Ott and Boyce give farewell remarks as Cobb commissioners

Ott Boyce farewell remarks

At the end of their final meetings last Tuesday on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, outgoing chairman Mike Boyce and retiring District 2 commissioner Bob Ott made some farewell remarks that you can watch in full below.

When we spoke with Ott a couple weeks back in his exit interview with East Cobb News, he said he was preparing some remarks, and they run about 20 minutes.

Although he didn’t always agree with Boyce on policy matters—especially a 2019 tax increase—Ott said of his fellow member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church that “I don’t know of anybody who pounded the pavement more than you did to get elected.”

“I want to thank you for all the time you’ve put into the county,” said Ott, a Republican who declined to seek a fourth term.

To commissioner and chairwoman-elect Lisa Cupid, who defeated Boyce in last month’s elections, Ott said “you’re taking on a big role at a big time. I wish you all the best. . . . What I would say to you is, don’t forget your family. Family comes first.”

Cupid, who has represented District 4 in South Cobb the last eight years, is the mother of two sons who are being homeschooled. She will be sworn in Jan. 7.

Ott also presented a special gift to District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb, a copy of the original Mabry Park master plan.

Birrell was a driving force behind the creation of the park, which opened in 2019, and by then was located in Ott’s District 2.

“I won’t miss all the phone calls and e-mails,” said Ott, who will be succeeded by Democrat Jerica Richardson, who will be sworn in Dec. 31. “It’s amazing how many you can all write.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIITA05gNnk&feature=youtu.be

Boyce, an East Cobb resident who first ran for chairman in 2012, defeated incumbent Tim Lee in a 2016 Republican runoff.

He opened his remarks by thanking the county government staff, saying the board “is not the face of this county.” He mentioned in particular Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, and her staff, for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We just really need to do the right thing here,” Boyce said. “Wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance. We must take responsibility for each other.”

A retired Marine Corps colonel, Boyce said of his first stint in public office that “this was the fastest four years of my life. That tells me that what we did together was fun. If it’s a bad time you can count every minute.

“I focused every single day on what I thought was best for the people of this county. The message I want to leave is with this board. I hope that you’ll take some time to appreciate what you have done this year. You have been extraordinary.”

Referencing the board’s distribution of $132 million in federal CARES Act funding to help those affected by COVID-related closures, he told his fellow commissioners that “you have represented the best of what it is not just to be an elected official but what it is to be an American and a compassionate human.”

The board authorized spending to help small businesses retain employees, for mortgage and rental assistance, for food distribution and to aid county non-profits.

“This has been the challenge of a generation and probably a century and you have stepped up to the plate,” Boyce said.

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