When she first ran for the Georgia Senate in a special election in 2017, Christine Triebsch offered herself as a Democratic voice in a district in East Cobb that has been strongly Republican.
She’s running for similar reasons for the District 3 seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners against Republican three-term incumbent JoAnn Birrell.
“I saw a race that was uncontested,” Triesbsch said, “and that was my main goal—to give voters a choice.”
Triebsch, who lost three times to Republican Kay Kirkpatrick for the District 32 Georgia Senate seat, describes herself as “a compassionate Democrat who doesn’t have a voice here.”
She’s chastened by redistricting maps approved by the Republican-dominated Georgia legislature that drew current District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her East Cobb home.
Triebsch currently lives in District 2 and in a recent interview with East Cobb News said that “I voted for Jerica and my vote has been eliminated. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.
“What does this do to our voting rights? Was my vote meaningless? The gerrymandering has got to end.”
The new District 3 lines that will be in force for the Nov. 8 general election include most of East Cobb (see map below).
(The Democratic majority on the Cobb commission has voted to invoke home rule over reapportionment in a bid to keep Richardson in office in a move that is likely to be decided in the courts.)
Triebsch’s campaign website can be found here; Birrell will be profiled separately by East Cobb News.
Triebsch is a Marietta-based family law attorney whose husband Kevin is an assistant principal at East Cobb Middle School. They have a daughter and a son who graduated from the Cobb school district.
She said she’s trying to appeal to citizens and homeowners who feel as though they don’t have the same kind of clout with county leaders as more powerful business and development interests.
“Those who are left out and who are not being heard,” Triebsch said. “What I’m hearing is that people believe that businesses are more important to the current commissioner than the average homeowner.”
She’s pointed to campaign contributions Birrell has received from major corporate leaders in claiming that her opponent is beholden to special interests.
(Birrell’s latest financial disclosure reports show she has raised nearly $35,000 in the current campaign; Triebsch’s filings show she has raised less than $10,000).
Triebsch referenced affordable housing several times as a priority that “is important to me,” and specifically addressing the topic of workforce housing, for teachers, law enforcement personnel and others on public salaries.
Enabling more of those public servants to live in the communities they serve should be a higher priority in Cobb County, Triebsch said.
“If we can get people into housing with strings attached, that would be fantastic,” she said. “How can a Cobb County educator buy a house in this area?”
She noted that Birrell voted against the Cobb fiscal year 2023 budget that took effect Oct. 1 and that included significant pay increases for county employees. Birrell said she did so because she was concerned that newly created positions might not be sustainable in future budgets.
“She wants four more years,” Triebsch said of Birrell. “That would be 16 years” in office. “In this area, it gets gerrymandered. If we had a competitive area, the voters would have a choice.”
When asked about how “red” or Republican-leaning she thought the new District 3 is, Triebsch didn’t elaborate.
Should she win, that would give Democrats a 4-1 majority (the other commission Republican, Keli Gambrill of North Cobb, is running unopposed).
But Triebsch said she wouldn’t govern with partisan objectives in mind.
“It’s what is best for the homeowners and residents in District 3,” she said. “What do they want? I’m not going to rubber-stamp what anybody on the board wants.”
Triebsch said she wasn’t in favor of a proposal to designate a sole trash provider to areas of Cobb County. That code amendment proposal was rejected by all five commissioners—Birrell was especially vocal against it—and has been tabled until next year.
“Competition is good,” Triebsch said. “We don’t need the board deciding who gets to haul the trash.”
Triebsch said she supports better pay for county employees, but didn’t offer any specifics on what a “living wage” for them might be, and how the county budget would be crafted to accommodate that.
She said following the zoning code is imperative to control growth, supports more initiatives for public transit and supports measures to enhance quality of life, including green space for parks and recreation.
Related:
- Cobb early voting estimated wait-time map
- East Cobb Early Voting Guide: 2022 General Election
- Cobb Commission Democrats OK redistricting map
- Contested Post 4 seat on Cobb school board heats up
- Cobb 2022 general election sample ballot available
- Cobb to propose ordinance to redraw commission districts
- Cobb school board chairman trailing in campaign fundraising
- Cobb to add Sunday voting in 2022 general election
- East Cobb News Politics & Elections page
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