A political advocacy committee started by Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson to fight against legislative maps that would draw her out of her seat is encouraging those who support her to speak out when commissioners meet on Tuesday.
The For Which It Stance group wants to “fill the room” and speak during public comment sessions as a home rule dispute continues to roil the five-woman board.
The notification was amplified on the Facebook page of the Cobb County Democratic Committee.
The Cobb County Republican Party has posted a similar notice on social media, urging its supporters to “show up and support our state constitution.”
On Jan. 10, Republican commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill tried to abstain from voting, saying maps approved by the three Democrats on the board are unconstitutional under Georgia law.
They were told by Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid that they could not abstain without a valid conflict and eventually were removed from the dais, watching the rest of the meeting from the back of the room.
Whether that scenario may repeat itself Tuesday is uncertain. When asked by East Cobb News what she plans to do at the meeting, Birrell said only that “I will be making a statement next week.”
Birrell began her fourth term in January after being re-elected under new boundaries in District 3, which includes most of East Cobb.
Those maps were approved by the Georgia legislature after Cobb GOP lawmakers skirted the common courtesy of honoring local delegation maps.
The Cobb delegation had a one-member majority, and commission maps drawn by former chairman Erick Allen would contain most of Birrell’s former district, including some of Northeast Cobb, the Town Center area and city of Marietta.
That map, which Birrell opposed, was never voted on by the legislature, but it’s what the county has submitted to the state, and it’s the one the county attorney’s office is saying is currently valid.
Richardson was elected in 2020 in District 2, which has included some of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.
She moved to a home off Post Oak Tritt Road last year, and under state law, would have had to move into the new District 2 to seek re-election next year.
That’s because the legislative maps drew District 2 to include Cumberland-Vinings, Marietta and most of the Kennesaw-Town Center area and took out East Cobb.
But Richardson isn’t budging, as the county is claiming home rule provisions that Republicans said do not apply when it comes to reapportionment.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr this week agreed, saying the county maps are “not legally binding.”
But there’s not an active lawsuit to contest the county maps. East Cobb resident Larry Savage withdrew a suit in Cobb Superior Court and is planning refile it soon.
In the meantime, said Mindy Seger, the executive director of For Which It Stance, the option that would cause the least harm and disruption to is to honor the county maps and keep Richardson in office until the courts decide the matter.
She said Richardson’s fight is about the “representation of 200,000 people,” her District 2 constituency, who were the subject of an unprecedented action by the legislature—drawing out an incumbent elected official.
Savage’s initial lawsuit sought a preliminary injunction to uphold the state maps. That would trigger Richardson’s removal from office and a special election.
If that were to happen, and the county then won its home rule claim, Seger said, that would create even more chaos than what the Republicans are saying is happening now.
Seger, who was a leader of the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance, also encouraged Birrell and Gambrill to show up and vote—not abstain—and represent their constituents.
The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), and the full agenda can be found by clicking here.
There are two public comment periods, one at the beginning and the other near the end, with a maximum of six speakers each who are limited to speak for five minutes.
You also can watch on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
Related:
- Ga. Attorney General: Cobb electoral maps are ‘not legally binding’
- Cobb Republican commissioners leave meeting over absentions
- East Cobb resident files lawsuit over Cobb commission maps
- Cobb passes home rule resolution over redistricting in party-line vote
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