Cobb commissioners narrowly approve new diversity council

Cobb diversity council approved

By a 3-2 vote the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved the creation of what will be called the Council for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation, a citizens’ body that will report to the county manager.

The objective of the appointed body will be to “develop proactive solutions embracing diversity by collaborating with government and community stakeholders to make Cobb County a more inclusive and enjoyable place for all citizens to live, learn, work and visit.”

(See previous ECN post here.)

The council was proposed by Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce, who was one of the votes in favor, along with commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb.

But Lisa Cupid, the commission’s only black member, and its only Democrat, was one of the votes against the measure, saying it “was difficult to digest this with any seriousness.”

Not only was there not a work session, she said the resolution expressing the board’s sentiment in reaching out to the diverse communities of the county isn’t backed up by recent votes.

Among them was the board rejecting her proposal earlier this month for three county non-profits to provide rental assistance with federal CARES Act funding. That program will instead be administered by an out-of-county non-profit that’s also working with Cobb homeowners affected financially by COVID-related closures to make mortgage payments.

“This board doesn’t foster that kind of collaboration,” she said in reference to the Cobb non-profits, further objecting to the resolution initially being put on Tuesday’s consent agenda.

Cupid, who is challenging Boyce in the chairman’s race in November, said that while she supported the resolution in spirit, she understood how it might look if she voted against it. She said she first heard about the proposed council on Aug. 27, and at one point said she “just got tired of playing along.

“What’s the detriment to me if I say no right before an election?”

Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb opposed the resolution for other reasons, saying she thought it would be a “quasi-shadow government in the name of diversity.”

She also didn’t like that there wasn’t a work session and thought the council “would have a direct bearing on county policy.”

Birrell said she had some initial reservations but thought there had been ample time for commissioners to express their concerns about the resolution.

Ott, who is retiring at the end of the year, said he has been involved in three previous attempts to re-form what had been the Cobb Community Relations Council.

That body, formed in the early 1990s, has dissolved, and he said it’s important for there to be continuing dialogue in Cobb across racial, religious and cultural lines.

“We can’t just sit back while Rome burns,” Ott said. “Is this perfect? No.”

But he said “it’s more healthy when there is disagreement because it opens discussions and dialogue. It allows things to change.”

Ott said he was pleased that Ben Williams of the Cobb chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an occasional critic of the county on racial issues, endorsed the resolution.

During a public comment before the vote Tuesday, Williams said the language is “clear, strong and resolute, reflecting where this board is.”

Cupid said in reference to Williams’ remark that “I’m not convinced of that.”

Boyce was the only commissioner who did not take part in the discussion.