In a New Years Eve ruling, Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris effectively removed local representation for thousands of citizens by declaring Cobb County Commission District 2 vacant at 5 p.m.
“Even without a change in the official’s residence, her eligibility to hold the office can end mid-term with the implementation of a new map that changes the boundaries of the geographical district from which she was elected,” Harris said in her ruling.
This sets a precedent for republicans to draw elected officials out of their districts before their term has ended to force them out of office and kick off a special election.
What has been a long standing struggle between the duly elected officials of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners and two republican legislators has finally panned out with the removal of Jerica Richardson from her District 2 seat. The seat will remain vacant unless someone is appointed by the county or wins the special election on April 29, 2025.
“It’s been really hard to watch local republicans trying to bully Jerica out of her seat on the board,” said Cobb County Democratic Chair Essence Johnson. “Unfortunately for Ed Setzler and his co-conspirators, their fight to flip the Board of Commissioners back to the GOP will be in vain.”
The story of district two began during the 2021 legislative session when Cobb republicans, still feeling the sting of losing the board majority in the 2020 election, decided they were going to draw Richardson out of her district.
Republican Representatives Ed Setzler and John Carson justified their scheme by redrawing the maps so Richardson’s recent move within district two put her out of her district and unable to hold office.
“It was a move of seven to eight miles,” said Carson during a committee hearing at the Georgia State Capitol.
“Commissioner Richardson moved dramatically across her district,” said Setzler, waving his hands for effect.
Both men told committee members that Richardson would have to move once again to comply with the maps they had drawn.
“It must be noted, that the Cobb County delegation submitted a county commission map for approval, but it was tossed aside by house and senate republicans who were dead-set on targeting Jerica,” said Johnson. “When told by committee members that it might be too much on Richardson to sell her new house and relocate, he laughed it off.”
While buying and selling houses at the drop of a hat might not be a big deal for someone with Carson and Setzler’s net worth, it can be a strain on the everyday person. The IRS imposes steep taxes on those who sell their houses within two-years, which is just one of many financial hurdles Richardson would have had to face if she were to comply with the whims of Cobb republicans.
“Who’s to say they wouldn’t have done the exact same thing during the next session?” said Johnson. “The precedent that is being set here is that republicans can play jump rope with rules and norms, but if Democrats dare to push back it's a scandal.”
The Cobb County Board of Commissioners pushed back against the gerrymandering done by the GOP by passing the home rules map, keeping the districts mostly the same, which meant Richardson kept her seat.
However the decision caused a meltdown from republicans- fresh off defending former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment- as well as the Marietta Daily Journal which never hesitated to sensationalize the situation.
“I feel like when we talk about (if) Commissioner Richardson should move, I feel like this is another one of those situations where we blame the victim,” said Chairwoman Lisa Cupid during a past meeting. “‘You did this,’ ‘You wanted the attention,’ ‘You brought this on yourself…’ It’s disturbing.”
Richardson’s seat is now vacant and the County Commission will likely stay deadlocked until after the Special Election on April 29. Primaries for Districts 2 and 4 will be held on February 11, 2025 and any runoffs on March 11, 2025. For more information on the election, visit the Cobb Board of Elections website. To check your voter registration status, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
“Republicans hope this special election will have a low turnout and they can flip the county commission, but they are about to be sorely disappointed,” said Johnson. “Stunts like this are what galvanizes our base and gets voters to the polls. Whatever victory they think they’ve won, it is going to be very short-lived.”