Cobb Commission candidate reports $30K+ in fundraising

East Cobb resident Kevin Redmon, who announced in October his candidacy for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, has filed his first financial disclosure report.

Redmon’s report with the Cobb Board of Elections shows more than $30,000 in fundraising (including in-kind contributions) for the period ending Dec. 31.

Roughly half of that is via a loan he made to his campaign. In addition, Redmon reported $11,540 in monetary contributions from others and $3,833 in in-kind contributions.

Monday is the deadline for local candidates in Cobb to file 2023 financial reports with Cobb Elections.

Redmon, a Democrat and an IT sales and account manager, is seeking the District 2 seat being vacated by first-term Democrat Jerica Richardson, who is running for Congress.

Redmon’s report (you can read it here) indicates he’s spent $11,000, mostly for campaign staff and consulting, and has $15,539 cash on hand.

Redmon’s individual contributions range from $20 to $3,300 from East Cobb resident Justin Smith, whose employer is listed in the report  as Goldman Sachs.

The expenses include $6,375 for campaign staff services to Christopher-Robin Millican, a member of the Cobb state committee to the Democratic Party of Georgia; $1,200 to Blake Judkins, a political consultant based in Gwinnett; and $870 to Mindy Seger, the head of Richardson’s non-profit For Which It Stance and a leader of the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance.

Redmon has been a member of Richardson’s “community cabinet” but resigned that volunteer post when he announced his candidacy.

“This is an incredible vote of confidence in the message we are communicating to the community as we continue to build the Kevin for Cobb campaign,” Redmon said in a statement issued Friday by his campaign. “We look forward to building on this momentum and continuing to assemble a strong team to educate the community on the importance of the right kind of leadership at this time in Cobb’s history.”

No other candidates have announced for the District 2 seat, whose boundaries for the 2024 elections are unclear.

A partisan dispute between current Cobb commissioners about the commission’s electoral map that began at the end of 2022 continues into 2024.

District 2 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature in 2022 to put Richardson out of her seat and to place most of East Cobb in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell, who was re-elected that year with those new lines.

In the current map, Redmon also lives in District 3, but Cobb Democrats are trying to invoke home rule over redistricting, a claim Republicans say violates the state constitution.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris held hearings last year on a lawsuit filed by GOP commissioner Keli Gambrill (since dismissed as a plaintiff) challenging the home rule action, but has yet to make a ruling.

The District 2 seat is one of three on the 2024 ballot, including District 4 in South Cobb, held by first-term Democrat Monique Sheffield, and Cobb Commission Chair.

Incumbent Democrat Lisa Cupid and Republican challenger Kay Morgan, a real estate agent from West Cobb, have announced for the latter, but have not filed financial disclosures.

Also on the 2024 ballot is Post 5 on the Cobb Board of Education. Incumbent Republican David Banks has not announced if he is seeking a fifth term but has filed a 2023 disclosure form indicating no contributions or expenses.

Republican John Cristadoro and Democrat Laura Judge, who announced their Post 5 candidacies last year, have not filed financial reports.

Qualifying for the 2024 May primaries is in early March.

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