After three of her colleagues voted to declare her seat vacant on Tuesday, Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson said she would appeal the decision to Cobb Superior Court.
In an expected move, commissioners voted to declare District 2 vacant due to county residency rules, after adopting electoral maps in August that were passed by the Georgia legislature that drew Richardson out of her seat.
It was a re-do of a vote that ended in a 2-2 deadlock last week; Richardson recused herself from both votes.
The declaration means that the county is giving Richardson a 10-day notice of a vacancy (you can read it here). Richardson will continue to serve as a commissioner during the appeals process.
If she prevails, she will be allowed to keep her seat until her term expires on Dec. 31. If she loses, an interim commissioner who resides within the legally approved District 2 boundaries would be appointed to finish the term, or possibly longer, depending on a special election in 2025 to elect her successor.
On Tuesday, Richardson, the board’s vice chair this year, presided over the meeting with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid absent as she was with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on its annual visit to Washington.
“I trust that we can find a way to consider the real legal questions that are at hand,” Richardson said near the end of the meeting, reading from prepared remarks (you can watch the video below at the 2:17:45 mark), calling the result of Tuesday’s vote “a forced vacancy.”
“Setting the precedent that any elected official could possibly be removed at any time is dangerous and now we are watching the process happen before our very eyes.”
Commissioners voted at their last meeting to adopt the state maps after the “home rule” maps the Democratic majority adopted in 2022 were ruled a violation of the Georgia Constitution by Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill.
The state maps placed most of East Cobb in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell. The “home rule” maps would have kept some of East Cobb, including Richardson’s home off Post Oak Tritt Road, in District 2, similar to lines in which she was elected in 2020.
The Democrats used a novel legal theory of declaring home rule powers in challenging the state maps, but the Georgia Constitution specifically authorizes the legislature to conduct county reapportionment.
The legislature did not consider maps drawn by former Cobb delegation chairman Erick Allen that would have kept Richardson in her seat; instead it passed maps sponsored by Cobb Republican lawmakers, breaking with a long-standing courtesy with local lawmakers.
Hill also vacated May primaries in District 2 and District 4 under which the “home rule” maps were used; those special elections will take place in early 2025.
Disrict 2 now encompasses along I-75 and includes most of the Smyrna/Cumberland area, pushing as east as the western side of Powers Ferry Road, close to where Richardson formerly resided.
Last month, Birrell voted against a declaration of a vacancy, saying she didn’t think what happened to Richardson was fair and wanted her to complete her term.
But she said she changed her mind because under the state map, Richardson no longer lives in her district. For the last two years, Birrell said she’s “entered a statement that I will uphold the Constitution and follow the law.”
(The brief discussion begins at the 1:52:20 mark of the video below.)
“I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to keep her in office but I have to follow the law.”
Democratic commissioner Monique Sheffield said “this is the next step in the process.”
During her remarks, Richardson reflected on her one term in office—she didn’t seek re-election amid the map dispute—to emphasize her commitment to constituents she said have been harmed along the way.
“Knowing the consequences of today—voter nullification, forced vacancies, missing representation and long-term precendence—I will work to make sure my community receives the answers they deserve and that you are not forgotten.”
Related:
- How Cobb commissioner district maps look after ‘home rule’
- Six presidential candidates to appear on Georgia ballot
- Cobb adopts state electoral maps; Richardson in limbo
- Cobb commissioners feud over resolving electoral map dispute
- Cobb may consider vacating District 2 commission seat
- Cobb judge upholds decision to call special elections
- Absentee ballot request period for Cobb, Ga. underway
- MORE: Visit the East Cobb News Politics & Elections Page
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