Cobb Commissioner Drawn Out Of District In Maps Sent To Governor

COBB COUNTY, GA — After weeks of heated debate in the Gold Dome, state senators approved new voting maps for the Cobb County Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education along party lines Wednesday, sending them to the governor's desk for final legislative approval.

But the commission map, if signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, would draw an East Cobb commissioner out of her district and could help the reelection chances of a vulnerable Republican seat. Similarly, the school board map draws two sitting Democratic members into the same district — though one of those members has already said he doesn't plan to run for reelection.

Lawmakers got into heated arguments several times over the legislative session because of these maps, particularly the commission map.

Redistricting happens every 10 years after each decennial U.S. Census, in which voting maps across the state and country are evaluated and district boundaries are redrawn.

In Georgia, local redistricting maps are typically drawn by the local legislative delegation, and then go through the state House's Intragovernmental Coordination Committee.

But Republican legislators in Cobb, Gwinnett and other Democratic-led counties have filed those maps through the Governmental Affairs Committee — allowing them to advance without the majority support of the county's delegation.

Democratic representatives said the new maps were drawn along racial and political lines. They also said the new boundaries pack most people of color and Democratic voters into the same districts, diluting the minority voting power in a county where the population is roughly half white and half racial minorities.

Meanwhile, Republican members said the boundaries didn't come from racial or political lines, but rather from the population growth in Cobb County over the last decade. Some said the maps follow a breakdown of dividing the county into easily-definable segments: east, southwest, northwest and a central transportation corridor.

Additionally, the new map draws sitting Commissioner Jerica Richardson — a Democratic Black woman representing East Cobb who ousted a longtime Republican commissioner and flipped the county commission majority to Democrats in 2020 — out of her District 2 seat.

The map draws most of East Cobb into District 3, which is represented by Republican Commissioner JoAnn Birrell. District 2 will instead include the Interstate 75 corridor from Kennesaw through Marietta and into the Smyrna-Vinings area.

"They couldn't beat her at the polls, so they're resorting to this to take her down," Jackie Bettadapur, chair of the Cobb County Democratic Party, previously told Patch. "She's a young, educated, professional Black woman. They just don't like the results of the 2020 election, so they're cracking her district and packing her into this bogus district they're calling a 'central transportation corridor.'"

Richardson's term doesn't expire until 2024, but the new map would require her to move or be forced out of the county commission under county law. She lived in the Cumberland area until last summer, when she moved out to Post Oak Tritt Road.

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, denied accusations of partisan gerrymandering on Thursday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. She said the map still leaves the 3-2 Democratic majority on the commission, and reflects the changing makeup of the county.

Democratic senators disagreed.

"What it reflects is an effort by the majority party to try and take back power after they've lost elections previously," state Sen. Jen Jordan, D-Atlanta, said, according to the AJC. "...Why don't y'all just try to win elections instead of changing the lines and changing the rules?"

Jordan added that the school board maps aren't any better, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.

The school board maps also drew Post 6, which includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters, into the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area — reducing East Cobb representation to one board member: Republican David Banks of Post 5 and vice chairman of the board.

Democrat Charisse Davis of Post 6 would be drawn into the same district as Jaha Howard, another Democrat representing the Smyrna area of Post 2.

However, Howard is not seeking reelection on the Cobb school board, and will instead run for state school superintendent. This frees up his Post 2 seat for Davis to run for reelection.

Richardson told the MDJ she didn't have a comment, but would have an update if the maps are approved by Gov. Brian Kemp.

Related:

• Cobb GOP Redistricting Maps Approved By State House
• GOP Redistricting Could Oust Cobb Commissioner, Sparks Shouting
• Lawmakers Get Into Heated Debate Over Cobb Redistricting Maps
• Cobb School Board Member To Run For Georgia School Superintendent