Presidential Preference Primary, and the local elections associated with them, and roll them into the already scheduled May 19 General Primary.”

Raffensperger said early voting would be halted for now.

He said one of the main concerns is conducting elections with a high number of poll workers 70 and older, and who are considered in a high-risk group because of their age.

On Saturday, Louisiana’s presidential primary, scheduled for April 4, was delayed to June 20.

The decision to delay the Georgia presidential primary came hours after Gov. Brian Kemp declared a public health emergency in the state. He also issued an executive order to call up as many as 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops in response to the situation.

Georgia’s positive tests for Coronavirus jumped from 42 on Friday to 66 Saturday; and Cobb’s nearly doubled in that time, from 8 to 15, the highest number of cases for any county in the state.

Cobb also has Georgia’s only Coronavirus-related death, a 67-year-old man who was being treated at WellStar Kennestone Hospital and had other medical issues.

East Cobb Elections Update: Qualified primary candidates

March 8, 2020 1:52 PMMarch 6, 2020 1:09 PM by Wendy Parker

The qualifying deadline for 2020 elections in Georgia has passed, and there haven’t been any major surprises from what candidates had announced in the weeks leading up to this week’s filing period.

The most competitive primary races for East Cobb voters will be in the Republican primaries for Cobb Commission Chairman and Cobb Commission District 2, as well as Democratic and Republican primaries for Post 5 on the Cobb Board of Education.

There also will be a multi-candidate field in the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District, including former Congresswoman Karen Handel and four others.

The primaries are May 19, and Cobb voters also will be choosing party nominees for countywide offices including sheriff and district attorney, all legislative seats and one of two U.S. Senate seats.

Non-partisan primaries for judge positions on Cobb State Court and Cobb Superior Court also will be on the primary ballot.

Two legislative elections in East Cobb will feature rematches in November. In State Senate 32, Republican incumbent Kay Kirkpatrick is being opposed once again by Democrat Christine Triebsch.

In State House 43, Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper will face Democrat Luisa Wakeman, who made a close race in what has been a what has been a safe seat for Cooper, the House Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman.

Cobb Commission Chairman

Republican incumbent Mike Boyce of East Cobb is seeking a second term, and will be facing a familiar primary opponent and another newcomer.

Another East Cobb resident, Larry Savage, is making his third attempt in the GOP primary, having run in 2012 and 2016. Ricci Mason of Acworth, a retired Cobb Police officer, will be making his political debut.

The only Democrat to qualify is Lisa Cupid, who is completing her second term as District 4 commissioner in South Cobb.

Cobb Commission District 2

The retirement of Bob Ott has prompted several Republican candidates to qualify for the district, which includes some of East Cobb as well as the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area.

The GOP qualifiers are East Cobb residents Andy Smith, Ott’s appointee to the Cobb Planning Commission, Kevin Nicholas, a Boyce appointee to the Development Authority of Cobb County, and business executive and entrepreneur Fitz Johnson of Vinings.

Nicholas ran for Post 6 on the Cobb school board (Walton, Wheeler clusters) in 2012 and Fitz Johnson is a former candidate for Georgia School Superintendent.

Jerica Richardson, who’s worked on several Democratic campaigns, including that of current Cobb school board member Jaha Howard, is the only Democrat to qualify.

Richardson and Smith are first-time candidates for public office.

Cobb School Board Post 5

Three-term Republican incumbent David Banks had little opposition in his last two re-election bids but has plenty this year from several first-time candidates for the seat that includes the Pope and Lassiter attendance zones.

Other GOP candidates he’ll be facing in the primary are Delta Air Lines pilot Shelley O’Malley and IT consultant Matt Harper.

Another announced Republican candidate, attorney Rob Madayag, said this week he wouldn’t be running due to legal action he’s threatening against the Cobb County School District over bullying reporting issues.

Two Democratic candidates have qualified, current Lassiter PTSA co-president Tammy Andress and physical therapist Julia Hurtado.

The Pope High School Council is holding a forum for the Post 5 candidates next Sunday, March 15, at 3 p.m. in the school’s performing arts center.

6th District Congress

Handel, who won the seat in a 2017 special election but lost to Democrat Lucy McBath in 2018, got the support of the Republican establishment as she began her bid to regain her seat.

Karen Handel concedes, 6th Congressional District — *Former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel*

In the GOP primary, she will be on the ballot along with operations manager Mykel Lynn Barthelmy, Alpharetta businessman Blake Harbin, retired business owner Paulette Smith and former Altanta Falcons running back Joe Profit.

McBath is the only Democrat to qualify in the 6th District, which includes East Cobb, North Fulton and North DeKalb.

Cobb Sheriff

Longtime incumbent Neil Warren is the only Republican to qualify, but there’s a three-way race for the Democratic nomination, involving former sheriff’s deputy Jimmy Herndon of East Cobb, Gregory Gilstrap and Craig Owens.

Legislative races

The only East Cobb seat in the Georgia General Assembly with a contested primary is in District 46. Caroline Holko, who ran for Cobb Commission District 3 in 2018, is facing nurse Shirley Ritchie. Incumbent State Rep. John Carson is the only Republican who qualified.

In District 33, Republican incumbent Don Parsons will face Democratic consultant Connie DiCicco in November. In District 45, Republican State Rep. Matt Dollar is being challenged by Sarah Tindall Ghazal, a former voter access specialist for the Georgia Democratic Party.

Cobb Judgeships

Five incumbent Superior Court judges will not face re-election opposition: Kimberly Childs, Mary Staley, Gregory Poole, Tain Kell and Chief Judge Reuben Green did not draw any challengers.

Jason Marbutt, Cobb senior assistant DA — *Jason* *Marbutt, Cobb Superior Court Judge candidate*

Two retirements have prompted primary contests: Attorneys John Robert Greco, Jason Marbutt of East Cobb and Greg Shenton are vying for the post being vacated by Stephen Schuster.

Judge Lark Ingram also is retiring, and her post drew candidates Kellie Hill, currently a Cobb magistrate judge, and attorney Daniele Johnson.

In State Court, a retirement there also has led to a contested primary in Division 1, Post 6, where Toby Prodgers is stepping aside. The candidates are attorneys Joseph Atkins, Trina Griffiths, Scott Halperin, Mazi Mazloom, Diana Simmons and David Willingham.

Seven other incumbents are unopposed, as are the incumbent Chief Magistrate Judge, Brendan Murphy, and Probate Court Judge Kelli Wolk.

See State Court candidates listed here.

U.S. Senate

Seven Democrats have qualified for the nomination to oppose Republican incumbent David Perdue, who has no primary opposition.

The hopefuls include Jon Ossoff, who lost to Handel in a special Congressional election in 2017, former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, former lieutenant governor candidate Sarah Riggs Amico, retired military veteran James Knox, journalist Tricia Carpenter McCracken, health care professional Marckeith DeJesus and civil rights lawyer Maya Dillard Smith.

A “jungle primary” to determine who’ll finish the final two years of former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term will take place in November.

Republican businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp until then, has primary opposition from Congressman Doug Collins, engineer Derrick Grayson, business executive Wayne Johnson and educator Kandiss Taylor.

Democratic candidates include Matt Lieberman, the son of former U.S. Senator and Democratic vice presidental nominee Joe Lieberman, Tamara Johnson-Shealey, physician Joy-Felicia Slade, attorney Ed Tarver and Richard Dien Winfield, a philosophy professor at the University of Georgia.

Unless there is an outright winner (50 percent plus-1 of the vote), the top two finishers, regardless of party, would go into a runoff.

Cobb school board candidate withdraws; threatens to sue district

March 2, 2020 7:04 PM by Wendy Parker

A candidate for the Cobb Board of Education says he’s withdrawing after he announced that he may file a lawsuit against the Cobb County School District. Rob Madayag, Cobb school board candidate

Rob Madayag, an attorney, said late Monday that he wouldn’t be qualifying for the Post 5 seat currently held by two-term incumbent David Banks.

Madayag had been one of four GOP hopefuls to announce for the seat, including Banks, as qualifying began Monday.

Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters.

In a post to a Cobb schools-related Facebook page, Madayag said that “based on several factors, I do not think I am the best candidate at this time.”

Madayag filed notice last week that he may take the CCSD to court, saying it doesn’t properly report bullying incidents under the state’s school anti-bullying law.

“I intend to win the lawsuit and will not be able to dedicate the amount of time to campaign and win that i think necessary,” Madayag said in his statement on Monday. “I do not plan on losing, and with the number of depositions and document requests in the litigation I have mapped out, I expect to have most of my free time taken up.”

In a letter sent to school board members and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale on Feb. 25 (you can read it here), Madayag said he was skeptical of huge reductions in reported instances of bullying in Cobb schools under Ragsdale—to be specific, 86 percent between 2014 and 2018.

Madayag, who said his daughter has been bullied in Cobb schools, wrote that it’s “a rate that defies all logic and reason and is a significant outlier with respect to all the other school districts in the metro-Atlanta area, and quite possibly the entire United States.”

In addition to Banks, the other Republican candidates for the Post 5 season are Shelley O’Malley, a Delta Air Lines pilot, and IT consultant Matt Harper.

Two Democrats also have announced, current Lassiter PTSA co-president Tammy Andress, and physical therapist Julia Hurtado.

Qualifying for the May 19 general primary ends at noon Friday.

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Cobb Commission Chairman

Cobb Commission District 2

Cobb School Board Post 5

6th District Congress

Cobb Sheriff

Legislative races