Voters in Cobb County’s new city of Mableton have elected their first mayor and city council.
In unofficial returns, Michael Owens apparently became the city’s first mayor with 56% of the vote against Aaron Carman — a margin of about 700 votes, with 100% of precincts reporting.
Owens supported cityhood, while Carman said he voted against forming the city and supported residents’ effort to remove certain precincts from the city’s boundaries.
The first city council will be Ron Davis in District 1; Dami Oladapo in District 2; Keisha Jeffcoat in District 3; Patricia Auch in District 4; TJ Ferguson in District 5; and Debora Herndon in District 6.
Election results will be officially certified next week.
Credit: Cobb County
Credit: Cobb County
Poll workers discovered a redistricting error that affected 12 voters. Some incorrectly had the District 3 race on their ballots, and some were supposed to have the District 3 race but did not, county spokesman Ross Cavitt said.
The runoff election turnout surpassed the March election with a total of 6,113 ballots. Low turnout is generally expected during off-cycle elections, but even more so in runoffs.
The candidates faced a divided campaign trail: residents in the northern part of the city petitioned the state Legislature to de-annex their properties from the city’s boundaries.
Because that effort was unsuccessful, residents looking to be removed from the city will need to appeal to the city council or the county commission. Auch and Herndon, two candidates who openly supported the de-annexation efforts, won their races in two of the northernmost districts where support for de-annexing was strongest.
After election results are certified, the newly elected officials will be sworn into office and undergo state-required training before holding the first council meeting. Then, officials will be charged with establishing a city budget, hiring a city manager and attorney and determining what services to provide.
The mayor and council will serve four-year terms, although half of the council will serve an initial two-year term to establish staggered election cycles.
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