The East Cobb Alliance, which is opposed to the May 24 East Cobb Cityhood referendum, is holding what it’s calling “show and tell” sessions Saturday for the public.
That’s two days before the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, which is behind the referendum and cityhood campaign, will be having its first in-person town hall meeting.
But unlike the cityhood meeting Monday at Olde Towne Athletic Club, the East Cobb Alliance meetings will be open to citizens living outside the proposed city limits.
(The cityhood group’s event is sold out and plans are being made to show it on a livestream, according to spokeswoman Cindy Cooperman.)
The East Cobb Alliance sessions on Saturday are from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Chimney Springs neighborhood. Pre-registration is required and can be done by clicking this link.
The sign-up page says that each session will have a 20-30 minute presentation followed by a a question and an answer period.
“Learn the facts about the efforts to convert a portion of East Cobb into an incorporated new city…that will add another complicated Government Layer to your life, and one that can tax you and your home beyond your means to pay,” the East Cobb Alliance pre-registration link says.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will be having cityhood-related meetings with community groups, starting Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting room (100 Cherokee Street, Marietta).
The county also has created what it calls a cityhood resource page that breaks down the four cityhood proposals.
East Cobb, Vinings and Lost Mountain referendums will be voted on in the May 24 primary; a Mableton referendum, if approved by the Georgia legislature, would take place in November.
The East Cobb Alliance has more than 1,300 followers on its Facebook page.
The East Cobb Alliance was formed in 2019 during the first cityhood campaign making many of the same claims as now: That there’s not a public groundswell for cityhood, that a city would create another layer of government, and that citizens living in the new city would pay more in taxes and other fees.
During 2019, the pro-cityhood group held town hall meetings that generated opposition. In November 2019, East Cobb Alliance member Mindy Seger debated then-cityhood leader David Birdwell.
Not long after that, cityhood proponents dropped plans to push for legislation in the 2020 session.
The cityhood effort was revived with a new bill in 2021, and before the legislature in January, Seger testified against it, especially after several revisions were made, including moving the referendum up from November to May and changing how the mayor is elected.
The East Cobb Alliance has created a 2022 information tab with its analysis of the East Cobb cityhood’s feasibility study and background information on cityhood leaders.
A page entitled “Cityhood Swindle” was written while the East Cobb bill was in the legislature, and takes issue with the cityhood group’s claims that incorporating will make for better local representation.
That was before the bill was amended in the Senate to include clarifying language about how the six city council members are elected. While they are elected citywide, two members must reside in each of three council districts (map here).
In a Feb. 17 Facebook post, the Alliance explained that all voters in the proposed city, regardless of which primary ballot they choose, will be asked on whether they support creating a city and repeated familiar claims:
“A new city will have the power to TAX you more, assess new fees, cite you for traffic violations, jail you for up to 180 days…AND figure out a myriad of ways to extract MORE money from you…on TOP of the taxes you already pay to the County (and will continue to pay).
“The only pot of gold at the end of the ‘East Cobb, Georgia’ rainbow is MORE government costing You MORE MONEY!”
Related:
- East Cobb Cityhood supporters defend police and fire plans
- East Cobb Cityhood group to hold in-person town hall
- East Cobb Cityhood bill signed into law; May referendum set
- Cobb officials question East Cobb police and fire proposals
- East Cobb Cityhood bill gets final passage in Ga. legislature
- Cobb government, Cityhood advocates ramp up talking points
- East Cobb Cityhood bill passes Senate; returns to House
- Editor’s Note: Why the rush with Cobb Cityhood bills?
- Cupid speaks out on cityhood, redistricting issues
- East Cobb News Cityhood page
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