East Cobb Politics & Elections Archives

Handel cruises in GOP primary for 6th District Congress

June 10, 2020 9:56 AM by Wendy Parker

There will be a rematch in the 6th Congressional District election in November.

Former Congresswoman Karen Handel easily won the Republican primary Tuesday night against four other candidates, getting 73 percent of the vote.

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

That’s with 135 of the 140 precincts reporting in the district, which stretches from East Cobb to North Fulton and north and central DeKalb.

Handel received 21,287 votes to 4,525 votes for her nearest competitor, former Atlanta Falcons running back Joe Profit (full results here).

She won all 51 precincts in East Cobb, tallying 8,576 votes, or 68 percent.

Handel will be facing U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat who was unopposed Tuesday. Two years ago, McBath unseated Handel to become the first Democrat to represent the 6th in 40 years.

After thanking her supporters, Handel said Wednesday that “Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Michael Bloomberg will be back to pour in millions to protect the investment they’ve made in Lucy McBath. GA-6 deserves serious, proven leadership in these difficult times, and I look forward to taking on Lucy McBath and her do-nothing record.”

McBath’s campaign sent out several messages Wednesday morning, including a response to a Handel comment that during her time as Georgia Secretary of State, Georgia was “a model for voter integrity.”

Said McBath: “I have heard from numerous constituents who have applied for a ballot and never received it, who were stuck in lines for over two hours today in the rain, and many more who never were able to vote. For Karen Handel to cite this as a model for voter integrity is despicable.”

In 2018, McBath prevailed by fewer than 3,000 votes in one of the key races that swung control of the U.S. House to Democrats. It’s considered another bellwether campaign in the fall.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, former 6th Congressional District candidate Jon Ossoff appeared headed for a runoff.

With 77 percent of precincts reporting statewide, he had 48.8 percent of the vote to 14 percent for former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson and 12 percent for former lieutenant governor candidate Sarah Riggs Amico.

They’re vying to compete in November against incumbent Republican David Perdue, who was unopposed.

In a special election in 2017, Ossoff held a commanding lead in a jungle primary for 6th District Congress. But he was forced into a runoff, where Handel defeated him.

Georgia’s other senator, Kelly Loeffler, will be involved in a jungle primary in November. A Republican, she was appointed in January to succeed Johnny Isakson.

The winner in the fall will fill out the last two years of Isakson’s term.

In the Georgia Democratic presidential primary, former vice president Joe Biden got 83 percent, although he wrapped up the nomination several weeks ago.

President Donald Trump was the only Republican on the statewide ballot.

East Cobb Election Update: Boyce, Banks lead in GOP primaries

June 10, 2020 9:10 AMJune 9, 2020 7:59 PM by Wendy Parker

UPDATED, 12:30 AM:

Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce has a big lead in the Republican nomination Tuesday, earning 67 percent of the vote with 79 percent of the precincts reporting.

Three-term incumbent David Banks also appeared headed for the GOP nomination for Post 5 on the Cobb Board of Education with 55 percent of the vote against two challengers and 85 percent of precincts reporting.

In the Democratic primary for Post 5, physical therapist Julia Hurtado led Lassiter PTSA co-president Tammy Andress 58-42 percent with 85 percent of precincts reporting.

The GOP primary for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners appears headed to a runoff.

Fitz Johnson has 44 percent of the vote with 75 percent of precincts reporting, while Andy Smith and Kevin Nicholas had 28 and 27 percent respectively.

In the 6th Congressional District Republican primary, former Congresswoman Karen Handel got 68 percent of the vote against four other candidates in polling that stretched from East Cobb to North Fulton to Central DeKalb.

Election night reporting

UPDATED, 11:35 P.M.:

We’re still waiting for election-day precinct totals to come in, and not much has changed in the races noted earlier.

There are some local judicial races that are being contested, including one involving Chief Judge Reuben Green of the Cobb Superior Court. He’s trailing early in his non-partisan race against veteran attorney Angela Brown, 61-39 percent.

UPDATED, 10:30 P.M.:

Some initial results from the 6th DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL GOP primary show former Congresswoman Karen Handel with a big, but early lead, over four other candidates. She has 64 percent of the vote (no precincts yet), and former Atlanta Falcons running back Joe Profit has 24 percent.

In the U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC primary, former 6th District Congressional candidate Jon Ossoff has 46 percent, former lieutenant governor candidate Sarah Riggs Amico has 14 percent, and former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson has 12 percent. Again, no precints reporting.

In the STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 46 DEMOCRATIC primary, former Cobb Commission candidate Caroline Holko leads Shirley Ritchie 54-46 percent in early result.

UPDATED, 9:40 P.M.:

Incumbent COBB COMMISSION CHAIRMAN Mike Boyce has 63 percent of the vote in initial returns in the GOP primary, Larry Savage 29 percent, Ricci Mason 8 percent. No precincts reporting yet; those are likely early voting figures.

COBB COMMISSION DISTRICT 2, GOP: Kevin Nicholas 39 percent, Andy Smith 31 percent and Fitz Johnson 30 percent.

COBB SCHOOL BOARD POST 5, GOP: Incumbent David Banks 60 percent, Shelley O’Malley 22 percent, Matt Harper 17 percent.

COBB SCHOOL BOARD POST 5, DEMOCRAT: Julia Hurtado 56 percent, Tammy Andress 44 percent.

COBB SHERIFF, DEMOCRAT: Craig Owens 49 percent, Greg Gilstrap 28 percent, Jimmy Herndon 22 percent.

Again, all of these no precincts reporting yet.

ORIGINAL REPORT, POSTED AT 7:59 P.M.:

The polls closed at 7 p.m. in all but 19 precincts in Cobb County, and what’s expected to be a long wait for results in today’s Georgia primaries is underway.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, results won’t be available until after 10:10 p.m., when the last polling precinct in the state that was still open was scheduled to close.

In East Cobb, voters were choosing primary candidates in several closely watched races, including the Republican primary for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners and Republican and Democratic candidates for Post 5 on the Cobb Board of Education.

They joined other Cobb voters in casting ballots in a contested Republican primary for chairman of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, a contested Democratic Party primary for Cobb Sheriff and several county judgeships and court clerk positions.

East Cobb voters also were choosing a Republican Party nominee for the 6th Congressional District seat.

There is one contested Georgia House primary in East Cobb, between two Democrats in District 46.

Other contested races on the ballot include the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat, and several Cobb Superior Court judgeships.

Although its a fait accompli, Democratic voters in Georgia finally will get to have their party presidential preference primary, delayed from March due to COVID-19.

Since then, former vice president Joe Biden easily wrapped up the nomination, and he is one of a dozen names on a Georgia ballot finalized months ago.

The above link from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office will contain all the results from those and other races that may take some time to determine. You can customize it by race, and by federal, state and local results.

Due to a very high number of absentee ballots that must be counted, as well as delays at some precincts Tuesday due to social distancing and technical problems with new voting machines, some races may not be settled for days.

Typically early voting numbers are tallied first, followed by same-day voting results and then absentee figures.

We’ll also be sending out a special election newsletter some time on Wednesday with the latest election results. If you’re not a subscriber, please click this link to have it delivered to your inbox.

BREAKING NEWS: 19 Cobb precincts staying open until 8 p.m.

June 9, 2020 7:41 PMJune 9, 2020 5:18 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb precincts staying open late — *Some technical issues affected voting at Murdock ES Tuesday morning, but lines were scant by the afternoon. (ECN photo)*

Due to technical issues that resulted in a late start to primary voting, 19 precincts in Cobb County will be staying open an hour later Tuesday.

County government spokesman Ross Cavitt said Cobb is abiding by a local court order to keep precincts open where technical and other issues have occurred.

The polls will remain open until 8 p.m. at the following precincts in East Cobb:

Addison 01 (Legacy Church, 1040 Blackwell Road)
Bells Ferry 04 (Shiloh Hills Baptist Church, 75 Hawkins Store Road)
Eastside 02 (Eastside Baptist Church, 2450 Lower Roswell Road)
Elizabeth 03 (Piedmont Road Church of Christ, 1630 Piedmont Road)
Sewell Mill 03 (Grace Marietta Church, 675 Holt Road)
Sope Creek 02 (Sope Creek Elementary School, 3320 Paper Mill Road).

If you’re in line at any of those precincts by 8 p.m., you will be allowed to vote. Here’s the rest of the list.

All other precincts close at 7 p.m.

The Cobb order, requested by Cobb Elections officials, was signed by Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard, and was done so due to “significant voting machine complications” at the affected precincts.

Tuesday’s primary is delayed from May 19 due to COVID-19, and this is the first election with new electronic voting machines.

Long lines also were projected because of a lack of poll workers stemming from the virus and social distancing and sanitizing measures, as well as a lengthy ballot for most voters.

More than 80,000 Cobb voters have cast absentee ballots, and more than 11,000 people took place in in-person early voting.

Major voting problems have been underway most of the day in Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties.

All precincts in Fulton are open until 9 p.m., and Secretary of State Brad Raffensparger is investigating problems there and in DeKalb County. Elected officials in those counties have blamed the state for problems with the new voting machines, but Raffensparger said local elections officials have had time to test them and to prepare for the unusual circumstances surrounding this election.

A total of 15 Gwinnett precincts with technical problems were open until 7:30 p.m..

Cobb 2020 primary election guide: when, where, how to vote

June 9, 2020 8:15 PMJune 6, 2020 8:23 AM by Wendy Parker

Please follow East Cobb News coverage of the 2020 primaries by clicking this link.

On Tuesday Georgia’s delayed primary elections take place, after weeks of absentee balloting and early voting.

Voters who turn out at the polls at their designated precinct will be asked to choose one of three ballots: Democratic, Republican and non-partisan.

In East Cobb, voters will be choosing party nominees in a variety of federal, state and local offices, and judges in non-partisan races for state and local court positions.

Precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all locations.

Because of social distancing guidelines and shortages of precinct workers due to COVID-19, lines are expected to be longer than usual.

Voters are encouraged to factor in longer times when they arrive at their precincts.

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 Johnny 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 Tuesday, and like the local and state primaries has been delayed by COVID-19 closures. Former vice president Joe Biden wrapped up the party nomination earlier this week in terms of needed delegates.

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.

Candidate profiles and related information for local races can be found at the East Cobb News 2020 Elections Guide resource page.

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.

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.

The respective party sample ballots include the questions that will appear on the ballot you’ll get at the polls.

Early voting concluded on Friday, including all this past week at the East Cobb Government Center. According to Cobb Elections, 1,699 people voted at the East Cobb venue, with 1,045 asking for Democratic ballots, 640 Republican and 14 non-partisan.

Across the county, 11,527 voters cast early in-person ballots: 8,122 Democratic, 3,317 Republican and 88 non-partisan.

Cobb Elections also issued 143,061 absentee ballots, and 80,164 have been returned: 41,702 Democratic, 36,139 Republican and 2,323 non-partisan.

More early voting figures can be found here.

Runoff elections would take place Aug. 11. That date also was delayed from its originally scheduled date of July 21.

Where and how to vote

Your voter registration card has the location of your voting precinct. If you are unsure of your precinct, Cobb Elections has them listed by precinct name and by venue name.

Earlier this year several precinct venues were changed, three of them in East Cobb: Dickerson, Dodgen and Marietta 6A.

Right before the primary, Cobb Elections announced that the venue for the Roswell 02 precinct was being switched from Mt. Zion United Methodist Church to the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, across the street at 1795 Johnson Ferry Road.

When you arrive at your polling station, you will be asked to fill out a form and show a government-approved photo ID.

Absentee ballots

If you received an absentee ballot and haven’t filled it out, you can do so on election day, as long as you deposit it at one of several designated drop boxes in the county, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

For more local voting-related information, please visit the Cobb Elections page.

Candidate spotlight: David Banks, Cobb school board Post 5

June 3, 2020 1:33 PM by Wendy Parker

Near the end of his third term on the Cobb school board, David Banks said he’s seeking another four years because “I just feel like there’s more to be done.” David Banks, Cobb school board candidate

A retired computer and technology consultant and business owner, Banks has lived in East Cobb for 50 years and has represented Post 5, which represents the Pope and Lassiter clusters, since 2009.

He said that kind of experience is vital during a time in which the Cobb County School District, the second-largest in Georgia with 112,000 students, is undergoing rapid change.

“It takes a few years to get acclimated to how the system works,” said Banks, who’s serving as the school board’s vice chairman this year.

(Banks does not have a campaign website; here’s his school board biography page.)

He ran unopposed four years ago, but Banks has drawn a crowd of opposition in both parties, including Matt Harper and Shelley O’Malley, whom he’ll be facing in next Tuesday’s Republican primary.

O’Malley has been openly critical of Banks (as have Democrats Tammy Andress and Julia Hurtado), saying that “I hope voters recognize that when an incumbent is being challenged by other people there ought to be a reason for that.”

Cobb Commission candidates oppose sex shop in East Cobb

June 3, 2020 8:27 PMJune 2, 2020 4:45 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb sex shop

Kevin Nicholas, one of three Republicans running in next week’s primary for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, says he’s opposed to a possible sex shop in East Cobb.

In a note written in response to organizers of an online petition against what they claim will be an adult retail store on Johnson Ferry Road, Nicholas said “this is not the business we want in our family-based community.”

The note was sent to Amy White, who’s leading a change.org campaign against what’s being planned at 1290 Johnson Ferry Road, in a former mattress store building.

A business license issued by Cobb County in March states it’s for a clothing store; the individual listed in state incorporation documents for 1290 Clothing Co. LLC is Michael Morrison, who owns the Tokyo Valentino adult retail store chain in metro Atlanta.

Retiring District 2 commissioner Bob Ott has said that since rezoning isn’t required, the county has little recourse as long as the new business meets code requirements. The general commercial zoning status of the land dates back to the 1970s.

Ott said he also is against an adult store coming to the community, and reminded citizens that opposition to a We Buy Gold store several years ago prompted it to close, citing a lack of business.

Nicholas, who’s running to succeed Ott, said he’s “been in lengthy discussion with many neighbors about this and what we need to do” and at the very least thinks the county should review the business license application.

Some opponents of an adult store have claimed that Morrison has misrepresented his business aims as well as his own identity and want the business license invalidated.

Morrison, who’s been ordered to jail for a contempt citation in Brookhaven and is suing the city of Atlanta in legal battles over his businesses in those municipalities, has said he isn’t sure what the East Cobb store will end up being (There’s a Tokyo Valentino store on Marietta, on Cobb Parkway near the Big Chicken).

Nicholas, an East Cobb resident, said he advocates a “check list” for the county that would require applicants to provide more details on a business license application, a review of the county code and “to make amendments that fit the community while preserving good business growth. I reject the notion that there is nothing that can be done.”

East Cobb News contacted the other Republicans in the District 2 race. Andy Smith, who also lives in East Cobb and was Ott’s appointee to the Cobb Planning Commission, referred East Cobb News to Ott’s statement issued on Memorial Day with no additional comment.

UPDATE: On Wednesday Smith issued a videotaped message and a written statement which reads in part:

“The application for this business has been gone through with a fine-tooth comb and found to comply with existing code; this doesn’t surprise me because of the battalion of very well-paid lawyers the applicant has on staff. So let’s put that myth to bed.

“Cobb has had a long history of having one of the strongest adult industry codes and has been the model for most if not all of metro Atlanta. So, as with all things, it is time to look at the current code and update it, and I can assure you that is being done. I am well aware of the research and effort being put forth firsthand, and the all-hands-on deck approach that’s ongoing. Just like the duck swimming across the lake, all looks calm on the surface but we are paddling with all our might underneath. This is just another example of where having a commissioner who understands the code and how to strengthen and enforce it really matters. I have the experience and knowledge to preserve our community and don’t think for one minute I’m not working like that duck to cross the lake.”

East Cobb News also has left a message with Fitz Johnson seeking comment.

UPDATE: Here’s what Johnson sent us Wednesday morning:

“My wife and I are appalled at the idea of a sex shop going into our neighborhood. I am firmly opposed if this shop were to open in the old Matress Firm store or anywhere. I will leave no stone unturned as I investigate my powers under the U.S. Constitution to make this right.

“It is unfortunate we are put in this position by law, but it doesn’t mean we can’t educate ourselves, organize as a community, and fight to keep this from happening. I am against having this type of establishment in our neighborhoods so close to schools and churches. If elected, I will do everything within my U.S. Constitutional powers to discourage these types of establishments.

“We have to be mindful that commissioners do not have the authority under the U.S. Constitution to alter existing zoning or add stipulations. Again I will encourage our citizens and neighbors to organize, and work together to stop this from happening. I absolutely will join in and lend my voice to that cause.”

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES:

Dan White, another online campaigner against an adult store, contacted East Cobb News Monday to note that more than 2,700 people have signed a petition.

He also took exception to comments in an East Cobb News commentary over the weekend from citizens imploring opponents to lighten up about a possible adult store. A few noted that for those who’d want to patronize such a store, it would be convenient to have it nearby.

“Having a dump close by would be convenient as well but not in the middle of our community,” he said. “This business will affect crime, the statistics that retail companies use to choose their expansion opportunities and property value.”

White also noted that while Ott has “served this community fairly well over his tenure,” his retirement “makes doing nothing but saying that there is a law from 1975 an easy way out.

“Tell him it’s not OK to give up.”

A signer of the change.org petition said “if this store opens, I’m voting against all my local incumbents who didn’t stop it.”

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!

Candidate spotlight: Ricci Mason, Cobb Commission Chairman

May 30, 2020 11:47 AMMay 30, 2020 8:46 AM by Wendy Parker

After more than three decades as a police officer in Cobb County, Ricci Mason believes the time for supporting public safety workers has been long overdue. Ricci Mason, Cobb Commission Chairman candidate

After retiring from the Cobb County Police Department last year, Mason has decided to push for that change as a first-time candidate for political office.

A former officer in Precinct 4 in East Cobb, Mason is one of two candidates challenging incumbent Mike Boyce (profile here) in the Republican primary June 9 for Cobb Commission Chairman, along with Larry Savage (profile here).

“There’s a lot of wasteful spending,” Mason said. “But my biggest reason [for running] is public safety. It’s just not been a priority.”

Mason lives in Acworth and is a member of Eastside Baptist Church in East Cobb.

(Here’s Mason’s campaign website.)

During his campaign, he has recited many of the arguments public safety advocates have been making in pushing for support for police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel.

“New officers are leaving in droves,” Masson said in impassioned tones. “Police hadn’t had raise in 10 years. We’ve been taken advantage of.”

The police department is around 100 officers short, “and we’ve failed to fill those positions.”

Salary and benefit packages as well as retention issues have been festering for years, he said, undermining the message on a patch officers wear that’s visible to the public: “We lead, others follow.”

“Right now, that’s being mocked,” said Mason, who also was an officer in the Marietta Police Department.

Cobb commissioners have taken initial steps to address some of those concerns with a one-time bonus and approval of a step-and-grade salary structure for public safety personnel, but Mason isn’t impressed.

He said a Cobb police sergeant he knows said his raise amount to eight cents an hour.

“That’s a slap in the face,” Mason said, adding that step-and-grade is “irrelevant. Until you can give younger officers some motivation to stay, it’s not going to matter.”

Among the public safety concerns is that Cobb, which has a highly-praised police training center, spends a lot of money training officers, then losing them to nearby cities and counties that offer better pay and benefits.

“It costs $80,000 to train an officer, and it ends up costing us more when we lose them,” Mason said.

He said Boyce has had three years to address the problem and thinks he’s coming along too late to do much good.

“You deserve to be protected,” Mason said. “But that promise has dissolved like a dirty rag in water.”

To address the issue, Mason said he would look across the county budget to find more financial resources, and thinks “there are a lot of things that are wants ahead of needs.”

He pointed to things like libraries, which got some expanded hours after the 2018 budget was approved with a millage rate increase.

Mason said he’s not against libraries, but wondered about recent decisions to being reopening libraries “when officers on the street, who are considered essential workers, aren’t getting anything.”

He was referencing a proposal before the commissioners to provide hazard pay for public safety and other county employees on frontline COVID-19 duty. That proposal has been put on hold while the number of workers and the amount of funding is determined.

The county will soon have to deal with the financial impact of much lower tax revenues, making public safety funding even more acute, as Mason sees it. Budgeting figures to become even more painful, but “you have to go across the board and sit down with all of the department heads.

“We are definitely in uncharted waters, but we’ve got to stabilize the cornerstone of the county [meaning public safety] before we can do anything else.”

Addressing county transportation issues is another priority for Mason, especially the condition of county roads.

As a former motorcycle officer, Mason said “I know where all the potholes are” and says “I can’t remember when the roads were really taken care of.”

A referendum on the November ballot to extend the Cobb SPLOST is devoted to road resurfacing projects, but Mason says other road maintenance and transportation issues also aren’t being properly addressed.

On zoning matters, Mason thinks that given current circumstances, “we need to slow down on building” at least for the time being.

“I want people to be safe and healthy and thrive for themselves,” he said. “We need to help people get back on their feet again and show them that they care.”

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:

What’s on the ballot?

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

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

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.

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