Cristadoro pledges open door after Cobb school board election

Cobb school board candidate John Cristadoro

Like many people on the day after an election, John Cristadoro reported to work on Wednesday.

But he admittedly wasn’t getting much done on the job after receiving, and sending, messages from well-wishers and even his opponent in a Cobb Board of Education race.

Cristadoro, a Republican who won the open Post 5 seat from East Cobb, defeated Democrat Laura Judge with 55 percent of the vote (full results here), winning 21 of 24 precincts.

He received 33,308 votes to 27,368 for Judge in a race involving two parents in the Walton High School cluster who’ve known each other well—Cristadoro coached Judge’s son in youth football.

His race was one of three held by Republicans Tuesday as the GOP clings to a 4-3 majority on the Cobb school board, which has been racked with partisan wrangling in recent years (our previous campaign profile of Cristadoro is here).

But he said he wants his tenure on the board to mirror his campaign to represent the area that includes the Walton, Wheeler and Pope attendance zones.

“I want to be focused on the willingness of people in this community to have a conversation,” Cristadoro told East Cobb News Wednesday afternoon, shortly before he met with current board chairman Randy Scamihorn, a Republican who was re-elected.

“I want to have cordial, and productive conversations.”

Before sitting down with Scamihorn, Cristadoro said he sent a text message to Judge, congratulating her on “a great race” and who is “a good person who cares a lot about about kids.”

Cristadoro pointed out Judge’s vote total and said he wants to continue having a dialogue with her and those who supported her, regardless of partisan affiliation.

He said a good friend who’s a staunch Democrat congratulated him and said she hoped his win would “unite a sadly divisive community.”

Judge, who like Cristadoro was a first-time political candidate, congratulated him in a message to her supporters (her campaign profile is here).

She said that “our campaign was rooted in a desire to improve our schools and ensure every child receives a quality education in a safe and supportive environment.

“Although the outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, our work does not end here. I will continue to advocate for our students and work alongside the community to support our schools in any way I can.”

Like Scamihorn, of Post 1 in North Cobb, and Brad Wheeler, of Post 7 in West Cobb, Cristadoro campaigned on continuing academic excellence in the Cobb County School District.

Democratic candidates in the other races talked about making more dramatic changes than their Republican opponents.

David Chastain, the other GOP board member from Post 4 in East Cobb, sent out occasional campaign e-mails called a “Town Hall Newsletter” noting the district’s high test scores, and alleging that the “far left” Democratic challengers wanted to “indoctrinate our teachers.”

Cristadoro defended Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s decisions to remove sexually explicit books and materials but stressed academic and financial issues more frequently than cultural conflicts.

“This race means that there was confidence that the people of Post 5 and the county as a whole, that, for the most part, are happy with the direction of our schools,” he said.

He added that there is room for improvement in academics, and with transparency and that the board has an obligation to communicate with the public.

“You can’t make everyone happy,” Cristadoro said. “But it doesn’t mean we cannot continue to strive to hear everyone.”

Cristadoro will take the oath office in January, but wants to start preparing for all that entails right now.

“I’m not just a guy who sits around and waits,” he said.

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!