Cobb County ends two-year legal saga over "Home Rule" map
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The state-drawn Cobb County Commission district map. Credit: Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office
The Cobb County Commission's nearly two-year legal battle over its so-called Home Rule map has come to an end.
The big picture: The Democrat-led commission's unprecedented decision to invoke the Georgia Constitution's Home Rule clause as the basis to overrule the Republican-led state legislature's map sparked a two-year legal debate over whether counties have the right to a power that has long been claimed by the General Assembly.
The latest: Cobb commissioners voted Tuesday to accept last month's Superior Court ruling that determined they didn't have that power, that their county-drawn map was unconstitutional, and that the one drawn by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp will be the one it will use in the future.
Yes, but: What wasn't settled Tuesday is whether County Commissioner Jerica Richardson, who under the state-approved map was drawn out of her post, should have to vacate the District 2 seat.
- A vote to notify her that the seat was to be vacated did not pass, so it's not clear if she will remain on the board, according to the AJC.
What they're saying: Several residents criticized the county for launching what would become a drawn-out legal battle that reached the state Supreme Court.
- "I'm ready to resolve this once and for all," said Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who opposed the Home Rule map. "It has been two years of hell going through this."
Catch up quick: In 2022, state legislators began redrawing district lines for county commissions and local boards of education following the 2020 census.
- Normally, local governments draft and approve district lines with their local lawmakers, and those maps are treated as local legislation and expedited through the Capitol.
- Republican state legislators representing Cobb introduced a map that put two incumbents — Democrat Richardson of District 2 and Republican Birrell of District 3 — into a redrawn District 3.
- The General Assembly adopted that map and signed it into law.
- The county in October 2022 adopted its map, which kept incumbents in their districts, and used it for qualifying for the 2024 election.
Friction point: Cobb's decision to use the Home Rule map led to confusion among some candidates who thought they lived in the districts where they were running, but were disqualified under the county map, the AJC reported.
What we're watching: A special election will be held in January to fill the District 2 seat, which Board of Elections officials project could cost about $1.5 million, according to the AJC.
- Melissa Johnson, president of the Vinings Village Homeowners Association, asked the board to allow Richardson to continue in the seat until the special election is held.
- "The commissioner was elected by District 2 constituents with the expectation she would serve the full four-year term," she said.