East Cobb Politics & Elections Archives

Cobb school board member fined for campaign finance violations

November 14, 2023 6:19 PMJuly 14, 2023 6:28 PM by Wendy Parker

David Chastain, Cobb school board candidate

David Chastain, a third-term member of the Cobb Board of Education, has been fined $250 and ordered to pay back a portion of two campaign contributions from last year that were deemed to be a violation of state campaign finance limits.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission ruled last month that two donations Chastain’s campaign received exceeded state limits and that his campaign didn’t file the proper paperwork to separate them between the primary and general election.

A Republican, Chastain was re-elected last year to serve Post 4, which includes the Kell and Sprayberry high school clusters, after a bitter general election campaign against Democrat Catherine Pozniak.

Neither of them had a primary opponent last March. Pozniak, a Sprayberry High School graduate who took an early fundraising lead over Chastain, accused him of violating state laws limiting the amounts of individual contributors three weeks before the general electdion.

One of them was a total of $5,000 from State Rep. Ginny Erhart, a West Cobb Republican who filed reapportionment maps for the Cobb school board and Cobb Board of Commissioners that were passed by the legislature.

Another was $4,000 from Jonathan Crumly, an attorney with Taylor English Duma who drew the school board maps. Erhart’s husband, former State Rep. Earl Erhart, was the CEO of Taylor English Decisions LLC, the lobbying arm of the law firm, last year.

The individual limit under Georgia campaign finance law is $3,000, and Chastain later filed amended reports that split the contributions in two.

He said his campaign mistakenly forgot to separate the contributions from Ginny Erhart and Crumly. But the state campaign finance commission, in a June 26 consent order, concluded that Chastain didn’t file the necessary paperwork to bundle the donations.

In addition to the $250 civil penalty, Chastain was ordered to repay Erhart $1,500 and Crumly $1,000, which Chastain included in a revised campaign finance report filed July 7.

At the time, Chastain said Pozniak’s complaint was “baseless and politics at its worst,” and showed “a deliberate attempt by Catherine Pozniak and her small platoon of Democratic socialists [that] is on full display by Cobb County.”

A few days after the Pozniak complaint was filed, Ginny Erhart issued a press release claiming Pozniak fraudulently filed a senior school tax exemption for her late father’s home.

Pozniak denied the charge and said that “for Mr. Chastain and his political cronies to retaliate with a smear campaign launched on a family tragedy is beyond reprehensible.”

Chastain defeated Pozniak with 54 percent of the vote as Republicans kept a 4-3 majority on the Cobb school board.

The school board map sponsored by Ginny Erhart is the subject of a federal lawsuit that the Cobb County School District has joined.

Earl Erhart is now the managing director of Freeman Mathis Decisions, the lobbying group for Freeman Matbis and Gary, which the Cobb school district has hired to represent it in the lawsuit.

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!

Interim Cobb elections director appointed as search continues

July 12, 2023 6:59 PMJuly 12, 2023 8:51 AM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on Tuesday appointed Gerry Miller to run the department on an interim basis.

Interim Cobb Elections director appointed Miller retired as an assistant elections director in Cobb in 2021, and also was an elections supervisor in Fulton and Henry counties.

The Cobb Elections office has been without a director since Janine Eveler retired in April.

Miller was the department’s preparation center director for 11 years, and will serve in the interim capacity as the board conducts a national search for a permanent successor.

“We are grateful that Gerry has agreed to come out of retirement to help lead our elections team,” Cobb elections board chairwoman Tori Silas said in a statement issued Tuesday by Cobb County government.

“We believe he will provide steady leadership while we work to expand our search for a new Elections Director.”

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Cobb school board candidate reports nearly $30K in fundraising

July 11, 2023 1:02 PMJuly 11, 2023 8:47 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board candidate reports nearly $30K in fundraising

Republican John Cristadoro, who is seeking the Post 5 seat on the Cobb Board of Education, has filed a financial disclosure report showing nearly $30,000 in contributions.

That’s nearly a year before the 2024 primaries in what’s expected to be an expensive race.

According to a report filed with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration, Cristadoro received $18,337 in contributions from a variety of individuals and entities through June 30.

He also loaned himself $10,000 for a total of $28,337 in contributions, according to the report (you can read it here).

He is one of two announced candidates for the Post 5 seat, which is held by Republican David Banks, and which includes the Walton, Wheeler and Pope High School clusters.

The other is Democrat Laura Judge, who filed a report showing $9,255 in contributions, also through June 30 (you can read it here).

Candidates are required to file financial disclosure reports at the end of June and at the end of December for each year in an election cycle.

Primaries will be held in Georgia for federal, state and local candidates on May 21, 2024; the Georgia presidential primary is March 12, 2024.

According to Cristadoro’s report, he has several contributors who’s given at least $1,000 or more.

They include former Cobb Chamber of Commerce chairman John Loud, who’s heading Cristadoro’s steering committee.

Other $1,000+ contributors include Pamela Reardon, an East Cobb real estate agent who’s active with the Cobb Republican Party, and East Cobb resident Caryn Sonderman.

She’s an East Cobb parent who frequently speaks at Cobb school board public comment sessions and who according to the disclosure report was the host of a Cristadoro fundraiser.

Attorney Mary Anne Ackourey contributed $1,546 to the Cristadoro campaign. She’s with Freeman Mathis & Gary, a law firm with offices in the Cumberland area that’s representing the Cobb County School District in a current federal lawsuit over school board redistricting.

Judge is a member of Watching the Funds—Cobb, a citizens group that scrutinizes Cobb school district finances. Fellow WTF-Cobb members Heather Tolley-Bauer and Stacy Efrat have contributed $500 and $250, respectively.

Several state lawmakers have contributed to the Judge campaign: Democratic State Sen. Jason Esteves, whose 6th District includes part of East Cobb, contributed $250.

Democratic Rep. Lisa Campbell of North Cobb contributed $500 and Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin of North Fulton contributed $100.

Banks, a four-term Republican, has not filed a recent disclosure reports. He told East Cobb News this spring that he has not decided if he’ll seeking re-election.

In an interview with East Cobb News in April, Cristadoro estimated he would need to raise around $85,000 for his campaign.

The Post 5 race is one of four campaigns on the Cobb school board in 2024, and party control of the board is at stake. Republicans have a 4-3 majority, but three current GOP seats will be on the ballot.

The others are held by Brad Wheeler and Randy Scamihorn, neither of whom has filed a recent disclosure report.

First-term Democrat Tre’ Hutchins of South Cobb has filed a disclosure report for the first half of 2023.

You can read through other campaign reports by clicking here.

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!

East Cobb residents appointed to Cobb Board of Elections

July 5, 2023 4:24 PM by Wendy Parker

Two East Cobb residents were recently appointed to the Cobb Board of Elections.

Stacy Butler Efrat was appointed by the Cobb Democratic Party, and Debbie Fisher was chosen by the Cobb Republican Party.

They were sworn in last week and began four-year terms on July 1.

Both are citizen-activists who have been involved in party politics at the local level.

Efrat is a member of Watching The Funds-Cobb, a watchdog group that monitors finances and spending by the Cobb County School District (see our profile story from 2021).

The group has been critical of Cobb school district purchases of COVID-19 sanitizing lights and handwashing machines that were the focus of a Cobb grand jury report, as well the district’s alert system vendor that changed last year after malfunctions.

Efrat has been active in canvassing for Democratic candidates in an East Cobb community that has been traditionally Republican. But in recent election cycles, Democratic candidates have been either winning or become more competitive.

Efrat is a risk manager in the financial industry and is a parent in the Walton High School cluster.Last year, she protested a new logo for East Side Elementary School, saying it resembled the Nazi eagle crest.

Fisher, retired from the internet security industry, is currently a vice president for party and grassroots development with the Cobb Republican Party.

In addition to those and other local GOP roles, she has been involved in civic affairs as a critic of Cobb County government spending and has spoken out against high-density zoning cases in East Cobb.

Earlier this year, she filed an ethics complaint against Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson over the latter’s political action committee activities.

But that complaint was dismissed by the Cobb Board of Ethics.

Fisher is the only appointee of Republican interests on the elections board. Jennifer Mosbacher, another East Cobb resident, is the appointee of Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.

Chairwoman Tori Silas and Steven Bruning are appointees of the Cobb legislative delegation, which has a Democratic majority.

The first meeting for Efrat and Fisher is July 10.

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!

Cobb Chairwoman Cupid to kick off 2024 re-election campaign

June 25, 2023 8:24 AMJune 22, 2023 10:22 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will hold a fundraiser next week at the formal launch of her re-election campaign. Cupid re-election campaign kickoff fundraiser

The event takes place next Thursday, June 29, from 5-7 p.m. at 45 South Avenue in the city of Marietta, just below Roswell Street.

Cupid, a Democrat in her first term in the position, sent an official announcement to supporters on Thursday, and included a link for donations.

Cupid is the first woman and the first African-American to be the elected head of county government, as well as the first Democrat since Ernest Barrett in the 1980s.

She also is one of three members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners whose terms expire at the end of 2024. They include fellow Democrats Monique Sheffield of District 4 in South Cobb that Cupid represented for two terms, and the District 2 seat occupied by Jerica Richardson that is embroiled in a legal battle over reapportionment.

Cupid’s updated campaign website declares that she’s a “History Maker. Difference Maker.”

In her message to supporters, Cupid said Cobb has “accomplished a lot and overcome much by way of a pandemic, cityhood efforts and historic redistricting to limit all five of our commissioners from serving. Through all of this, Cobb remains a vibrant, economically strong county that continues to attract new residents, businesses, and energy.”

She noted that the county has maintained its triple AAA bond rating and has expanded partnerships to boost transit, provide housing assistance, and recover from the COVID pandemic.

“Moreover, we have increased in population and diversity with measures to strengthen policing in a way that builds trust. We are also modernizing our purchasing processes to make it easier for minority-, women-, and service-disabled veteran businesses to do business with the County.

Over the next four years, we have the opportunity to continue the important work of aligning our county with sound business practices in strategic management, sustainability, and workforce retention. We also look forward to finally letting citizens cast their vote on transit investment and expansion in 2024.”

Cupid’s first two-and-a-half years as chairwoman have come with some controversy, and the five-woman board has been divided along partisan lines on a number of issues.

Republican District 1 member Keli Gambrill has filed a lawsuit against the county over the Democrats’ vote to invoke home rule to keep Richardson in office [a hearing has been scheduled in Cobb Superior Court next month].

Gambrill and fellow GOP member JoAnn Birrell of District 3–whose East Cobb boundaries are also being contested in the legal dispute—have opposed the Democrats on the need for a county strategic plan, the length of the proposed transit tax, and some diversity issues.

At the first meeting of the year in January, they tried to protest the home rule vote by refusing to vote on routine county business, but Cupid said that violated board policy and she ordered them to leave the dais.

More recently, Cupid responded to citizens who have lashed out at her during public comment periods. At a recent Cobb Prayer Breakfast, Cupid referenced the Cobb school district and drew a sharp rebuke from Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.

Cupid—who has themed her agenda around the slogan “All in Cobb,”—didn’t specify in her supporters’ message details of her priorities in a second term.

“I am positive about where we are headed; however, I recognize we still have more work to do,” she said. “I look forward to making these strides with you.”

Cupid, who defeated then-incumbent Republican chairman Mike Boyce in 2020, is the only announced candidate thus far.

In 2024, most countywide offices will be on the ballot, including District Attorney and Sheriff.

Democrats hold all but one of them in a Cobb County that until recent years was dominated by GOP office-holders. Tax Commissioner Carla Jackson is the only Republican, and in 2020 had no Democratic opposition.

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!

U.S. Rep. McCormick endorses DeSantis in presidential race

May 27, 2023 5:04 PMMay 27, 2023 12:11 PM by Wendy Parker

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, whose 6th District includes part of East Cobb, is one of a handful of members of Congress to support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his campaign for president. U.S. Rep. McCormick endorses DeSantis

DeSantis, who recently won re-election by nearly 20 points, announced his candidacy this week for the Republican nomination, and McCormick issued a video (see below) calling him “a bold conservative” who can not only defeat Democratic President Joe Biden, but “grow our party.”

In the two-minute video, McCormick—who is serving his first term in a district that also includes North Fulton and Forsyth and Dawson counties—didn’t reference former President Donald Trump, who’s holding big leads in polling among GOP candidates.

McCormick blamed what he called “Joe Biden’s failed leadership” on issues such as immigration, crime and energy.

“We need a warrior to do whatever it takes to champion conservative values and safeguard the next generation,” McCormick said in the video, adding that DeSantis is “battle-tested and ready to be our next president. He’s bold and has a vision for our future.”

In the Republican congressional primary last year, McCormick defeated Jake Evans, whom Trump had endorsed.

Among Trump’s Congressional endorsers is Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose district includes part of South Cobb.

GOP Congressman Barry Loudermilk, whose 11th District also includes part of East Cobb, has supported Trump in the past but thus far hasn’t announced his preference for 2024.

Georgia figures to be a battleground state again in the 2024 presidential election. Biden was declared the winner in 2020 by less than 12,000 votes, but Trump has disputed those results ever since.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s office has been investigating whether Trump and his campaign broke the law in trying to overturn the Georgia results, and there could be indictments.

The dispute has roiled Georgia Republicans, as Trump attacked Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, fellow Republicans who have upheld said the 2020 election results in the state.

Both are bypassing the state Republican Party convention next month in Columbus, but Trump has said he will attend.

McCormick also published an end0rsement of DeSantis in The Hill, a Washington political publication, saying the Florida governor, who has touted a strong conservative legislative agenda and whose pugnacious style includes an extended battle with the Walt Disney Co. on cultural issues, “will fight and will win.”

McCormick said DeSantis’ strengths include “stopping the left’s woke agenda, spurring economic growth, and keeping us safe.”

He also said it’s important to back a candidate “who can fight and win against the radical left and their allies in the media. Who can earn victory in Georgia. Who can beat Joe Biden.

“Most of all, this election is not about the past,” McCormick said, with the video showing DeSantis, 44, his wife and three young children. “It’s about the future. Who can lift us up, who can inspire the nation, who can lead us forward.”

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!

Cobb school board hires law firm in redistricting lawsuit

April 15, 2023 3:20 PMApril 14, 2023 4:32 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved the hiring of a separate law firm for a federal lawsuit that challenges the reapportionment of Cobb Board of Education seats last year.

Cobb school board redistricting town hall — *Cobb Board of Education maps that went into effect on Jan. 1 took Post 6 out of East Cobb. For a larger view **click here**.*

After an executive session, the board voted to hire Galleria-based Freeman Mathis and Gary LLP, which filed a motion in late March seeking judgment, and earlier this month subpoenaed plaintiffs seeking documentation and records.

A June 22 hearing has been scheduled in the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta over the district’s motion for judgment.

The district and board have been represented on most legal matters since 2022 by the Atlanta firm of Parker Poe Adams.

The board didn’t discuss the matter during Thursday’s meeting, including the cost for the legal services by Freeman Mathis and Gary. East Cobb News has left a message with the Cobb school district seeking more information.

The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration was sued last summer by several Cobb parents, who are being represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU Foundation of Georgia and other advocacy groups.

They claim that the Georgia legislature adopted Cobb school board maps that violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act and used race as a guiding factor in redrawing the seven posts.

Those actions included Post 2 and 3 in South Cobb and Post 6, which had covered most of the Walton and Wheeler high school attendance zones, and which was moved out of East Cobb, and mostly into the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.

Until last November’s elections, those three posts were represented by black school board members; the board’s current African-American members represent Post 3 and Post 6.

The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint last August (you can read it here) that alleges that the four-member Republican school board majority undertook a secretive process to have a map drawn that was then introduced by State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, a West Cobb Republican.

The managing director of Freeman Mathis Decisions, the government relations arm of the law firm representing the Cobb school district, is her husband and predecessor, former State Rep. Earl Ehrhart.

He previously held a similar position at Taylor English Decisions, a lobbying component of Taylor English Duma LLP, a law firm that drew the Cobb school board maps recommended by the board Republicans.

The Ehrhart-sponsored maps were adopted by the legislature last year.

The Democratic-majority Cobb legislative delegation backed another map that would have made few changes to those lines, but it was never voted on in the legislature.

That latter event—ignoring local courtesies—is also at the heart of a separate redistricting lawsuit filed against the Cobb Board of Commissioners, whose Democratic majority voted last October to invoke home rule over reapportionament that drew District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her seat.

“Ultimately, the Board and General Assembly enacted a redistricting plan that whitewashed the northern, eastern, and western districts by packing Black and Latinx voters into the Challenged Districts, as a last-ditch effort to limit the power of their emerging political coalition,” the Cobb school plaintiffs’ amended lawsuit states.

The Cobb school district responded in March, accusing the plaintiffs of making “scurrilous accusations” about board members in what was a “purely political dispute” based on partisan differences.

They included school board actions over the district’s COVID-19 response as well as racial and equity issues—mentioning the banning of teaching critical race theory and the board majority’s refusal to consider renaming Wheeler High School, named after a Confederate Civil War general.

The plaintiffs represent organizations “that in reality promote partisan Democratic causes, and individuals they recruited who are also partisan Democrats, are upset that the effect of the redistricting process did not align with their preferred partisan outcome: a Democratic takeover of the Board of Education,” the Cobb school district motion states.

(You can read the school district’s motion here.)

The school district motion said that the Cobb school board, which isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, can’t be held liable for a redistricting map approved by the state legislature.

The complaint against the new maps, the school district motion said, involves “run of the mill political disputes over which Republicans and Democrats clash every day.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys were given until April 28 to produce documents and prepare for the June hearing for the Cobb school district’s motion.

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!

East Cobb activist declares intent to run for school board

April 7, 2023 8:55 PMApril 7, 2023 5:19 PM by Wendy Parker

A political activist who lives in the Walton High School area has filed declaration of intent paperwork to run for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education in 2024. Laura Judge, Cobb school board candidate

Laura Tucker Judge filed the declaration with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on March 28 as a Democrat seeking the Post 5 seat.

That’s currently held by Republican four-term member David Banks, who told East Cobb News this week he’s undecided about seeking re-election.

East Cobb businessman and youth sports coach John Cristadoro announced his candidacy last week at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast, and he’s lined up a number of prominent civic and business leaders to support him.

Judge is a leader of Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizen-based group that has been critical of Cobb County School District financial and spending priorities, and is the education chair for Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s District 2 citizens cabinet.

Judge also is the co-elections lead in Georgia for Moms Demand Action, which lobbies to prevent and reduce gun violence, and has spoken frequently at Cobb school board public comment periods, in particular about school safety.

She and her husband run a digital content marketing company and have two children.

In response to a message for comment from East Cobb News, Judge said she will be formally announcing her decision “in the next few weeks.”

“I have been clear previously as an engaged parent and community member that our school board should answer to us as the stakeholders,” Judge said. “Parents, students, and teachers deserve to be engaged with our school board and their voices should be heard.

“While our East Cobb schools are some of the best in not only the county, but the state and nation, community members still have questions regarding financial decisions, literacy concerns, school safety, and discipline issues. Our current board member has not answered those concerns of the community to my knowledge.”

A declaration of intent to run does not obligate a candidate to launch a formal campaign but is an initial step to set up campaign committees for fundraising and other exploratory purposes.

Cristadoro told East Cobb News earlier this week his campaign organization is finalizing paperwork for the same purpose, but as of Friday that had not been filed.

The 2024 primaries will be held next May.

Banks said he expects several other candidates to get in the race but didn’t elaborate on who they might be.

Post 5 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to include the Walton, Wheeler and most of the Pope attendance zones, after previously comprising the Pope and Lassiter areas.

The Walton and Wheeler zones had been in Post 6, which was shifted to include the Smryrna-Vinings-Cumberland area, and which has been in Democratic hands since 2019.

Banks is part of 4-3 Republican majority on the school board. Three of those GOP seats will be on the ballot in 2024.

Banks has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.

In 2020, he had primary opposition and won without a runoff but won the general election by only 2,639 votes, his closest margin of victory.

Watching the Funds-Cobb posted the East Cobb News story about Banks on its Facebook page on Thursday, noting derogatory comments he made about Democratic board members:

“Whatever our children need and our educators deserve, it’s not a board member who continues to show us he’s got no intention of working with the Democratic board members… or representing all taxpayers and students.

“We hope the next candidates, on either side, agree with us…this attitude is out of date and out of touch with who we are and what Cobb stands for.”

Judge left a comment saying “I can’t wait to see what candidates announce over the next few months.”

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!

Banks undecided on seeking re-election to Cobb school board

April 5, 2023 11:34 AM by Wendy Parker

Days after a first-time candidate announced for the Cobb Board of Education seat he has held for nearly 15 years, Post 5 incumbent David Banks said Wednesday he’s undecided about seeking a fifth term next year. Banks undecided seeking re-election Cobb school board

Banks, a Republican first elected to the East Cobb-based seat in 2008, told East Cobb News in an interview that “I haven’t made up my mind.”

He said age and health are among the factors, but that “it will probably be a while before I decide.”

A retired technology executive, Banks, 82, said that “if I had my preference I would go for the 20 years. But I’m at an age where I’ve got to consider what’s best for me and the county.”

John Cristadoro, a 45-year-old media entrepreneur and father and youth sports coach in the Walton High School attendance zone, announced his candidacy last week for the GOP primary, which will be held in May 2024.

Post 5 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to include the Walton, Wheeler and most of the Pope attendance zones, after previously comprising the Pope and Lassiter areas.

Cristadoro said in an interview with East Cobb News that he has tried to contact Banks, but to no avail. The latter was in attendance at a Cobb Republican Party breakfast Saturday where Cristadoro made his official announcement, but they did not speak.

“I’m not running against him,” Cristadoro said. “I’m running for the school board.”

Banks has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.

The current board vice chairman, Banks fended off two primary opponents in 2020 without a runoff whom he said “were a flash in the pan.”

But Banks won the general election over a first-time Democratic candidate with his slimmest margin, by only 2,639 votes.

He said he doesn’t know much about Cristadoro, who has lined up a list of prominent names to serve on his steering committee, including former school board member Scott Sweeney of East Cobb, now the chairman of the state board of education.

Banks said from what he’s heard about Cristadoro, “he doesn’t seem to be focused on students” but has more of a management focus.

And he said that as for some those supporters behind Cristadoro, “the general public doesn’t know who they are. My name recognition—I don’t think that’s a problem.”

In an interview with East Cobb News Wednesday, Cristadoro said his primary issues are student safety and security and ensuring classroom success for students (a separate post from that interview will be published soon).

Banks said he thinks the Cobb County School District “has a great focus on student success. But if [Cristadoro] can get rid of the three Democrats [on the school board] there won’t be a problem.”

Republicans hold a 4-3 edge on the school board, and three GOP-held seats will be up next year. Partisan squabbles have occurred frequently over the last four years on hot-button racial issues, as well as the Cobb school district’s COVID-19 response and support for Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.

Banks clashed with Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis, Democrats who did not seek re-election last year after serving a single term, and said “they had an agenda. It was racism.”

They were succeeded by Democrats Becky Sayler and Nichelle Davis in Smyrna and South Cobb-area posts in January, and Banks said “it’s more civil now” on the school board.

Banks said the Cobb school district is in stronger shape after making “an extra special effort” to raise teacher salaries.

He also cited ongoing facility improvements in hist post, including a new sports complex at Walton and a replacement campus for Eastvalley Elementary School, as well as recent approval of a new special events facility for the district that will be used for graduation in particular.

Banks said he’ll likely decide whether to run again in a few months, and expects several other candidates to join the race.

“I don’t feel as young as I used to be,” he said. “But as long as my mind doesn’t go away, I think I’ll be okay.”

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!

Cobb school board Post 5 candidate reveals steering committee

March 31, 2023 4:59 PM by Wendy Parker

An update to our story from Monday about Republican John Cristadoro, who’s seeking the Post 5 Cobb Board of Education seat currently held by David Banks and whose term expires in 2024: Cobb school board candidate reveals steering committee

Cristadoro on Friday revealed his steering committee with several prominent individuals, including a former school board member from East Cobb, and officially unveiled his campaign website.

Among those on the steering committee are Scott Sweeney, who represented the East Cobb area for two terms on the school board from Post 6 (Walton and Wheeler attendance zones) and Cindy Cooperman, a leader of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood group.

The committee chairman is John Loud, owner of Loud Security Systems and a former president of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Other committee members include Mitch Rhoden of East Cobb, head of the Futren Corp., which manages the Indian Hills Country Club; Rob Stearns, a longtime media executive and former director of the East Marietta Basketball League; Jonathan Page, a former candidate for the Cobb Board of Commissioners; David Walens, an exhibit and event industry CEO and a trustee of Kennesaw State University; and former Lassiter High School quarterback Eddie Printz.

Cristadoro confirmed to East Cobb News Thursday he will be making a formal announcement of his campaign Saturday at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast.

On his website, Cristadoro said in a video that his campaign theme would be “passion, precision and purpose,” delivered with sports theme.

Involved in the Walton youth football and wrestling programs, he’s seen holding a football and acknowledging his love of sports.

“As your Cobb County school board member, I will be bringing these three elements to the table each and every day,” he said.

“The quality of classroom instruction must always be our number one goal.”

He references that subject as among his top priorities, along with school safety, maintain the Cobb schools senior tax exemption and continuing the Cobb Education SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) and fostering entrepreneurship in educational programs.

Cristadoro is an Army veteran who is president of Alliance Tax Solutions, which helps businesses resolve tax issues. He and his wife Gosia have two children in the Walton attendance zone.

Post 5 was redrawn last year to include the Walton and Wheeler zones, along with the Pope zone. Banks, a Republican who is in his fourth term and is the current school board vice chairman, hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek re-election.

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!

Cobb seeks to dismiss lawsuit over commission redistricting

March 28, 2023 3:28 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb resident commissioner file redistricting lawsuit — *Larry Savage of East Cobb and Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill*

The Cobb County Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit over Cobb Board of Commissioners redistricting filed by a commissioner and an East Cobb resident.

In a brief submitted March 16 in Cobb Superior Court, Cobb Senior Associate County Attorney Elizabeth Monyak said that the lawsuit was improperly filed against the county government and the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration.

Monyak argued in her brief that’s a violation of the waiver of sovereign immunity in the Georgia Constitution, and cited a Georgia Supreme Court decision earlier this month.

The waiver bars lawsuits against the state and its employees in their official capacities unless a statute or the constitution waives that immunity. Specifically, it bans suits against multiple government agencies.

Gambrill and Larry Savage of East Cobb, who ran for Cobb Commission Chairman from 2012-2020, are challenging the commission’s vote in October invoking home rule over commission redistricting.

They are seeking a writ of mandamus for the courts to recognize redistricting maps approved last year by the Georgia General Assembly.

Those maps drew current District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her East Cobb home in the middle of her term.

Richardson and the board’s two other Democrats favor maps drawn last year by former Cobb State Rep. Erick Allen, but that were never voted on in the legislature.

Opponents of Cobb’s home rule challenge say it’s unconstitutional because only the legislature can conduct reapportionment.

But Monyak cited a state Supreme Court ruling this year that upheld the principle of sovereign immunity in a lawsuit filed against the Gwinnett County District Attorney and the State of Georgia that was dismissed.

“Plaintiffs have brought an independent claim against a party not identified in the waiver provision: the mandamus claim against Cobb BOE in Count 1,” the county’s brief states, referring to the elections board.

The county is asking that a May 3 hearing before Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris be cancelled and the full lawsuit be thrown out.

“Dismissal is the only course of action available when a plaintiff brings a lawsuit that violates the exclusivity clause of the waiver of sovereign immunity” of the Georgia Constitution, Monyak wrote.

Savage, who lived in the former Cobb Commission District 2 before his residence was drawn into District 3 for the 2022 election, initially filed his lawsuit against the Cobb elections board.

He withdrew it, then refiled it, adding the county as a defendant, and was joined as a plaintiff by Gambrill, a Republican just re-elected in District 1 in North Cobb.

The resolution passed by the commission Democrats, the lawsuit alleges, “was an overt misuse and abuse of the home rule authority” and described their amended map as “illegal, unconstitutional and not binding.”

Gambrill and her fellow Republican commissioner, JoAnn Birrell of District 3, have read statements of protests before every meeting since January, stating their objections to the adoption of Allen’s maps.

They were removed from the dais by Chairwoman Lisa Cupid at the first meeting for trying to abstain from voting.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has issued an opinion saying the Allen maps are not legally binding.

But Cobb County Attorney William Rowling has claimed the county has the right to invoke home rule over redistricting, and said the county will continue to use the Allen maps unless or until they are invalidated by the courts.

An attempt by State Sen. Ed Setzler of West Cobb to restore the legislative-approved maps fell through in the current session when his bill wasn’t voted on in the upper chamber on crossover day.

East Cobb resident Debbie Fisher filed an ethics complaint against Richardson, saying she should recuse herself from voting due to a conflict of interest over a political action committee she founded to fight the legislative maps.

The Cobb Ethics Board found no evidence to fully investigate that charge and dismissed the complaint unanimously.

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!

East Cobb resident to announce run for Cobb school board

March 28, 2023 2:29 PMMarch 27, 2023 5:25 PM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb resident involved in youth sports in the community is expected to announce his campaign this week for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education next year. East Cobb resident planning Cobb school board campaign

That’s the Post 5 seat currently held by four-term Republican David Banks, whose term expires at the end of 2024.

John Cristadoro referenced Friday in a post on a Facebook page created for his campaign a “Special Announcement Coming Soon” at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast on Saturday, April 1.

He’s also launched a “John4Cobb” campaign website indicating he’s seeking the Post 5 seat, but has posted no further information.

In response to a message from East Cobb News, Cristadoro acknowledged he will be officially launching his campaign on Saturday and providing more details later.

Post 5 includes most of the Walton and Wheeler and some of the Pope attendance zones.

Cristadoro is the president of Alliance Tax Solutions, with offices in Atlanta and Houston, which helps businesses resolve tax issues.

He’s a parent in the Walton attendance zone and is involved with the Walton youth football and wrestling programs and East Side youth baseball.

Cristadoro, who is is married with two children, hails from New Orleans and is an Air Force veteran.

He also is involved in Advocates for Love, a Christian ministry that cares for orphans in the Dominican Republic.

Banks, who was first elected in 2008, has not indicated if he will be seeking a fifth term.

His seat is one of four on the Cobb school board that will be up for election in 2024. They include two other posts also held by Republicans, who hold a 4-3 majority.

Banks, who is the current board vice chairman, fended off primary and general election competition in 2020. But he won by his slimmest margin, by only 2,639 votes.

He has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.

Following reapportionment in 2022, Post 5 was altered to include most of the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones that had been in Post 6, which was shifted to the Smyrna-Cumberland area.

Post 6 was represented from 2019-22 by Democrat Charisse Davis, who did not seek re-election last year.

Some of the old Post 5, including much of the Lassiter attendance zone, was placed in Post 4, in which Republican David Chastain was elected to a third term last November.

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!

East Cobb legislator excused from voting on transgender bill

March 16, 2023 3:46 PM by Wendy Parker

The day after a youth transgender bill advanced out of the Georgia House Public Health committee she chairs, State Rep. Sharon Cooper of East Cobb was excused from casting a floor vote on Thursday.

Along party lines, the Republican-led House voted 96-75 to pass SB 140, which would bar most medical procedures for transgender-identified minors and would strip the medical licenses of doctors who perform them.

Cooper, a Republican from District 45, was one of seven House members listed as having been excused from voting.

The bill that passed the Senate earlier in the session prohibits medical professionals from prescribing hormone-replacement therapy or performing surgery to alter sexual characteristics on minors under the age of 18.

The bill does allow for some gender-related treatment pertaining to intersex youths and those with other sexual developmental disorders, and permits transgender minors to take puberty blockers.

Minors undergoing hormone treatment by July 1 would be allowed to continue doing so under the bill.

The House committee amended the bill to allow doctors to be held criminally and civilly liable as well for violating provisions of the bill. The amended measure must be voted on by the Senate before the legislative session ends March 29.

East Cobb Republican House members John Carson (District 46) and Don Parsons (District 44) voted in favor of the bill, while Democrats Mary Frances Williams (District 34) and Solomon Adesanya (District 43) were opposed.

Those votes followed the partisan lines of the bill in the Senate, where East Cobb-area senators Kay Kirkpatrick (District 32) and John Albers (District 56) were co-sponsors and voted in favor.

State Sen. Jason Esteves, a Democrat from District 6, which includes some of East Cobb, voted against the bill.

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

According to House rules, all members “shall vote unless the member is immediately and particularly interested therein or unless the member is excused by the House.”

A member who wishes to be excused from voting must do so before the question is called to vote.

In 2019, Cooper, a retired nurse, voted against final passage of a law criminalizing abortion after six weeks, saying she opposed provisions to punish medical professionals. (Kirkpatrick, a retired orthopedic surgeon, also opposed that bill and was excused from voting to attend a funeral out of state.)

Testimony at a Wednesday House committee about the youth transgender bill got highly emotional on both sides. Teens and opponents were begging lawmakers to let children and their families make their own medical decisions and to follow the recommendations of care from professional medical associations.

Supporters of the bill said children need to be protected from the effects of irreversible medical procedures, especially if they change their minds about their gender identities as adults.

The substitute bill was favorably passed out of committee in a 12-10 vote, and Cooper admitted that there would be a lot of “soul searching” from committee members.

“I only wish there was an accompanying bill, if this one should pass, that says that we will always also stand behind transgender people and transgender children and not let you be discriminated against going forward,” she said before the vote.

After the vote, according to the Georgia Recorder, Cooper was seen embracing the tearful mother of a transgender child.

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!

Cobb ethics board dismisses complaint against Richardson

March 26, 2023 2:08 PMMarch 13, 2023 5:45 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Ethic Board dismisses Richardson ethics complaint

The Cobb Board of Ethics has dismissed a complaint filed by an East Cobb resident against Commissioner Jerica Richardson.

In a special meeting Monday, the board voted 6-0, with one member absent, to dismiss the complaint, saying it did not find “specific, substantiated evidence to support a reasonable belief” of an ethics violation.

It’s the first step under the Cobb County code to consider ethics complaints and is an “investigatory review.” If the board had voted the other way, it could have set a hearing date to formally consider whether an ethics violation occurred.

(You can watch a replay of the fill meeting below.)

Debbie Fisher, an East Cobb political activist, filed the complaint in late January, saying that Richardson was engaged in a conflict of interest due to a political action committee she formed to fight her redistricting by the Georgia legislature.

Richardson, who is part of the Cobb Board of Commissioners’ Democratic majority, voted in October in favor of the county invoking home rule powers to conduct reapportionment.

They are challenging Georgia legislative maps passed last year that would draw her out of her East Cobb home in District 2 in the middle of her term.

Richardson also created a 501(c)(4) non-profit, For Which It Stance, for the purpose of “protecting local control, empowering local voices,” and seeks financial donations, sells merchandise and offers memberships ranging from $25 to $100 a month.

Fisher, a local Republican activist who said she was representing herself, alleges that’s a conflict and at Monday’s hearing, recounted her complaints. (In addition to seeking a reprimand and/or censure of Richardson, Fisher wants to void Richardson’s votes on the maps, which would result in a 2-2 deadlock.)

“This organization creates a conflict of interest, a direct and indirect financial benefit,” Fisher told the Ethics Board members, referring to For Which It Stance.

“Its existence creates the appearance of impropriety and it is evident that Commissioner Richardson is using her position as an elected official for private gain by selling favors and merchandise and giving preferential treatment by selling access and favor to the organization’s members.”

But Justin O’Dell, a Marietta attorney representing Richardson at the hearing, noted her status as the first woman and African-American to represent District 2, and her election in 2020 was “an historic one” in that it ensured a black female Democratic majority.

“Ever since that time, there has been and continues to be an effort to undermine the results of that election, through legislative and other means,” O’Dell said.

He included various cityhood movements in Cobb (three of which failed, including East Cobb), as examples of efforts undertaken so that “individuals who don’t feel like they ought to be represented by Commissioner Richardson can have their wish despite the results of the election.”

O’Dell said elected officials have a “fundamental” right to engage in political advocacy and speech in the course of doing their jobs.

He said “what’s being attempted here is an end run” around the legal proceedings involving Cobb’s home rule challenge to the legislative maps, “and should be dismissed as such.

“They are asking you essentially to declare her actions void as a means to bypass what they have been unable to do through the courts,” O’Dell said, “by having you void these actions and undo the map.”

Most of the ethics board members said they were unpersuaded by the complaint, and that they were looking for evidence of the claims of financial benefit for Richardson going into the hearing.

“We don’t have any evidence that Ms. Richardson has profit,” ethics board member Cynthia Ann Smith said. “But we don’t have any evidence that she didn’t either.”

Board chairman Carlos Rodriguez spelled out the differences in the ethics code between compatible and incompatible employment, as they related to an elected officials’ discharging of their official duties.

The code, he said, precludes commissioners from using their office to benefit in for-profit entities, not non-profits.

“In my mind, it doesn’t really even matter whether she received some sort of compensation as a member of For Which It Stance or not,” he said, “as long as it’s not incompatible with her public duty and responsibility.”

Board member Janet Savage said “we have not seen any hardcore evidence that there was private gain” for Richardson.

The ethics board is a seven-member body appointed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners, the Cobb Tax Commissioner, the Cobb Sheriff, the Cobb Solicitor General, the chief judges of the Cobb probate and magistrate courts and the clerk of the Cobb State Court.

Fisher has 30 days to appeal the decision in Cobb Superior Court.

Cobb commission redistricting bill tabled in Georgia Senate

March 7, 2023 11:21 PMMarch 7, 2023 2:44 PM by Wendy Parker

Legislation that would have reimposed the reapportionment lines for the Cobb Board of Commissioners that were approved by the Georgia legislature in 2022 won’t advance in the current session.

Cobb GOP BOC redistricting map — *Cobb commission maps passed by the Georgia legislature would include most of East Cobb in District 3 (gold).*

SB 236, sponsored by State. Sen. Ed Setzler, a West Cobb Republican, was tabled in the Senate on Monday, which was crossover day in the Georgia General Assembly.

Bills that didn’t pass out of their original chambers by crosover day aren’t considered for the rest of the session.

The bill (you can read it here) was introduced by Setzler after the three Democrats on the Cobb commission voted last fall to invoke a home rule challenge to redistricting lines that drew one of them, Jerica Richardson of East Cobb, out of District 2 in the middle of her term.

Setzler’s bill, co-sponsored by two Republicans, Kay Kirkpatrick and John Albers, who represent parts of East Cobb, was favorably reported out of a Senate committee last week.

Setzler agreed to revise the bill to include language that would allow Richardson to complete her term, which expires in 2024.

A companion bill by Setzler, SB 124 (you can read it here), would “restate constitutional limitations” on counties from determining redistricting lines.

But with a lengthly slate of bills on crossover day, Setzler’s bills weren’t debated or brought to a vote after being tabled.

Since January, the five-woman Cobb commission has been conducting meetings honoring a redistricting map drawn last year by former State Rep. Erick Allen, then the Cobb legislative delegation chairman, that would keep Richardson in District 2.

The two Republicans, JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb and Keli Gambrill of West Cobb, tried to abstain from voting at the first meeting, protesting maps they said were unconstitutional.

They were ordered from the dais by Democratic chairwoman Lisa Cupid and since then have begun meetings reading their objections into the record.

Late last month, Gambrill and East Cobb resident Larry Savage filed a lawsuit in Cobb Superior Court challenging the home rule declaration.

That suit has not yet been scheduled for a hearing, according to court records.

Setzler, who was elected to the Senate last year, was the co-sponsor last year as a member of the House of three failed Cobb cityhood referendums.

He became a co-sponsor of the East Cobb legislation that was approved and signed into law. But voters in the proposed city of East Cobb defeated it with more than 73 percent saying no.

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!

East Cobb resident, commissioner file redistricting lawsuit

March 7, 2023 2:33 PMFebruary 25, 2023 11:38 AM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb resident commissioner file redistricting lawsuit

East Cobb resident Larry Savage has refiled a lawsuit against Cobb County’s home rule legal challenge over redistricting maps for the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

His co-plaintiff in the action filed Thursday in Cobb Superior Court is Cobb Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill.

Their suit (you can read it here) was filed against the county and the Cobb Board of Registration and Elections. The latter was the sole defendant in the initial suit filed by Savage but was withdrawn after an initial hearing before Judge Ann Harris in January.

The refiled suit seeks a writ of mandamus to order Cobb to recognize redistricting maps approved last year by the Georgia General Assembly.

Those maps drew current District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her East Cobb home in the middle of her term.

Instead, she and the board’s other two Democrats passed a resolution last October to recognize a redistricting map drawn by the former Cobb legislative delegation chairman that would keep Richardson in her seat.

That action included the filing of an amended map with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, even after Gambrill and fellow GOP Commissioner JoAnn Birrell were re-elected in November according to the legislature-approved maps.

The new lawsuit continues to claim that the county is violating the Georgia Constitution, which permits only the legislature to conduct reapportionment.

The suit said that Gambrill, who represents District 1 in north and west Cobb, is a plaintiff as an individual citizen, not in her role as a commissioner.

The legislative map drew most of East Cobb into District 3, which Birrell has represented since 2010. Savage, a former candidate for Cobb Commission Chairman in 2012, 2016 and 2020, was drawn into the new District 3 for the 2022 election.

But the Cobb map, which the county said took effect on Jan. 1, puts him back in District 2, which includes some of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.

“Mr. Savage has a legally protected interest in enduring his vote fairly and legally translates into representation on the BOC and that his district and the county at large is represented fairly and constitutionally,” said the lawsuit, filed by Atlanta attorney Ray S. Smith III.

Proposed Cobb commission redistricting map — *Maps approved by the Cobb commission’s Democrats would keep Jerica Richardson of East Cobb in the District 2 (in pink) that she currently represents.*

The lawsuit said that the Cobb Board of Commissioners “created a conflict for the BOE [Board of Elections] in carrying out its duties” to conduct and certify elections.

Gambrill and Birrell were ordered from the board’s dais at the commission’s first meeting of the year when they attempted to abstain from voting as a protest against the county maps.

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said that was a violation of board policy. Since then, the two Republican commissioners have voted, but have begun each meeting reading formal statements of objection.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has issued an opinion claiming the Cobb maps are not legally binding, but said his office could take no action until a lawsuit was filed.

The Cobb commission Democrats have claimed in their resolution that they’re justified in invoking home rule over redistricting due to the “unprecedented” redistricting maps passed by the legislature.

Richardson, whose term expires in 2024, has contended that while the county’s action may be unprecedented, so is the legislature’s action in drawing a sitting incumbent official out of her seat.

An East Cobb resident, Debbie Fisher, has filed an ethics complaint against Richardson, saying the commissioner is engaged in a conflict of interest due to a political action committee she formed to fight the legislative maps.

State Sen. Ed Setzler, a Republican from West Cobb, has filed a bill that would specifically prohibit counties from using home rule powers over redistricting. Two co-sponsors of the bill, SB 236 (you can read it here), are his GOP colleagues Kay Kirkpatrick and John Albers, who represent parts of East Cobb.

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!

Cobb Elections director announces retirement after 12 years

January 27, 2023 5:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Janine Eveler, Cobb Elections director announces retirement — *Janine Eveler*

Janine Eveler, the director of the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration, announced Friday that she is retiring after 12 years in the position.

The announcement was issued by Cobb government, which said a search will be launched immediately to hire her successor. Eveler will leave her post after Cobb municipal elections in March.

Eveler was with the Cobb Elections for 18 years after a career in telecommunications.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my 18 years with Cobb County government,” Eveler said in a statement to the elections board that was included in a release issued by county. “I am very proud of the accomplishments that I and the Elections department have achieved and appreciate the opportunity to serve the citizens of the best county in Georgia.”

She was named the 2021 recipient of Ann Hicks Award, honoring excellence in elections administration, by the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Elections Officials.

But the 2022 elections in Cobb were marked by controversies and glitches involving the elections office that led to court consent decrees extending the deadline for returning absentee ballots in the general election and the U.S. Senate runoff.

They included the failure to mail more than 1,000 absentee ballots for the Nov. 8 general election due to what Eveler said was a “human error” by an elections worker.

“I am sorry that this office let these voters down,” Eveler said at the time. “Many of the absentee staff have been averaging 80 or more hours per week, and they are exhausted. Still, that is no excuse for such a critical error.”

She told the elections board and Cobb commissioners on several occasions that high turnover among elections workers and volunteers were significant challenges during an election year that included new boundaries due to reapportionment.

In the Post 4 Cobb Board of Education general election race in East Cobb, 1,112 voters registered in the Sandy Plains 1 precinct were incorrectly given ballots to vote in the Cobb Board of Education Post 4 race.

They live in Post 5, also in East Cobb, following redistricting earlier in 2022.

The error was corrected, but 111 votes that had already been cast could not be changed. Republican incumbent David Chastain defeated Democrat Catherine Pozniak by 3,686 votes to win re-election.

A city council race in Kennesaw in November was reversed after data from a memory card was not uploaded promptly after the general election.

The appointed elections board also added one Sunday of early voting for the general election, a change that Eveler opposed in favor of a longer Saturday.

She also attributed some of the errors to a new state law limiting the window for absentee ballots and dropbox locations for them.

“The Board of Elections appreciates Janine’s service and commitment to Cobb County and the opportunity we’ve had to work with her to address concerns and challenges related to the changing elections landscape in this state,” elections board chairwoman Tori Silas in the Cobb release.

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!

East Cobb resident files ethics complaint against Richardson

January 26, 2023 8:27 PMJanuary 26, 2023 3:44 PM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb resident opposed to Cobb County’s attempt to use home rule powers to conduct reapportionment has filed an ethics complaint against Commissioner Jerica Richardson, whose bid to stay in office is at the heart of the controversy.

Debbie Fisher alleges in her complaint to the Cobb Board of Ethics that Richardson is engaged in a conflict of interest due to a political action committee she formed to fight her redistricting by the Georgia legislature.

In her complaint filed on Monday (you can read it here), Fisher said Richardson should have recused herself from discussion and two votes in October in which the commission’s Democratic majority approved redistricting maps that would have kept her District 2 relatively unchanged.

In addition to seeking a reprimand and/or censure of Richardson, Fisher wants to void Richardson’s votes on the maps, which would result in a 2-2 deadlock.

Last year, the Georgia legislature passed HB 1154, which contains maps that placed Richardson’s home in East Cobb into District 3, where Republican JoAnn Birrell was re-elected in November.

In addition to vowing that she wouldn’t step down, Richardson set up a 501(c)(4) non-profit last March, For Which It Stance, Inc., to fight what she said was an “unprecedented” move to draw a sitting elected official out of office.

In what she and her supporters have called “Jerica-mandering,” Richardson has insisted that home rule is legal and necessary to invoke for redistricting so that her 200,000 constituents have representation.

The For Which It Stance website said it was dedicated to “protecting local control, empowering local voices,” and seeks financial donations, sells merchandise and offers memberships ranging from $25 to $100 a month.

Unlike 501(c)(3) non-profits, a 501(c)(4) organization can “push for specific legislative outcomes that align with our values and core mission,” according to the For Which It Stance site.

Fisher further alleges in her complaint Richardson “also violated the code of ethics by failing to disclose, in writing or verbally, the conflict and the collection of money through the 501(c)(4) Corporation’s website which clearly creates a Fiduciary conflict of interest that disqualifies Commissioner Richardson from participating in discussion in whole or part and from voting on this issue.”

Under a local ordinance, the ethics board has 60 days to conduct an initial review to determine if there’s enough evidence in the complaint to warrant a further investigation. The complaint could be dismissed or the board could set a hearing date to formally consider whether an ethics violation occurred.

Fisher is a local Republican activist who told East Cobb News that “I like Jerica and I don’t necessarily agree with how the maps were redrawn but this has been taken too far.”

East Cobb News has contacted Richardson and East Cobb resident Mindy Seger, the executive director of For Which is Stance, seeking comment.

Seger would say only that For Which It Stance “will not be commenting on the complaint at this time.”

East Cobb News also contacted Lynn Rainey, the attorney for the ethics board, who said Richardson has 30 days to respond to the complaint.

Richardson, a Democrat, was elected to a four-year term in 2020, succeeding longtime Republican Bob Ott, in a District 2 that included some of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.

In 2021, she moved into a home off Post Oak Tritt Road, which at the time was located in her District 2.

The Cobb delegation, which had a one-Democrat majority, approved maps that would have kept Richardson in District 2. But that map was never voted on, as Cobb GOP legislators did an end-run around that longstanding courtesy.

Under Georgia law, Richardson would have had to move into the new District 2 by Dec. 31 of last year to run for re-election in 2024.

After the commission Democrats voted in October to file the county delegation maps with the state, Birrell and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill objected, saying those maps are unconstitutional.

Gambrill suggested then that Richardson recuse herself, citing a conflict of interest.

Richardson didn’t respond to those concerns, and said before the second vote that “this is beyond partisanship. This is about the balance of power among all 159 counties and the state General Assembly. This ensures that future state and federal politics won’t play a role in our local government’s daily operations.”

Earlier this month, Birrell and Gambrill tried to abstain from voting at the commission’s first meeting when they were told the county maps would be in force. They left the dais after an executive session and as Chairwoman Lisa Cupid threatened to have them escorted away by security, saying board policies didn’t allow them to abstain without a “valid” conflict.

On Tuesday, the two Republican commissioners cast votes but issued statements of protest and disputed the Jan. 10 meeting minutes saying they voted to go into executive session when they insisted they had not.

East Cobb resident Larry Savage is expected to refile a lawsuit soon in Cobb Superior Court challenging the county’s home rule stance.

In perhaps its best-known case in recent years, the Cobb ethics board dismissed a complaint against then-commission chairman Tim Lee in 2014 for his handling of the Atlanta Braves stadium deal.

The same year, Savage filed ethics complaints against the four Cobb commissioners who voted for the stadium deal, but those were also dismissed.

The only commissioner not subject to that complaint was Cupid, then a district commissioner for South Cobb.

In defending the vote to approve Cobb delegation maps instead of the state-approved maps in October, Cupid said “this is not something that we can just move past . . . this is not something that we can just take lying down.’

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!

Activist groups organize over Cobb electoral map dispute

January 24, 2023 2:10 PMJanuary 21, 2023 2:05 PM by Wendy Parker

A political advocacy committee started by Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson to fight against legislative maps that would draw her out of her seat is encouraging those who support her to speak out when commissioners meet on Tuesday.

The For Which It Stance group wants to “fill the room” and speak during public comment sessions as a home rule dispute continues to roil the five-woman board.

The notification was amplified on the Facebook page of the Cobb County Democratic Committee. Cobb electoral map dispute

The Cobb County Republican Party has posted a similar notice on social media, urging its supporters to “show up and support our state constitution.”

On Jan. 10, Republican commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill tried to abstain from voting, saying maps approved by the three Democrats on the board are unconstitutional under Georgia law.

They were told by Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid that they could not abstain without a valid conflict and eventually were removed from the dais, watching the rest of the meeting from the back of the room.

Whether that scenario may repeat itself Tuesday is uncertain. When asked by East Cobb News what she plans to do at the meeting, Birrell said only that “I will be making a statement next week.”

Birrell began her fourth term in January after being re-elected under new boundaries in District 3, which includes most of East Cobb.

Those maps were approved by the Georgia legislature after Cobb GOP lawmakers skirted the common courtesy of honoring local delegation maps.

The Cobb delegation had a one-member majority, and commission maps drawn by former chairman Erick Allen would contain most of Birrell’s former district, including some of Northeast Cobb, the Town Center area and city of Marietta.

That map, which Birrell opposed, was never voted on by the legislature, but it’s what the county has submitted to the state, and it’s the one the county attorney’s office is saying is currently valid.

Cobb electoral map dispute Richardson was elected in 2020 in District 2, which has included some of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.

She moved to a home off Post Oak Tritt Road last year, and under state law, would have had to move into the new District 2 to seek re-election next year.

That’s because the legislative maps drew District 2 to include Cumberland-Vinings, Marietta and most of the Kennesaw-Town Center area and took out East Cobb.

But Richardson isn’t budging, as the county is claiming home rule provisions that Republicans said do not apply when it comes to reapportionment.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr this week agreed, saying the county maps are “not legally binding.”

But there’s not an active lawsuit to contest the county maps. East Cobb resident Larry Savage withdrew a suit in Cobb Superior Court and is planning refile it soon.

In the meantime, said Mindy Seger, the executive director of For Which It Stance, the option that would cause the least harm and disruption to is to honor the county maps and keep Richardson in office until the courts decide the matter.

She said Richardson’s fight is about the “representation of 200,000 people,” her District 2 constituency, who were the subject of an unprecedented action by the legislature—drawing out an incumbent elected official.

Savage’s initial lawsuit sought a preliminary injunction to uphold the state maps. That would trigger Richardson’s removal from office and a special election.

If that were to happen, and the county then won its home rule claim, Seger said, that would create even more chaos than what the Republicans are saying is happening now.

Seger, who was a leader of the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance, also encouraged Birrell and Gambrill to show up and vote—not abstain—and represent their constituents.

The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), and the full agenda can be found by clicking here.

There are two public comment periods, one at the beginning and the other near the end, with a maximum of six speakers each who are limited to speak for five minutes.

You also can watch on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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!

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