East Cobb resident Jason Marbutt, a prosecutor in the Cobb District Attorney’s office, said Tuesday he is running for a vacant seat on the Cobb Superior Court.
Schuster announced his retirement from the bench earlier this week.
“As a career prosecutor and Chairman of the Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force, I believe my experience in protecting our most vulnerable citizens, our mothers and fathers, and our grandmothers and grandfathers, is best suited for the Superior Court bench,” Marbutt said in a statement.
Superior Court judges preside over violent crimes and other felony cases. Judgeships are non-partisan and elections are held every four years.
Schuster is the second Cobb Superior Court Judge to step down this year, along with Lark Ingram, who is retiring after serving since November 1995.
Cobb has 10 Superior Court judges. Other sitting judges up for re-election this year include Chief Judge Reuben Green and judges Kim Childs, Greg Poole, Mary Staley and Tain Kell.
Qualifying for those and other candidates in Cobb and across Georgia is from March 2-6.
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A longtime PTA leader in the Lassiter High School community is the latest candidate for the Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education.
Tammy Andress, currently a Lassiter PTSA co-president, said last week she is running as a Democrat for the seat held by three-term Republican David Banks.
Andress is a marketing specialist at the Sandy Plains Road Zaxby’s, and is the mother of three daughters—one is a 2018 Lassiter graduate, and the other two currently are Lassiter students.
She has held PTA leadership roles at Davis Elementary School and Mabry Middle School—her daughters’ previous schools—as well as Lassiter. Andress also is a current vice president of the East Cobb County Council of PTAs.
She said she’s running for the school board to improve transparency with the public, boost teacher planning time and to ensure fiscal responsibility.
Andress also supports the building of a college and career academy in the East Cobb area, similar to what’s under construction now at Osborne High School (read her platform).
Other initiatives include creating “student stakeholders” to address issues like bullying. She also wants the Cobb County School District to create the position of Chief Resource Officer to better scrutinize budget allotments and contracts to root out waste and discover inequities.
Andress wants to restore public comments by school board members at meetings, a practice that was banned last fall in a contentious dispute that fell along party lines.
The primary is May 19, and the Post 5 seat thus far has drawn the most interest of the four Cobb school board races up for election this year.
Banks is seeking a fourth term representing Post 5—which includes the Lassiter and Pope clusters—and has drawn three GOP primary challengers. They include Delta pilot Shelley O’Malley, attorney Rob Madayag and IT consultant Matt Harper.
A forum for the Post 5 candidates is being held March 15 and sponsored by the Pope PTSA. It will start at 3 p.m. at the Pope performing arts theater.
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East Cobb resident Kevin Nicholas, a member of the Development Authority of Cobb County, has launched a bid for the District 2 seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
A software development and technology professional, he’s the fourth Republican to announce for the seat being vacated at the end of the year by retiring commissioner Bob Ott.
Nicholas also ran in the Republican primary for Post 6 on the Cobb Board of Education in 2014, and was defeated by then-incumbent Scott Sweeney.
Nicholas declared his intent to receive campaign contributions on Jan. 29, and on Friday made a brief statement on his Facebook page, saying “we face real challenges that have come along with the growth in Cobb for families like ours and the businesses we work with and support.”
East Cobb News has left a message seeking more details about his candidacy. Nicholas said in that same message that “we need to look forward and prepare for the eventuality of change while embracing values which support our community and make it a forever home for our children and grandchildren. . . I am passionate to continue serving you – not the establishment or special interests.”
District 2 includes most of East Cobb as well as the Vinings/Cumberland area. Ott was first elected in 2008, and said last month he would not be seeking a fourth term.
The seven Cobb Development Authority members are appointed by county commissioners and consider economic development initiatives and incentives, including tax abatements for redeveloped land.
In recent years, their votes on tax incentives have come under increasing scrutiny.
Nicholas was one of two votes against a measure in 2018 to provide $35 million in revenue bonds for a Kroger superstore at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project currently under construction on Powers Ferry Road.
The Development Authority’s vote in favor of those abatements was challenged legally by East Cobb resident Larry Savage, and a retired Cobb judge ruled against the bonds being issued.
However, Kroger and the Development Authority appealed the ruling, and the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the abatements last summer.
Nicholas’ term on the Development Authority was due to expire in March 2021.
Another GOP commission candidate, Andy Smith of East Cobb, announced on Monday his intent to accept campaign contributions. He’s been Ott’s appointee to the Cobb Planning Commission since 2018.
The other Republican candidates are entrepreneur Fitz Johnson of Vinings, who announced last week, and East Cobb resident Shane Deyo, an Army veteran and software consultant.
Savage is running for the third time for Cobb Commission Chairman, and is the only Republican thus far challenging incumbent Mike Boyce in the primary. Savage also ran in 2012 and 2016.
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If you want to vote in the March 24 presidential primary in Georgia and aren’t a registered voter, you’ll have until Feb. 24 to do so.
You can check your registration status or file an online registration form by clicking herewith the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
While Democratic voters will have several hopefuls to choose from, the Republican ballot will have only one name—incumbent President Donald Trump.
In Cobb County, some polling precinct locations have changed, including several in East Cobb, as noted last month. The Cobb Board of Elections formally approved those changes last week.
Advance voting in the presidential primary starts March 2; full schedule here.
The deadline to register for the May 19 general primary—which includes Congressional, state and local offices—is April 20.
Last week, Cobb Elections formally adopted filing fees for candidates running for local office. Qualifying for various judgeships, county commission, county school board, court clerks, sheriff and tax commissioner is March 2-6.
This year, Georgia is rolling out new voting machines that includes a paper balloting system, and they will be used initially for the presidential primary.
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Some more political campaign news to round up here, after yesterday’s announcement of a Democratic candidate for the Cobb Board of Education Post 5 race:
The battle to succeed Bob Ott on the Cobb Board of Commissioners gained a Republican candidate last week. T. Fitz Johnson, a Vinings resident, filed a declaration of intent to accept campaign contributions.
Johnson is CEO of ASID Group International, a prison healthcare company, and was a GOP candidate for Georgia Superintendent of Schools in 2014. His community service work includes serving on the WellStar Health System Board of Trustees and the board of the Cobb Hospital Authority.
A former collegiate wrestler at The Citadel, Johnson is a military veteran and was the owner of the Atlanta Beat women’s professional soccer team from 2009-11.
He’s the third Republican to announce after Ott’s decision not to seek a fourth term to represent District 2, which includes some of East Cobb and the Smyran-Vinings area. The others are East Cobb residents Shane Deyo, an Army veteran and software consultant, and Andy Smith, Ott’s appointee to the Cobb Planning Commission.
Smith hasn’t formally declared his candidacy and will have to resign from the planning board once he does.
Last week, East Cobb real estate agent Pamela Reardon told the MDJshe would be running too, as a Republican. On Monday, however, she left a message on the Cobb Central Facebook page that she has decided against that, citing stress and a previous bout with cancer.
The only Democrat to announce for the District 2 seat thus far is Jerica Richardson, who campaigned for current Cobb school board member Jaha Howard.
6th District Congress update
After several Republican candidates withdrew for the 6th Congressional District seat before the holidays, another has jumped into the fray.
Mykel Barthelemey, who runs Barthelemy Commercial Capital in Atlanta with her husband, is the third GOP hopeful seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.
Barthelemey, who hails from Louisiana, was a sub-contractor for the Small Business Administration in Atlanta and was involved in the Reform Party. She’s the author of a new book, “Trump Is Not A Racist! Here’s Why” and is the founder of Coming Out Red USA, a grassroots conservative organization.
In her mission statement, she said Trump is “the greatest President in the history of our country that ever lived” and that “I’m the Left’s worst nightmare because my nonconformity destroys their narrative.”
The 6th District includes East Cobb, North Fulton and Sandy Springs and North DeKalb.
Dem roundtable on crime, opioids
Next week two Democratic candidates will hold a roundtable event in East Cobb on criminal justice reform and opioids.
The roundtable takes place next Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m., at Seed Kichen and Bar (1311 Johnson Ferry Road)
The hosts are Sarah Riggs Amico, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican David Perdue, and Jimmy Herndon, a candidate for Cobb County Sheriff.
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She is a physical therapist with the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation facility in Atlanta for people with spinal cord and brain injuries.
Hurtado said on her campaign website that she is running “to build a coalition between teachers, parents, and students, and to help our community keep up with our changing world.”
Hurtado and her husband, David Hurtado, an attorney, moved to the Atlanta area 12 years ago to attend Emory graduate school. They have been in Cobb County for the last eight years and live in the Sedalia Park Elementary School attendance zone.
Post 5 includes the Lassiter and Pope attendance zones; Hightower Trail, Simpson and Mabry middle schools; and Davis, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Mountain View, Murdock, Powers Ferry, Sedalia Park, Shallowford Falls and Tritt elementary schools.
Republican David Banks is completing his third term representing Post 5 on the school board, and announced recently he is seeking re-election.
Three other Republican candidates have declared: Delta pilot Shelley O’Malley, attorney Rob Madayag and IT consultant Matt Harper (previous ECN post here).
Banks has said his goals for a fourth term include expanding STEM programs in East Cobb schools, including the addition of an arts component; continued support for the Cobb Teaching and Learning System that provides real-time assessments of academic progress; and to push for more teachers and better compensation when funding is available.
Hurtado said that in a county that’s becoming more diverse, “I want to amplify all of these voices in our community to ensure that every student’s needs are met,” and that her specific objectives will be to “focus on equal access, opportunity, and success for all students.”
Four of the seven posts on the Cobb school board are up for grabs this year; Post 5 is the only one in East Cobb. Republicans hold a 4-3 majority.
The general primary in Cobb and Georgia is May 19.
Post 5 map
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Updating last week’s post about precinct changes in Cobb, including a few in East Cobb: Those measures got final approval on Monday by the Cobb Board of Elections.
But the head of the Cobb County Democratic Committee and a Democratic candidate for a State House seat in East Cobb objected, saying they were made with little time to spare before the March presidential primary and the general primary in May.
They spoke during the public comment portion of the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. The precinct changes will affect 43,000 registered voters in Cobb.
The changes come as Cobb and other counties in Georgia will be installing new voting machines for the 2020 elections, and with turnout expected to be high in a presidential election year.
Cobb voters will go to the polls in the presidential primary March 24, with early voting from March 2-20.
Jackie Bettadapur of East Cobb, the county Democratic chairwoman, said she and the party’s appointed member of the elections board attend those meetings regularly, but “none of us were aware that these changes were planned.”
Making such changes on a “short notice, just under the wire” basis “has the makings of a perfect storm.”
Nine precinct changes were made, as the Cobb elections office is gradually moving away from schools for security reasons. Three of those changes are in East Cobb:
The Dickerson precinct will now be at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (1200 Indian Hills Parkway);
The Dodgen precinct will relocate to the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (1795 Johnson Ferry Road);
The Marietta 6A precinct at Lockheed Elementary School is moving to the Redeemed Christian Church of God-Heaven’s Gate Church (816 Pickens Industrial Drive).
In addition, the Bells Ferry 3 precinct was divided, with a new Bells Ferry 4 precinct being created. Around 3,500 voters will be voting in the new precinct, located at Shiloh Hills Baptist Church (75 Hawkins Store Road). Bells Ferry 3 voters will remain at Noonday Baptist Church (4120 Canton Road).
“I just think it’s too close to the election,” said Caroline Holko, a Democrat who’s running for the State House District 45 seat in Northeast Cobb, and who ran for Cobb commission District 3 in 2018. “I haven’t seen a real plan to notify voters of the changes and why.”
Janine Eveler, the Cobb elections supervisor, told commissioners that voters whose precinct locations have changed, or who have been moved into new precincts, will get new precinct cards in the mail.
In addition, she said they will get a first-class letter delivered to their home address, and that signs will be posted at old precinct locations.
South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid, the only Democrat on the five-member board, voted against all three agenda items to split precincts, saying she wanted to see “some actual data to show that there’s a true problem . . . at this point in time.”
East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said the board “doesn’t need to get into the minutiae” of elections board business, and Cupid snapped back.
“If it was to be a rubber stamp it wouldn’t come here,” she said. “This is a proper forum to have these discussions.”
With the approved precinct relocations, Eveler said roughly half of the 60 precincts at schools have moved.
She said there won’t be any more precinct changes this year, but that the process will continue in 2021.
Other recent precinct changes and new locations in East Cobb include:
Addison 1, Legacy Church (1040 Blackwell Road);
Bells Ferry 2, Christ Worship Center (3393 Canton Road);
Blackwell 1, Northeast Cobb Community Center (3100 Jaycee Drive);
Davis 1, Mountain View UMC (2300 Jamerson Road);
Elizabeth 2, Covenant Presbyterian Church (2881 Canton Road);
Garrison Mill, Unity North Church (4255 Sandy Plains Road);
Hightower 1, Woodstock Church Shallowford (3662 Shallowford Road);
Lassiter 1, Pilgrimage Church of Christ (3755 Sandy Plains Road);
Mabry 1, Hope Presbyterian Church (4101 Sandy Plains Road);
McCleskey 1, Shallowford Free Will Baptist Church (1686 Shallowford Road);
Nicholson 1, East Cobb Baptist Church (1940 Shallowford Road);
Pope 1, East Cobb Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road);
Shallowford Falls 1, Harmony Grove Baptist Church (4207 Shallowford Road);
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Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott announced Tuesday he would be retiring at the end of the year. Last night, he distributed the text of his prepared statement that he made during the commission business meeting:
It’s hard to believe this is the 12th year I have had the honor and privilege to serve the people of District Two. As I reflect on those years during the holidays, I am so thankful for all of the people who help me every day. None of this would be possible without the support of my best friend; my wife Judy. She along with Katie and Chris continue to accept the late nights and weekend phone calls that come with this job. I also need to recognize all the volunteers and appointees who have accepted appointments to the numerous commissions and boards. Without them, Kim and I wouldn’t be able to serve the citizens of District Two. Many of them are now the chairs of their respective groups. Together, we were able to accomplish so much for our citizens. The challenges started early, and the group showed it was ready and willing to jump right in. In 2009, we had the great flood. Less than nine months after starting as the commissioner, the county experienced what the experts say was a 750-year flood event. Parts of the district were under over 20-feet of water. The Chattahoochee River crested at 29-feet above flood stage. The citizens of the district, especially those along Columns Drive and in Vinings needed help. County staff literally came to their rescue. There couldn’t have been a worse time, as the county was feeling the effect of the Great Recession. Budget numbers went south, the county instituted furloughs, much to my disappointment. To many county employees it was a wake-up call that even Cobb County wasn’t immune to the devastating impact of the recession. But out of all the down times, we got the commissioners to agree to the creation of a Citizens’ Oversight Committee. They were tasked to look at all aspects of the county operations and recommend where things could be done a better way. Thank you to all the members of that committee. Although it took some time for all the proposals to work their way into the system, eventually, the county started to pull out of the recession. Along with the recovery, there was a new SPLOST proposal, that for the first time was not the usual six years of questionable spending. With the help of Commissioner Powell, we cut the SPLOST to a four-year list of projects saving over $200 million. The Braves will begin their fourth season at the new ballpark, soon to be renamed, Truist. As the new season begins, ThyssenKrupp’s new tower is beginning to rise, and the final phase of The Battery is nearing completion. These successes will bring more opportunity to the district. I look forward to what the future will bring to the county and the district. So, today, I am officially announcing that I will not be running for re-election in November and will be retiring from the commission at the end of the year. I want to thank all of the citizens of District Two for allowing me the honor and the privilege of serving as your commissioner.
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Bob Ott, the longest-serving member of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, won’t be seeking a fourth term. (ECN file)
Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, who has represented part of East Cobb since 2009, announced Tuesday he won’t be seeking re-election to a fourth term.
Ott, a Republican who is the longest-serving member of the commission, made his announcement at the end of the board’s business meeting on Tuesday.
He rattled off a long list of developments and accomplishments in District 2—which includes part of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area—during his tenure, reading from prepared remarks.
His announcement appeared to have caught his colleagues by surprise.
“Wow,” said commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents Northeast Cobb.
Chairman Mike Boyce said “I for one will miss you, and I say that with all genuineness. . . . I’m sure there will be time for accolades later,” but Boyce said he looked forward to working with Ott through the end of the year.
Speaking later to East Cobb News, Ott said he decided a couple months ago he wouldn’t be running again.
“It just seemed like the right time,” said Ott, a Delta Air Lines pilot who turns 63 this year and must retire by the age of 65.
Ott, who travels on long haul routes to San Juan, Hawaii and Rome, said he wanted to enjoy the rest of his flying days as much as anything.
Ott said he told outgoing County Manager Rob Hosack and a few other people of his decision, but not his commission colleagues before Tuesday’s announcement.
Ott got involved in civic affairs in East Cobb through the East Cobb Civic Association, which he served as president, was a member of the Cobb Board of Zoning Appeals and was appointed to the Cobb Planning Commission by former commissioner Joe Lee Thompson.
Ott challenged Thompson in the 2008 Republican primary and defeated the incumbent. He didn’t have any opposition in seeking a second term in 2012. In 2016, Ott was opposed by attorney Jonathan Page, but prevailed in the Republican primary and did not have a Democratic foe.
Ott said his main reason for seeking a third term was to “see through” the opening of the new Atlanta Braves stadium in 2017.
This fall, Ott declined to indicate his future plans, saying he would make an announcement after the first of the year.
He’s occasionally been regarded as a possible candidate for chairman, including for the upcoming 2020 election, and sparred regularly with Boyce and previous chairman Tim Lee.
He said he thought “a little bit” about running for chairman this year but decided against it. Boyce and South Cobb Commissioner Lisa Cupid have announced they’re running for chairman.
Larry Savage, an East Cobb resident who ran for chairman as a Republican in 2012 and 2016, is running for chairman for a third time.
Ott said he understands why some have thought he’s harbored larger political ambitions, but cited a quote from Ronald Reagan, about what can be accomplished without caring who gets the credit.
“This has never been about me,” Ott said. “It’s been about serving the people of this district.”
“I’m not surprised that he’s looking for some downtime after three pretty intense terms as commissioner,” said Linda Carver, outgoing chairwoman of the East Cobb Civic Association. “We appreciate the positive things he’s done for District 2 and the county.”
In recent months, Ott also has deflected speculation that he might be interested in running for mayor in a possible City of East Cobb (in what’s now a stalled cityhood effort).
Former 6th District U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, who’s close to Ott, called him “one of the finest public servants I have ever known. He leads with integrity and great care, always putting the interests of the people he serves first.”
During his remarks, Ott recalled entering office just as major flooding hit Cobb County, along with the recession that forced budget cuts and prompted staffing furloughs he says he opposed.
He pointed to the creation of the Cobb Citizens Oversight Committee to recommend budgeting and spending priorities in the wake of the recession, and touted the creation of the first citizen-led master plans in the county, including the Powers Ferry, Johnson Ferry and Shallowford-Johnson Ferry corridors.
Addressing growth and revitalization in those and other areas and improving communications with constituents are among what Ott said are his most satisfying accomplishments.
He’s held many town hall meetings, launched a newsletter and has hosted a TV show on Cobb’s public government access channel and a podcast on the county website.
Ott said he doesn’t have any future civic activities lined up for now, but that “you don’t just walk away. I don’t plan on moving.”
Ott said another reason for stepping aside now is that he feels that “you want to leave with things better than when you got it. Some things are a lot better than when we got them.”
Among the lingering challenges for the commission is grappling with public safety staffing shortages and county employee pension obligations.
Declared candidates for the District 2 seat include Democrat Jerica Richardson, who announced in July and who has not run for office before, and Lloyd “Shane” Deyo of East Cobb, who did not indicate a party affiliation.
An Ott appointee said Tuesday he’ll be seeking to replace him.
Republican Andy Smith of East Cobb, named to the Cobb Planning Commission in 2018, has not formally declared his candidacy.
The owner of a commercial interior construction company in East Cobb, Smith said he’s previously told Ott—with whom he attended high school in New Jersey—of his desire to run for commissioner at some point.
Smith, who’s been involved in community service work through Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, said he doesn’t have a specific set of priorities for his campaign for now.
“I have the desire, and I think I have the time,” Smith said. “I see this as an opportunity to give back to the community.”
Smith also has served on the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission.
Candidates for office in Cobb must qualify in early March, and Smith would have to resign from the planning board upon filing his paperwork.
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The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration will consider a proposal next week to relocate nine voting precincts from schools for the 2020 elections, including three in East Cobb.
The precincts at Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools and Lockheed Elementary School are among those to be considered for relocation by the five-member board next Monday.
Under the proposal the Dickerson precinct would move to Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (1200 Indian Hills Parkway), and the Dodgen precinct would move to the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (1795 Johnson Ferry Road).
The Marietta 6A precinct at Lockheed would be moved to the Redeemed Christian Church of God-Heaven’s Gate Church (816 Pickens Industrial Drive).
Most of the other proposed precinct changes elsewhere in the county also involve moving from schools to churches or community centers.
“Any objections must be filed in writing before the time of the hearing or presented orally during the hearing. If no objection is made, the Board will adopt this change at that time.”
Also on Tuesday’s elections board agenda is a proposal to divide the Bells Ferry 3 precinct in northeast Cobb and create Bells Ferry 4.
Here’s a proposed map of the two precincts; voters remaining in Bells Ferry 3 would continue to vote at Noonday Baptist Church (4120 Canton Road). Voters in the new Bells Ferry 4 precinct would vote at Shiloh Hills Baptist Church (75 Hawkins Store Road).
Two members of board of elections are appointed by the Cobb legislative delegation, and one each are chosen by the Cobb Democratic and Republican parties and the Cobb Commission Chairman.
The elections board meets Jan. 13 at 4 p.m. in the conference room at West Park Government Center, 736 Whitlock Ave., in Marietta.
Any precinct changes made by the elections board are subject to final approval by the Cobb Board of Commissioners next Tuesday, Jan. 14.
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Another Republican challenger has emerged as a candidate for the Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education.
Shelley O’Malley, a Delta Air Lines pilot and U.S. Navy veteran, filed paperwork on Dec. 26 with the Georgia Government and Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission declaring her intent to accept campaign contributions.
She is seeking the seat currently held by third-term GOP incumbent David Banks. Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter attendance zones.
O’Malley has been involved as a parent in the Rocky Mount Elementary School, Simpson Middle School and Lassiter High School communities.
Banks has not formally declared whether he’s seeking re-election.
Matt Harper, an IT manager and former Murdock Elementary School teacher, has announced his candidacy as a Republican, as has attorney Rob Madayag, who’s been critical of how the Cobb County School District handles bullying issues.
O’Malley’s community service work includes serving as a vice president of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, which formed in 2015 to build a memorial to honor veterans in the county.
Her husband Brian is also a Navy veteran and they have three children: Shannon, a former swim captain at the University of Georgia, Lauren, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and Luke, a freshman at Lassiter.
O’Malley is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where she was the captain of the varsity basketball team and was president of the tennis club while earning a mechanical engineering degree.
She also has volunteered with the Stringrays Swim Team and is a church school co-teacher at Transfiguration Catholic Church.
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Video and text submitted by the office of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson:
In his 45-year public service career spanning from the Georgia general assembly to the U.S. Senate, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has made a lasting impact on countless areas of public policy. As he prepares to leave the Senate on Dec. 31, much of Isakson’s Senate legacy is highlighted in a video released today focusing on his impact on veterans, federal and state business policy, foreign policy and global leadership, education, and health care and how he has served more effectively by living his compassionate, bridge-building conservative values daily.
Isakson holds the distinction of being the only Georgian ever to have been elected to the state House, state Senate, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. In addition, in 2016 he became the first Georgia Republican ever to be elected to a third term in the U.S. Senate.
“Every day since I was first sworn in to the U.S. Senate on Jan. 4, 2005, it has been a privilege to serve Georgia in this role. I’ve done my very best to make sure Georgians’ best interests are reflected in my votes and policy work,” said Isakson. “Traveling our beautiful state and working with Georgians from Rabun Gap to Tybee Light to represent commonsense, conservative values and deliver meaningful results has been a joy, regardless of the political climate or season.
“I thank Georgians who have trusted me and the colleagues who have worked with me from the bottom of my heart. I thank my wife Dianne, and my family, my staff and many friends for their support. Without them, none of this would have been possible.
“I also thank our service members, veterans and their families for protecting the United States. It has been an honor to pay my gratitude through policy and constituent service work, which I hope has improved their lives.
“I look forward to remaining as active as possible in Georgia after my retirement from the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31.”
Veterans
Isakson, a veteran himself, served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972. Isakson has been a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Isakson became chairman of the Senate VA Committee in January 2015. From 2015 to 2019, under Isakson’s leadership, the Senate passed 63 pieces of legislation, and 57 of which have become law. These include significant reforms to improve accountability at the VA, expand VA education benefits, modernize the process for veterans’ appeals of benefit determinations, and overhaul the VA’s community care programs.
For a full list of Isakson’s accomplishments for veterans, click here.
Businessman
Applying the lessons learned throughout his 33-year real estate career, Isakson has aided Georgia communities during his 45 years in public service through planned development and by protecting Georgia’s transportation, energy and water interests, as well as job creators and employees.
For a full list of Isakson’s business-related accomplishments, click here.
Values
Isakson has earned a reputation as a compassionate, honest and bridge-building public servant throughout his long political career. Isakson’s faith has guided his entire life. He taught sixth-grade Sunday school at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, for more than 30 years. Isakson has been a regular attendee at the weekly Senate prayer breakfast with Senate Chaplain Barry Black and served as co-chair of the National Prayer Breakfast in 2010.
For additional information about Isakson’s lifetime commitment to his values, click here.
Global Leadership and Foreign Policy
Isakson, who previously served as the top Republican on the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, has been a long-term member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition recently honored Isakson with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his longstanding commitment to advocating for a strong U.S. foreign policy and strengthening America’s development and diplomacy tools across the globe.
For a full list of Isakson’s foreign policy-related accomplishments, click here.
Education
Isakson has served as chairman of the Georgia Board of Education and on the education committees in the Georgia general assembly and in Congress. He has helped write some of the most significant federal education policies in recent history and has always focused on bettering the lives of future generations through quality education.
Once in Congress, Isakson brought his experience to the U.S. House education committee, where he took part in writing the No Child Left Behind Act – comprehensive education reform enacted in 2002 to strengthen America’s public schools. In the Senate, Isakson became a member of the Senate education committee, and more a decade after No Child Left Behind was enacted, Isakson played a key role in the rewrite of the law to bring about much-needed updates to the country’s education policies.
For a full list of Isakson’s education-related accomplishments, click here.
Health Care
Isakson has sought common ground to improve the health of Americans and people throughout the world. Isakson’s efforts come amid his own challenges with Parkinson’s disease – a diagnosis that has not slowed down his commitment to helping others.
Isakson serves on two committees with jurisdiction over Americans’ health care: the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. During his Senate career, Isakson has worked tirelessly on bipartisan legislation to improve health care for veterans and for seniors with chronic conditions, fund research for rare diseases and combat the opioid epidemic – all while fighting his own battle with Parkinson’s disease.
For a full list of Isakson’s health care-related accomplishments, click here.
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After a career of public service spanning more than four decades, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced in 2019 he would be retiring at the end of the year.
The Republican former real estate agency owner from East Cobb suffered continuing health issues during the year. In addition to his battle with Parkinson’s Disease, he fractured ribs during a fall at his Washington apartment.
He underwent rehabilitation at WellStar Kennestone Hospital said in August he could not complete his third term that ends in 2022.
Isakson, the first Georgian to serve in both houses of the state legislature and Congress, made bipartisanship and his role as the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman his hallmark.
Along the way, he endeared himself to colleagues in both parties, who paid tribute late in the year.
In a moving scene on the floor of the U.S. House, Democratic Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta hailed Isakson, who was sitting nearby in a wheelchair, and the two men warmly embraced.
In his final speech on the Senate floor, Isakson called his 15-year tenure in the U.S. Senate “the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
He implored his colleagues to “find a way to find common ground.” He said, “America, we have a problem,” but that “we can do anything” by dropping hard party labels. “Bipartisanship will be the way you accomplish things, the way you live.”
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Buckhead businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, a political novice, to succeed Isakson through the elections next November. The winner of a “jungle primary” then would fill the remaining two years of Isakson’s term.
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U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath voted with her fellow House Democrats Wednesday as DonaldTrump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.
The 6th District Congresswoman, who represents most of East Cobb, voted for both articles of impeachment that she also had supported last week in the House Judiciary Committee.
The vote on Article 1, abuse of power, was 230-197; and for Article 2, obstruction of Congress, the vote was 229-198.
Trump was charged on the first article for allegations that he threatened to withhold foreign aid to the government of Ukraine if it did not investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate.
The second article alleged that the president impeded its investigation in the Ukraine matter.
Only two Democrats voted with the Republican minority. Another Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who’s running for president, voted “present” on both articles, saying she preferred that the House censure and not impeach Trump.
Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who also represents Cobb County and is a strong Trump supporter, noted in floor remarks before the votes that:
“One week before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind: When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process.”
Republicans have charged the impeachment process has been motivated entirely for partisan reasons, and that it’s being done to subvert the 2016 presidential election.
McBath is among a few dozen House Democrats who represent districts that voted for the president. Trump carried the 6th District, which also includes North Fulton, Sandy Springs and North DeKalb, but only with 51 percent.
McBath, who last year became the first Democrat to win the district in 40 years, is being targeted again nationally.
The two Republicans running for the seat, former Rep. Karen Handel and Marjorie Greene Taylor, have been critical of McBath on impeachment.
Trump joins Andrew Johnson (1867) and Bill Clinton (1998) as presidents who’ve been impeached in the House. Both were acquitted in trials in the U.S. Senate and served the remainder of their terms.
The current Senate has a Republican majority. Georgia Sen. David Perdue is a strong defender of Trump, and incoming Sen., Kelly Loeffler, who succeeds the retiring Johnny Isakson in January, blasted the House process as an impeachment “scam.”
Trump has been Tweeting his displeasure with the impeachment vote, calling it a “hoax,” and retweeting others critical of the Democrats. He also Tweeted this:
I got Impeached last night without one Republican vote being cast with the Do Nothing Dems on their continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history. Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles & not deliver them to the Senate, but it’s Senate’s call!
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Trump supporters wave to motorists during Saturday’s protest at U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s Sandy Springs office. (Photo courtesy Trump Victory Committee)
Supporters of President Donald Trump protested outside the 6th Congressional District office of U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath Saturday afternoon in Sandy Springs.
McBath, a Marietta Democrat, voted with her party Friday when the House Judiciary Committee returned two articles of impeachment against Trump, who is accused of abuse of office and obstruction of Congress.
The Trump protestors got approving social media messages from U.S. Sen. David Perdue and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, both strong Trump supporters, as well as the Cobb Republican Party.
Danielle Alvarez, regional communications director for the Trump re-election campaign, said around 50 people turned out for the protest.
Georgians are fed up with the Democrats’ obstruction & impeachment sham. They want results: Growing the economy, rebuilding our military, and leveling the trade playing field. @GaRepublicans#gapol#gasenpic.twitter.com/XMsrn6QXJ9
Trump is accused of threatening to withhold U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine if it didn’t investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate. House Democrats also charged the president with obstructing their investigation.
Republicans and Trump supporters have been charging that the Democratic-led House investigation is a “sham impeachment” process. Former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, who’s campaigning to win back the seat McBath claimed from her in last year’s elections, has used similar language.
After Friday’s committee vote, Handel said “that since the beginning of this sham process, Lucy McBath has been purely partisan and has had no interest in finding the facts. She promised us she would be independent and bipartisan, but it is obvious that promise was empty.”
Handel was at a North DeKalb Republican women’s event on Saturday.
Saturday’s rally wasn’t the first time Trump supporters have gathered outside McBath’s office.
The 6th District includes East Cobb, North Fulton and Sandy Springs and North DeKalb, and it is being eyed as another battleground seat in House elections in 2020. McBath is the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years.
The full House is expected to vote on the impeachment articles next week.
The protest was organized by Stop the Madness, which is supported by the Republican National Committee.
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In a strict party-line vote, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of the 6th Congressional District of Georgia sided with fellow Democrats Friday as the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
The vote was 23-17, and the full House, which is controlled by Democrats, is expected to vote next week, before breaking for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The impeachment proceedings center around allegations that Trump threatened to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine if it didn’t investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate.
The first article of impeachment defined that as an abuse of power, and the other article accuses the president of obstructing Congress by trying to impede a House investigation into the Ukraine claims.
Trump is the fourth U.S. president to have articles of impeachment returned against him. Andrew Johnson in 1867 and Bill Clinton in 1997 were impeached by the House, but were acquitted in subsequent Senate trials.
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee returned articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon, but he resigned before a full House vote.
If Trump is impeached by the House, a trial in the Republican-held Senate could come early next year.
McBath, a first-term Democrat from Marietta, made remarks on Wednesday referencing her teenage son, shot dead at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station, which prompted her run for Congress on gun-control issues, and also cited legislation she’s supported to protect veterans that was signed by Trump:
But, I am not proud of the President’s actions that bring us here tonight.
For months, we have carefully and methodically explored the facts.
I have listened to our witnesses. I have examined the evidence from our intelligence community. I have heard from the brave men and women who have dedicated their lives in service to our country, both at home and abroad.
I am greatly saddened by what we have learned, and I am forced to face a solemn conclusion.
I believe the President abused the power of his office, putting his own interests above the needs of our nation—above the needs of the people I love and serve.
For that, I must vote my conscience.
I do so with a heavy heart and a grieving soul.
This is not why I came to Washington.
Her full statement can be seen and heard in the video below:
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State Rep. Matt Dollar, who filed the East Cobb cityhood bill in the Georgia legislature earlier this year, has at least one announced opponent in 2020.
She’s Sara Tindall Ghazal, an attorney who has headed a voter access project for the Georgia Democratic Party since last year.
On her campaign website, Ghazal said she’s running for several reasons, including improving voter access, health care and education.
Ghazal and her husband Patrick are raising two daughters who attend public school in East Cobb. She opposes cityhood and says that “Georgians deserve better policy when it comes to common sense gun safety.”
The move was made as Georgia Democrats challenged voter access when current Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was Secretary of State.
She’s been an elections monitor for the Carter Center in Jamaica, Liberia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and the Cherokee Nation. Ghazal is a graduate of the University of the South and earned a law degree from the Emory University School of Law.
According to Dollar’s latest financial report, filed on June 30 with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, he has nearly $50,000 in cash on hand.
The same agency indicates that Ghazal registered her campaign committee, Friends of Sara Tindall Ghazal, on Nov. 27, and that her campaign chair is Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters on the Cobb Board of Education.
East Cobb News has reached out to Ghazal seeking more information about her candidacy.
She’s the latest Democratic political novice to seek elected office in Republican-heavy East Cobb.
Dollar, who’s represented District 45 since 2003, has had little opposition from opponents in either party. Last year, he defeated Democrat Essence Johnson with 60 percent of the vote.
Democrats fielded candidates in every federal, state and local race involving East Cobb constituencies last year, and they won in the 6th Congressional District (Lucy McBath), Cobb Board of Education Post 6 (Charisse Davis) and Georgia State House 37 (Mary Frances Williams).
Democrats also ran close in Cobb Commission District 3 and State House 43. Those candidates seeking office again in 2020. Caroline Holko, who ran against commissioner JoAnn Birrell, is running for State House District 46, where Republican John Carson is the incumbent.
In State House 43, Republican incumbent Sharon Cooper, the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, is being challenged again by Democrat Luisa Wakeman, who got 48 percent of the vote against Cooper in 2018.
In addition to the area of East Cobb shown below, District 45 also includes a small portion of Sandy Springs.
For a larger view, click here. (Georgia Elections map)
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An East Cobb attorney who has been critical of the Cobb County School District on bullying issues is running for Post 5 on the Cobb Board of Education in 2020.
Robert Madayag is seeking the seat currently held by David Banks, whose third term ends next year. Post 5 includes most of the Pope and Lassiter high school attendance zones, as well as part of the Sprayberry cluster (see map at the bottom).
Madayag is the father of students at Sprayberry, Simpson Middle School and Kincaid Elementary School.
Earlier this year, Madayag assisted parents, including some at Walton High School, who complained about how the district responded to their claims about their children being bullied. He thinks the district underreports data on the number of students who report bullying.
Madayag said in his announcement that “there is no doubt that the CCSD has done a great job of helping those students at the top,” but said he’s heard from “countless parents about how their kids were bullied, suffered racially charged language, and were forced to fight the school district to have their kids provided basic needs.”
His priorities include doing a countywide assessment about how bullying cases are handled, providing transparency to the public on how much the district spends on legal fees and creating the position of Chief Equity Officer.
Madayag also wants to address what he says are “stories upon stories of parents with special needs kids that have had to fight and fight with the CCSD, at their own great expense, just to get treatment that other school districts provide without fighting.”
East Cobb News has left a message with Madayag seeking more information about his candidacy.
Madayag, who is running as a Republican, is a former chairman of the Modern Whig Party of Georgia, which formed in 2009 with a centrist platform aimed at those disaffected with both Democrats and Republicans.
Currently the seven-member school board has four Republicans and three Democrats. Four seats are up next year, including Post 1 (North Cobb), Post 3 (South Cobb) and Post 7 (West Cobb).
Madayag is a U.S. Navy veteran who earned an engineering degree from Georgia Tech, then earned a law degree from Villanova University. He practices patent and corporate law in the Atlanta office of Lee & Hayes, a national firm.
He and his family have been involved in school and youth sports and music activities in their community. His wife Rebecca has been a member of the PTSA board at Simpson, and he has coached and served as an emcee for his sons’ football teams and at Sprayberry freshman and JV football games.
Banks, a Republican, has not indicated whether he’s running again. Matt Harper, an IT project manager, has announced his candidacy in the GOP primary (campaign website).
Harper taught science for three years at Murdock Elementary School and he and his wife Sharon have two daughters who attend Cobb schools. He also has served on the Murdock School Council.
Post 5 includes all or part of the following school zones:
High Schools: Pope, Lassiter, Sprayberry
Middle Schools: Hightower Trail, Mabry, Simpson
Elementary Schools: Davis, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Mountain View, Murdock, Powers Ferry, Sedalia Park, Shallowford Falls, Tritt
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A political action committee that supports Democratic women running for the Georgia General Assembly has endorsed to two candidates in East Cobb.
The Georgia WIN List announced that it has placed first-term State. Rep. Mary Frances Williams on its “protect” list of incumbents for the 2020 election and is supporting Luisa Wakeman, who is running again for the District 43 seat held by longtime Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper.
Luisa Wakeman
Last year, Wakeman lost by less than 792 votes in a mostly-East Cobb district that Cooper, the House Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman, has represented since 1997.
Williams, who lives in Marietta, upset GOP incumbent Sam Teasley in 2018 in District 37, which includes some of Northeast Cobb. She was declared the winner in a recount, with a 137-vote margin.
Georgia WIN held an endorsement event Thursday at the Georgia state capitol, focusing on 12 candidates who either won seats from Republican incumbents in 2018 or who came close.
Qualifying for 2020 legislative campaigns will take place in early March.
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In his farewell speech in the U.S. Senate, Georgia’s Johnny Isakson issued a final call for bipartisanship, a theme that has been the hallmark of his 45-year public career, in the legislature and in Congress.
“I never saw people get things done without agreeing to something,” the East Cobb Republican said Tuesday afternoon in a Senate chamber that included Vice President Mike Pence.
He paid tribute to Georgia Democratic Congressman John Lewis, an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, “as one of my real heroes in life because I watched what he went through to help us see the light in the South, in my part of the South, Georgia.”
Isakson said bipartisanship is more than just a strategy for getting things done, but also “a state of mind . . . a state of being.”
He said his approach to accomplishing things for his constituents was a simple one: “I did what I thought was right. That’s the way to do it.”
The 74-year-old former real estate executive is leaving office Dec. 31 for health reasons stemming from his continuing battle with Parkinson’s Disease and after fracturing ribs in a fall last summer.
After stints in the Georgia House and Senate, as well as the U.S. House, Isakson said his 15-year tenure in the U.S. Senate “is the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
In his most impassioned part of his speech, Isakson implored his colleagues to “find a way to find common ground.” He said, “America, we have a problem,” but that “we can do anything” by dropping hard party labels. “Bipartisanship will be the way you accomplish things, the way you live.”
Dozens of senators of both parties offered remarks from the floor in tribute, including Georgia’s David Perdue, who said Isakson is “the best partner anyone could ask for.”
Isakson’s departing a Washington that’s embroiled in impeachment hearings in the House against President Donald Trump, and as his own Republican Party is in an uproar over his successor.
Perdue’s new partner will be Atlanta businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, whose appointment was made official Wednesday by Gov. Brian Kemp. He was pressured by Trump and the president’s allies to choose Georgia Congresswoman Doug Collins.
Loeffler owns a bitcoin trading company and is co-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association. A major Republican donor, she has not held public office.
Her term goes through next November’s elections, with the winner to fill the final two year’s of Isakson’s term.
On Wednesday morning, Isakson issued a statement congratulating Loeffler on her appointment:
“Kelly’s business experience and acumen will be an asset to Georgia and the Senate. The same tireless work ethic that has helped her succeed in business will also help her succeed in serving Georgians and our nation. It has been the honor of a lifetime for me to serve this great state in the U.S. Senate, and my staff and I will work closely with Kelly to ensure a smooth transition.”
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Mykel Barthelemey, who runs Barthelemy Commercial Capital in Atlanta with her husband, is the third GOP hopeful seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.
