Cobb commission, school board redistricting maps approved

Cobb redistricting
Democrats Charisse Davis of the Cobb school board and Jerica Richardson of the Cobb commission have had the East Cobb portions of their districts removed.


Two first-term Democrats who represent part of East Cobb on the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education will have different electoral boundaries soon.

The Georgia Senate finalized redistricting bills for both bodies on Wednesday, clearing the way for Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature into law.

The bills were sponsored by Cobb Republicans over the objections of the county’s Democratic-led legislative delegation, and easily passed in the legislature, which has strong GOP majorities.

Cobb GOP BOC redistricting map
For a larger view of the new Cobb commissioners map, click here.

Jerica Richardson, who was elected to commission District 2 in 2020, was drawn out of her district in a map that for the next decade will place most of East Cobb in District 3 (in gold on the map at right).

District 2 has included the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area and part of East Cobb. Richardson moved into a new home off Post Oak Tritt Road last year, but will have to move again by the end of the year if she seeks a second term in 2024.

The new District 2 (in pink) will include Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings, some of Marietta and other areas along the I-75 corridor.

The bill’s main sponsor, Republican John Carson of Northeast Cobb, has said that his map will likely keep the commission’s current 3-2 Democratic majority.

But Richardson and other Cobb Democrats have been vocal at Georgia Capitol press conferences in opposing the GOP maps.

“This bill essentially overwrites the vote you made 2 years ago and creates a new map that doesn’t take the community’s input into consideration,” Richardson said on her Facebook page Thursday.

“This is a dangerous precedent, and I plan to continue making my voice heard in order to support this community and its needs.”

District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell, a Republican, is nearing the end of her third term this year. 

Charisse Davis, who has represented the Walton and Wheeler clusters on the Cobb school board since 2019, also was drawn into a new post that no longer includes East Cobb.

She lives in the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area, which forms the heart of the new Post 6. Davis is up for re-election but has not announced whether she’s seeking re-election.

Cobb school board redistricting town hall
For a larger view of the new Cobb school board post map, click here.

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

She noted on her Facebook page recently that the Cobb GOP maps affecting her, Richardson and current 6th District U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath are “ensuring that the east Cobb area will no longer have representation from any of the Black women whose districts currently include east Cobb.”

While East Cobb has been solid terrain for Republicans, Democrats have been making gains in recent elections as the once-conservative county undergoes significant demographic and political change.

Only on the Cobb school board do Republicans have a local majority.

For the last three years, the school board has held a 4-3 GOP edge (after Republicans previously enjoyed a 6-1 advantage), and has been roiled controversies that generally have fallen along partisan lines.

The shifting lines for the school board also reduce East Cobb representation to two members. They are current chairman David Chastain, a Republican who has said he will be seeking another term in 2022 for Post 4, and David Banks, the GOP vice chairman whose Post 5 will now cover most of the Walton and Wheeler areas.

Davis and fellow first-term Democrat Jaha Howard, also of the Smyrna area, have been in the middle of disputes over the senior tax exemption, equity issues, student discipline matters and the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 response.

The new maps put Davis and Howard, currently of Post 2, together. But he has announced he is running for Georgia School Superintendent this year.

(PLEASE NOTE: The process of redistricting elected school board posts has nothing to do with the boundaries of school attendance zones, which are drawn by school district administrative staff and are done mainly to balance out school capacity.)

McBath, completing her second term, has switched to the 7th district, which includes most of Democratic-leaning Gwinnett County after the legislature redrew the 6th to create a GOP-friendly seat that includes East Cobb, North Fulton, part of Forsyth County and Dawson County.

Part of East Cobb also is included in newly redrawn 11th District, which is represented by Republican Barry Lowdermilk.

Related:

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

3 thoughts on “Cobb commission, school board redistricting maps approved”

  1. Ms. Hamilton, your comments indicate your complete lack of knowledge on this explosive topic. The maps were redrawn for the sole purpose of political domination of the Board of Commissioners and School Board by the Republican Party which will give them control over most political issues for at least the next ten years, until the maps are redrawn again. This, with no regard for racial, ethnic, economic, or demographic trends as they currently exist or will trend in the future. Still think the story was slanted???

  2. I am sorry for the lead-in political slant to this story. Maps were redrawn by those who are approved to draw the maps. The lead could state that two reps lose their seats based on the new maps. To imply or assume political motive adds to the current divisiveness in our culture. Just report the news: maps redrawn; seats lost.

Comments are closed.