There were only a few upsets in Cobb results in the May 21 primary elections, and Taniesha Whorton’s finish in a five-way race for an open seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners was among them.
A former administrative assistant in the Cobb County Police Department, the Smyrna-area resident finished second in the Democratic race for District 2 in her first-ever political campaign.
She outpolled former State Rep. Erick Allen and will face former Cobb school board member Jaha Howard in the runoff, which culminates on June 18.
The District 2 boundaries that are being observed by the Cobb Board of Elections include some of East Cobb, and are those adopted by Cobb’s Democratic commissioners in a home-rule dispute that continues in the courts.
Here’s Whorton’s campaign website; East Cobb News also has arranged an interview with Howard through his campaign and will be publishing that next week.
Advance runoff voting begins next week, and Whorton was out campaigning on Sunday at East Cobb Park, handing out fliers and meeting with potential voters during a concert.
In the primary, she won several East Cobb precincts, including Roswell 1, Hightower 1, Sewell Mill 1, Sewell Mill 3, Sope Creek 1, Sope Creek 2, Fullers Park 1, Mt. Bethel 4, Powers Ferry 1, Terrell Mill 1 and Chattahoochee 1.
You can view the full results by clicking here.
Whorton said she worked on political campaigns in her native Michigan. An ordained minister, she moved to Georgia in 2016 to work with the Faith Christian Center Church in Austell, and also got involved in the Cobb Police Athletic League.
Now a senior executive with Bader Scott Injury Lawyers, Whorton—who holds an economics degree as well as an MBA and a master’s in government affairs—said she decided to get out from a behind-the-scenes role in a campaign and offer up herself as a candidate.
“People have told me that I have a lot to offer the county,” Whorton said. “I wanted to step out of the shadows.”
Whorton ran a bare-bones campaign in the primary, raising less than $3,000 (with nearly half of that sum a loan from herself).
Fewer than 12,00 votes were cast in District 2. Howard got 33 percent of the vote, and Whorton edged Allen with 25 percent, to his 23 percent.
She didn’t have the name recognition of Howard and Allen (who drew the disputed District 2 maps that are being used).
But low turnout may have helped some of the other candidates who upset incumbents, including Cobb legislative delegation chairwoman Teri Anulewicz, who was defeated in a Smyrna State House race.
Whorton said that based on some interactions with voters, “I think people related to me. I get up and got to work every day, and I know how to stretch my resources.”
What she said she’s hearing from voters are frustrations over stormwater issues (a proposed fee was delayed by commissioners until August after citizen opposition) and transit issues.
As for the former, Whorton said she favors “a sustainable plan where residents are not bearing all the burden.”
Whorton has lived in Detroit, Dallas and Chicago, and said she appreciates that mobility concerns are important in some parts of Cobb.
She didn’t offer an opinion on the proposed Cobb Mobility Transit Tax referendum that could be on the November ballot.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid favors a 30-year, one-percent sales tax that would generate an estimated $11 billion.
Whorton said she “hasn’t dug into the issue to see if it could be shorter” and admitted that a 30-year tax might be regarded as being too long.
She said she’s focusing on reaching out to voters in East Cobb, mindful that the boundaries could still be in limbo.
Current District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson was drawn out during reapportionment and decided to run for Congress (losing to U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the 6th District Democratic primary).
The only Republican candidate to qualify is Pam Reardon, but she resides in the District 3 that was redistricted by the legislature. Another GOP hopeful, Alicia Adams, is challenging her disqualification by the Cobb Elections Board, also based on the disputed maps.
Whorton—who like Howard resides in District 2 either way—said she hopes the matter will be resolved by November.
“It will be good for the voters” to have some clarity when they go to the polls, she said.
Related:
- Fundraiser set for Republican Cobb school board candidates
- Primary results: DA defeated; Commission race heads to runoff
- Cobb redistricting lawsuit dismissed by Ga. Supreme Court
- Cobb commission candidates campaigning amid map confusion
- Cobb school board Post 5 candidates receive endorsements
- MORE: Visit the East Cobb News Politics & Elections Page
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