Reggie Copeland, who served a term on the Marietta City Council from 2018-2021, announced Tuesday he will be running for the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
In a brief e-mail message, Copeland said he will be running as a Democrat in the May 21 primary for District 2, which includes the City of Marietta.
He is the second candidate to express interest in the seat being vacated by Democrat Jerica Richardson, who is running for 6th District Congress.
Previously, former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard filed a declaration of intent form with Cobb Elections, also for the Democratic primary.
Copeland, who is a counselor, said he will be providing more details about his priorities and platform soon.
In his e-mail announcement, he said that “I don’t see myself literally as just running against another candidate but I am running for ‘All’ people in Cobb County.
“The reason I am running is to improve the quality of life for ‘ALL’ individuals through a process call legislation via best practices, policies, and procedures,” he said.
Copeland represented Ward 5 on the Marietta City Council and was a controversial figure during his time in office.
A judge dismissed his request in 2018 for a restraining order against fellow council member Andy Morris following an argument in a meeting.
A city employee filed an ethics complaint against Copeland for verbally attacking her during a meeting, but that complaint was dismissed.
In 2019, he was charged with obstructing police after a traffic accident. Months later he said he feared for his life as a black man in dealing with law enforcement.
Copeland, who was chairman of the city council’s public safety committee at the time, was sentenced as a first offender and ordered to have an anger management evaluation.
In November 2021, he was defeated for re-election in a runoff with Carlyle Kent, who got 71 percent of the vote.
UPDATED:
After this story was posted, Copeland sent what he called a “complaints file” to East Cobb News (you can read it here) and said that “these FACTS will be shared with the community at large, as I host round tables while on my exciting campaign trail. Also, I will make this information available to ALL that have questions regarding your story.
“As a matter of fact we have already shared the FACTS with numerous citizens and they were elated to find out the real FACTS! Please know that I appreciate FACTS not fake news or alternative facts.”
ORIGINAL REPORT:
A native of Marietta, Copeland was a standout athlete at Marietta High School. He earned an undergraduate at Piedmont College, a master’s in education and counseling from the University of Georgia and a master of divinity from Emory University.
Related:
- GOP-back Cobb school board electoral map signed into law
- Ga. Senate approves Republican Cobb school board maps
- Former Cobb school board member eyeing commission race
- Richardson to run in redrawn 6th Congressional District
- Judge rules Cobb home rule claim unconstitutional
- Cobb Commission candidate reports $30K+ in fundraising
- New Ga. legislative, Congressional maps approved
- Federal judge orders new Cobb school board electoral maps
- Cobb commissioners approve 2024 transit sales tax referendum
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