Cobb judge orders East Cityhood referendum to proceed May 24

by
Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard
Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard

A Cobb Superior Court Judge ruled Thursday that Cityhood referendums in East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings will go ahead as scheduled on May 24.

Chief Judge Robert Leonard issued an order to stay that notes he may hear the merits of three lawsuits filed to stop those votes after the referendums take place.

The lawsuits challenge the constitutionality of the charters for the proposed cities of East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings.

But in his order (you can read it here), Leonard said that Colin Brady, the plaintiff in the suit to stop the East Cobb referendum, “seeks relief prematurely, and this matter is not yet ripe for review.”

Leonard said that Brady is asking the court to rule on the constitutionality of “a proposed law that may or may not go into effect.”

The judge further concluded that Brady, who is an opponent of East Cobb Cityhood, “is entitled to campaign against it” like any other citizen.

Leonard also wrote that “this Court declines to interfere with the legislative process and remove the referendum from the ballot.”

If the referendum fails, “the case will be moot and will be dismissed” and if it passes, Leonard added, the plaintiff may petition the court “and the complex issues presented in this case can be heard with the benefit of full briefing and argument, rather than with an abnormally shortened and rushed timeline.”

(Advance voting for the referendums and Democratic, Republican and non-partisan primaries begins on Monday; click here for details.)

The Committee for East Cobb Cityhood praised the ruling, issuing a statement Thursday from chairman Craig Chapin:

“The anti-city opposition’s desperate attempt to legislate from the bench and deprivation of East Cobb citizens’ right to vote has been recognized by a judge. We know the people in this community are smarter than what the opposition gives them credit for, but we still appreciate it when judges see through these tactics so that democratic processes can proceed without interference or manipulation. We are pleased that citizens will have the opportunity to vote on the Cityhood referendum questions for the cities of East Cobb, Vinings, and Lost Mountain on May 24th.”

He filed a motion Monday seeking to intervene in the East Cobb lawsuit as a defendant.

Attorneys for both sides in all three lawsuits met with Leonard late Wednesday before he issued his order.

(Leonard also will be on the primary ballot in a non-partisan race as he is seeking re-election. He is being challenged by Charles Ford, a public defender in Fulton County, and private attorney Matt McMaster.)

Allen Lightcap, an Atlanta attorney, filed all three lawsuits on behalf of residents in East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings.

He said legislation in all three cases setting up the referendum and creating city charters is unconstitutional.

He said proposed city charters included in legislation that passed this year violate state home rule provisions regarding the provision of services by local governments.

Specifically, the suits say that the legislation in all three cases takes away the discretion of local governments to provide supplementary powers.

He said those powers can be enumerated only through general law applying to all local jurisdictions in the state and not via local law, which the three Cobb cityhood bills were.

In his suits, Lightcap said the referendums must be stopped because voters may think they’re voting for services that they may not end up getting.

In response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, Lightcap issued the following statement:

“We appreciate the Court’s thoughtful decision to stay the cases rather than dismiss them, as advocated by the County and the Intervenors. 

“By staying the cases, the Court recognizes that the cases present important constitutional questions that should be heard if any of the referenda are approved by the voters. 

“Ultimately, the plain language of the constitution specifically forbids the City-Lite provisions of these charters. If any of these cities pass, the Court will be squarely presented with an unconstitutional charter, and these important challenges will proceed.”

There’s one more scheduled East Cobb Cityhood debate, next Wednesday, May 4, at Pope High School.

It’s sold out for in-person attendance, but Blaine Hess of the Rotary Club of East Cobb, which is sponsoring the event, said it will be shown  via livestream on its Facebook page for those who can’t be there in person.

The debate lasts from 6:30-8 p.m. in the new auditorium on the Pope campus (3001 Hembree Road).

And like the previous debate on April 19, the second forum will include representatives of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood and the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes the referendum.

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1 thought on “Cobb judge orders East Cityhood referendum to proceed May 24”

  1. I’m glad we get to vote against this city nonsense. These developers come in here and think we will buy what they have to sell without our input. They never even allowed citizens to speak at their staged town hall where they filtered the written only questions. They still have not come up with a reason for the new city except pointing to a zoning case around Dobbins. They don’t have a plan that keeps our fire department at an ISO 1 rating and they indicated it may not need to be ISO 1 for their new city. And now we hear from them new utility fees will go up $2000 dollars over 9 years along with tax increases for a new city hall, jail and all the trimmings. And this is supposed to be so much better for us so they rushed the vote to start tomorrow. I’m not buying what they are selling.

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