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 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.”
Related:
- Banks undecided about seeking re-election to Cobb school board
- Post 5 school board candidate reveals steering committee
- East Cobb resident to announce run for Cobb school board
- Walton, Wheeler, Lassiter students named Georgia scholars
- East Cobb students head to world robotics championships
- Shallowford Falls, Davis ES principals to retire
- Cobb schools to spend $50M for special events facility
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Albeit school board or parent, before one goes in front of the podium, please consider everything from the child’s point of view; and how what you teach them can be assimilated in society today. They will have to know the fundamentals, as well as know how artificial intelligence will affect their homes, families, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (in personal and business). They will need to learn the art of questioning, and connecting disparate subjects, so individual experimentation, not reasoning sans perspective is a dominant form of thinking. They need perspective, not process as a default beginning to hybrid thought.
Liberal activist? Oh cool, I was worried the curriculum and activities in our East Cobb schools weren’t woke enough for our gender-fluid children to succeed.
Let’s elect a board member who really understands the value of K1-12 education and what it takes to transist into the real world. Writing, reading and “rithmetic” and the basics of life skills—-not BS like critical race, gender training and the woke indoctrination of the kids who will have no clue how to survive in the economy. Teachers should be teachers, not activists who use the classroom as their personal platform for woke ideas. Let the kids learn the basics in the classroom before they are introduced to subjects that will not advance their life skills. If school choice was offered with a state voucher system, the way that the public schools are headed, you would see a mass exodus to the new private schools who would excel in education, not indoctrination.
PS If the kids want to learn about identity politics—-start a club after school and invite speakers to let the kids hear both sides. And if they have been taught to think for themselves—they can form opinions on their own time—not on taxpayer dollars that may not agree with the perspectives advanced
Title and article seems biased.
Judge is described as a “political activist”.
Compared to the article announcing Cristadoro’s candidacy.
He was described as an “East Cobb resident” even though he was part of the first East Cobb City effort and appointed the former head of the East Cobb City group to his steering committee.
Why wasn’t he described as an “East Cobb City activist?”
Glad she’s in the race. Cristadoro too. ANYBODY would be superior to Banks, a joke and an embarrassment. The very *best* to be said of David Banks is that he’s a deranged kook suffering from obvious cognitive impairments
Whats her business discipline? You want to do the business of government you need business discipline. Ex. when you get sick, you don’t go to the plumber. When you build a house you hire an architect. But for government business, its a free for all. That would indicate corruption on a big scale. Where’s my money? Pay for my vote!
The most controversial subject in this article is Laura Judge. She sounds like just another left wing wacko. Moms demand action? Barf. She looks like a Cheshire oompa loompa.
That’s helpful. Not. And exactly the type of attitude and nonsense I trust these 2 new candidates will not engage in or tolerate from
those who might support them and campaign for them.