AROUND TOWN: Who Will Control the Cobb Commission?

Richardson, of course, is the Democrat who was drawn out of her district in the middle of her term in a map passed by the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature. The commission’s Democratic majority chose to test its “home rule” power and adopt its own map, which shielded Richardson’s seat for more than two years.

But Adams, who was disqualified from running for the District 2 seat under the home rule map, launched a lawsuit against the county’s election board.

That led to Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill striking down the use of the home rule map as unconstitutional, voiding the results of May primaries held for the District 2 and District 4 seats and ordering new, special elections be held under the map approved by the state.

Those elections are set for April 29.

In the solidly blue District 4, where borders barely shifted, incumbent Democratic Commissioner Monique Sheffield faces Republican challenger Matthew Hardwick.

But the lines for District 2 did drastically move, out of east Cobb and up Interstate 75 into parts of Kennesaw.

Knowing the upcoming election for the seat will help determine the partisan balance of the board, Around Town rang some Cobb politicos to hear if they thought a flip from blue to red was possible.

“Barring some unforeseen disaster,” said former state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, a Smyrna Democrat, “Erick Allen, I am certain, will be our next District 2 commissioner.”

Anulewicz and Allen were both in the Georgia House when the redistricting battle began three years ago. The map that ultimately passed through the state Legislature, was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp and is in effect today was sponsored by Cobb Republicans, including state Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, and state Rep. John Carson, R-northeast Cobb.

When drawing the map, Anulewicz said, “Ed Setzler was very clear that the community of interest that he had in mind was a road, it was Interstate 75.”

Former Cobb GOP Chairman Jason Shepherd said the communities that live up and down the dense I-75 corridor are often renters that do have genuine shared interests, and that the district was really drawn to protect the board’s two GOP seats, currently held by Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill.

“District 2 was drawn to be a Democratic district to really make sure that District 1 and District 3 would stay Republican, hopefully for the next decade, until we get to another round of redistricting after the 2030 Census,” Shepherd said. “Part of the reason that district was drawn to be so Democratic was to basically pack Democratic votes in that district. … The strategy was to make sure that we would have at least two Republican county commission districts for the next decade.”

Despite District 2's strong Democratic preference, which Shepherd said is roughly a 60/40 split, he thinks it’s the "best shot" for Republicans to flip the board from blue to red. 

“There’s an opportunity in a special election like this that could potentially help Republicans,” Shepherd said.

Allen, a former chair of the Cobb Democratic Party, defeated former Cobb Board of Education member Dr. Jaha Howard in a Tuesday Democratic runoff for the seat with 56.7% of the vote. 

Shepherd thinks had Howard won, more Republicans would be turning out in April to oppose him.

“I think Jaha would have brought more Republican voters out than Erick necessarily will,” he said.

Former Commissioner Bob Ott held the District 2 seat as a Republican for more than a decade. When he represented the seat, it included parts of east Cobb that are now under Birrell.

He said his former district’s demographics have changed, and that the central core along I-75 is heavily Democratic.

“Sometimes success in one area leads to changes in another,” he said, pointing to the Atlanta Braves move to Cobb and the building of the Battery.

Though the apartments in the Battery are a far cry from affordable housing, they’re still a part of the old District 2 that largely went blue, said Jacquelyn Bettadapur, former chair of the Cobb Democratic Party. 

“When you look at the old District 2, most of the Democratic votes were coming out of the Cumberland area down into the Smyrna area … the new District 2, they still have a large part of that area,” she said.

She said the map’s sponsors shaved off “light red,” but still Republican, portions of east Cobb in favor of running up I-75.

So while Bettadapur thinks it should be a victory for Allen, low voter turnout could play a role in election results.

“When you have low voter turnout, funny things can happen,” she said.

In the February primary for the District 2 and District 4 seats, a total of 9,005 people voted out of 240,114 eligible voters, putting turnout at just 3.75%. In Tuesday’s runoff, unofficial results have a total of 3,452 votes cast out of 111,440 eligible, putting turnout at roughly 3.09%.

Shepherd is hoping Republicans play the “turnout game” to win.

“For Alicia and her campaign, it really is about trying to figure out how many votes she will need to win this election,” he said. “... And then actually reach out to people, get those hard commitments and then follow up to get them to the polls. … Special elections like this are completely different in terms of strategy and how you actually achieve victory. And, why Republicans have a chance in this district.”

But Anulewicz, who said the county’s been steadily turning bluer since it went for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the 2016 election, isn’t sweating it.

“The math doesn't math for any Republican to win Commission District 2,” she said.

But whichever way the seat (and the partisan control of a board that answers to more than 750,000 people) goes, Ott said it will be by the will of a few.

“At the end of April, you’re probably gonna see a low voter turnout again,” Ott said. “A very small number of Cobb County voters are going to determine in essence whether the commission stays Democrat or goes Republican.”

MOST INFLUENTIAL: Each year, James Magazine compiles a list of prominent Georgians for its “Most Influential” edition. Quite a few Cobb Countians made the cut this year. Their names and bios, as written in the magazine, are:

Roy Barnes, former governor, attorney

“‘King Roy’ may have left the Governor’s Mansion in 2003, but he’s remained a force in the Democratic Party, doling out sage wisdom and campaign donations alike. He also remains a prominent Cobb County attorney, maintaining his law career that began in 1975.”

Otis Brumby III, newspaper publisher

“The Brumby name carries an immense amount of weight in the Georgia journalism world, especially as seen in the various newspapers operated by the Times-Journal company (the flagship being the Marietta Daily Journal). This civic-minded Cobb Countian serves on boards ranging from Wellstar Health System to the Georgia Press Association.”

Lisa Cupid, chairwoman, Cobb County Board of Commissioners

“Cupid has served on the Cobb Board of Commissioners since 2013, and in 2020 became the first black and first female chair in the history of the state’s third-most populous county. Among her accomplishments: Increasing transit options, improving public safety and launching the Keep Cobb Beautiful Sustainability Forum.”

Sharon Mason, president and CEO, Cobb Chamber of Commerce

“This longtime nonprofit executive has helped secure billions of dollars of investment and dozens of high-profile business relocations for the county in her 15 plus years at the Chamber. Just within Cobb she serves on the Cobb Public Safety Foundation Board, the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Regional Board and the Children’s Healthcare Cobb Community Board.”

Mike Plant, president and CEO, Braves Development Company

“This 1980 Olympic speedskater was a key figure in the construction of Truist Park and the Battery Atlanta, which have become the go-to model for modern sports franchises. A former Turner Sports executive, Plant also works with the Braves’ minor league organizations as well as its sterling new North Point, Florida spring training facility.”

Derek Schiller, president and CEO, Atlanta Braves

“Part of the Braves’ top notch executive team, Schiller oversees the franchise’s day-to-day business operations, including partnerships, ticket sales and broadcasting. Unsurprisingly — the team ranks highly in all three areas. Schiller and company continue to generate record-breaking profits, as successful (if not more so) off the field as they are on the diamond.”

Greg Teague, CEO, Croy Engineering

“Teague leads one of the top engineering firms in the Southeast, taking the reins from founder Jim Croy three years ago. Croy’s impressive project list includes major infrastructure ventures across the Southeast, while Teague has maintained the firm’s local roots, recently serving as the chairman of the board of directors for the Cobb Chamber.”

The following elected officials and local leaders who represent parts of Cobb were also recognized:

Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore, of Marietta; Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton; U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta; U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville; U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome; State Rep. Don Parsons, R-north Cobb, chair of the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee; State Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-east Cobb, chair of the House Public Health Committee; State Rep. John Carson, R-northeast Cobb, chair of the House Retirement Committee; Georgia Supreme Court Presiding Justice Nels Peterson, who will become chief justice next month; Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, chair of Senate Children and Families Committee; Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee; Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, chair of the Science and Technology Committee; Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, chair of the Urban Affairs Committee; and Kennesaw State University President Kathy Schwaig. 

RETIREMENT: Marietta’s Director of Development Rusty Roth will be retiring at the end of the month, according to City Manager Bill Bruton.

“He’s put in almost 27 years to this city,” Bruton said at a Marietta City Council meeting Wednesday. “He’s done an amazing job as our director of development services.”

Bruton said Roth has three different divisions under him, which play a great part in “a lot of the wonderful developments that you see all over the city.”

“We’re really going to miss him. He’s one of the folks in our organization that everybody can rely on and go to,” Bruton said. “He has more information than most people through the years and really helps out.”

A celebration will be held for Roth on Friday, March 28 at 11:30 a.m. in the Marietta Fire Conference Room.