East Cobb activist files intent school board

A political activist who lives in the Walton High School area has filed declaration of intent paperwork to run for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education in 2024.

Laura Tucker Judge filed the declaration with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on March 28 as a Democrat seeking the Post 5 seat.

That’s currently held by Republican four-term member David Banks, who told East Cobb News this week he’s undecided about seeking re-election.

East Cobb businessman and youth sports coach John Cristadoro announced his candidacy last week at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast, and he’s lined up a number of prominent civic and business leaders to support him.

Judge is a leader of Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizen-based group that has been critical of Cobb County School District financial and spending priorities, and is the education chair for Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s District 2 citizens cabinet.

Judge also is the co-elections lead in Georgia for Moms Demand Action, which lobbies to prevent and reduce gun violence, and has spoken frequently at Cobb school board public comment periods, in particular about school safety.

She and her husband run a digital content marketing company and have two children.

In response to a message for comment from East Cobb News, Judge said she will be formally announcing her decision “in the next few weeks.”

“I have been clear previously as an engaged parent and community member that our school board should answer to us as the stakeholders,” Judge said. “Parents, students, and teachers deserve to be engaged with our school board and their voices should be heard.

“While our East Cobb schools are some of the best in not only the county, but the state and nation, community members still have questions regarding financial decisions, literacy concerns, school safety, and discipline issues. Our current board member has not answered those concerns of the community to my knowledge.”

A declaration of intent to run does not obligate a candidate to launch a formal campaign but is an initial step to set up campaign committees for fundraising and other exploratory purposes.

Cristadoro told East Cobb News earlier this week his campaign organization is finalizing paperwork for the same purpose, but as of Friday that had not been filed.

The 2024 primaries will be held next May.

Banks said he expects several other candidates to get in the race but didn’t elaborate on who they might be.

Post 5 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to include the Walton, Wheeler and most of the Pope attendance zones, after previously comprising the Pope and Lassiter areas.

The Walton and Wheeler zones had been in Post 6, which was shifted to include the Smryrna-Vinings-Cumberland area, and which has been in Democratic hands since 2019.

Banks is part of 4-3 Republican majority on the school board. Three of those GOP seats will be on the ballot in 2024.

Banks has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.

In 2020, he had primary opposition and won without a runoff but won the general election by only 2,639 votes, his closest margin of victory.

Watching the Funds-Cobb posted the East Cobb News story about Banks on its Facebook page on Thursday, noting derogatory comments he made about Democratic board members:

“Whatever our children need and our educators deserve, it’s not a board member who continues to show us he’s got no intention of working with the Democratic board members… or representing all taxpayers and students.