The District 3 Cobb Board of Commissioners race gives voters a distinct choice.
Republican commissioner JoAnn Birrell, first elected in 2010, is a conservative from Northeast Cobb who has cited her votes against tax increases, her work to improve blighted properties in the Canton Road corridor and her push to build Mabry Park.
Democrat Caroline Holko, a first-time candidate, is an admitted “progressive” liberal who favors expanding transit options in Cobb, has been critical of the county’s Atlanta Braves stadium deal and supports more hours for services like libraries.
Birrell, a former lobbyist and consultant, said she brings “a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.”
Holko, whose family moved to Cobb from New Orleans and who home-schools her children, said “it’s time to do things differently.”
District 3 includes much of Northeast Cobb and portions of the city of Marietta and the area around Kennesaw State University.
Birrell and Holko easily won their respective primaries in May.
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Birrell and Holko met recently at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cobb-Marietta, and discussed the above issues and others. Joseph Pond, who ran against Birrell in the 2014 Republican primary, and who is running as an independent write-in candidate, was not invited.
Birrell, who supported the Braves stadium financing in 2013, said she understands why people are still upset by that vote, “but I can’t say I regret the decision.”
She cited a recent Cobb Chamber of Commerce fiscal impact study claiming an $18.9 million annual revenue benefit for the county.
Holko noted a recent vote by the commissioners to settle a dispute with the Braves over infrastructure costs.
“I would like to see the entire contract laid bare to the public so we don’t get surprises like this,” she said.
Birrell responded that the Braves-Cobb contract “is an open record” and includes a provision for disputes like this one that go to mediation.
Pond, an East Cobb resident who has clashed with the county over his backyard chickens, is a plumber and organizer of the Backyard Chickens Alliance.
He thinks commissioner seats should be non-partisan and wants to reduce county building code that’s now around 1,400 pages long. Pond also is critical of “corporate welfare,” specifically tax breaks for companies that move to Cobb.
At the League of Women Voters forum, Birrell and Holko supported the acquisition of more green space.
Holko is an unabashed supporter of more transit options. Birrell said that “we need to look at everything,” especially with a county transit study being completed by the end of the year that “will give input to where transit is needed,” followed by a referendum.
Birrell supports the creation of a special tax district to fund Cobb Police operations, similar to what is done for fire and emergency services. Holko said she supports better salaries for public safety employees.
Holko also said she is in favor of opening libraries seven days a week, as recently was begun at regional libraries, and she prefers a neighborhood branch concept to a regional branch concept.
Birrell said the regional library concept “has been around for a long time.” She also said she wouldn’t support closing smaller branches that aren’t close to a regional library.
Holko said she’s proud to be a liberal Democrat, and that “one thing I would be on the board is [provide] a little bit of balance.”
Birrell touted her record of keeping taxes low while preserving “our quality of life . . . If you’re asking for someone who can get things done, my record speaks for itself. I do get results.”
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