After a two-week delay, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 Tuesday to appoint an economist to the county’s development authority whose nomination had drawn opposition.
J.C. Bradbury of Kennesaw State University has been a critic of how Cobb financed SunTrust Park and has been skeptical of economic benefit claims since the Atlanta Braves stadium opened in 2017.
He had been selected by new commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb on Sept. 10, but chairman Mike Boyce asked for the delay when he said he had learned two commissioners opposed the choice (previous ECN story here).
Boyce didn’t name the commissioners, but the only vote against Bradbury Tuesday was JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb. Bob Ott, also of East Cobb, was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
Previously, the other commissioner, Lisa Cupid of South Cobb, said she supported Bradbury, and reaffirmed that before the vote.
Birrell did not publicly explain why she voted against Bradbury, saying only that she expressed her concerns privately to Gambrill.
Boyce said after meeting with Bradbury and speaking again with him by phone that Bradbury is “qualified in every respect” and also that he is “now he is a public figure.”
Boyce referenced Tweets Bradbury had posted, and without citing a topic, said that “if you’re going to be on this board we have to be circumspect in our comments. Somebody may want to use it against him.
“[Bradbury] assured me he could make impartial decisions,” Boyce said.
The Development Authority consists of seven individuals appointed by county commissioners who consider economic development incentives, including tax abatements.
That an appointment was put to a vote is unusual, and so were public comments before the vote in support of Bradbury.
They included East Cobb resident Larry Savage, a former chairman candidate who unsuccessfully challenged the Development Authority’s tax abatements for a Kroger superstore that’s part of the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project.
Also speaking for Bradbury was Caroline Holko, who ran against Birrell last year, and Lance Lamberton of the Cobb Taxpayers Association.
He said Bradbury “speaks truth to power” and a board like the development authority needs to have members with an array of perspectives.
Boyce told Lamberton that “you stole my thunder.”
On Wednesday morning, Bradbury Tweeted that “I can confirm that I have been confirmed,” and apologized to his followers for a head shot of him that accompanied a media story he included in his message.
“Sorry to shove my giant melon in your face.”
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