With the Republican Primary runoffs now behind us, we are in full swing for the general elections, and we in the Cobb County Republican Assembly have teamed up with some of our local Cobb GOP House District and precinct officers to host a Candidate Meet & Greet event on July 25th to which we wanted to invite you!
This event will be a fine opportunity for you and your neighbors to meet candidates in four pivotal races here in Cobb, to pick their brains, to volunteer to help their campaigns, and to make donations for their races.
The following candidates have been invited to participate in this event: Brad Wheeler for re-election to the County School Board, Kay Morgan for County Commission Chair, David Cavender for County Sheriff, and Gary Chaffee for State Representative in House District 35. So far Wheeler, Morgan, and Chaffee have already confirmed.
Gary Chaffee is running for State House on a slogan of “God, Family, & the Constitution,” and received the GRA endorsement in the Republican primary. He faces incumbent Democrat Lisa Campbell in the Acworth area near KSU. You can learn more about his race at https://chaffeeforga.com/.
Chris Ragsdale
Brad Wheeler has taken some strong stands on the Cobb County School Board, supporting the Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and opposing the intrusion of trans and woke ideologies in the classroom and in other school functions behind the backs of the parents. The county school board is the only one that Republicans still have a majority on in Cobb County, and many believe that if the board flips Democrat, it will have a negative impact on housing values in the county.
Wheeler’s race is especially being targeted by Democrats, and he faces Democrat challenger Andrew Cole, who garnered over 1,000 more votes in his primary race than the Republican.
We plan to organize door-knock campaign teams for Wheeler in September to help ensure strong turnout from Republicans in the district. Check out his re-elections campaign web site at https://www.brad4cobb.com/.
Kay Morgan and David Cavender are challenging Democrat incumbents for county-wide races on the county commission and sheriff’s office, respectively. Republicans are grateful for them stepping up to run. Kay’s campaign web site against Lisa Cupid is https://kayforcobbchair.com/, and David’s web site is https://www.cavender4cobb.com/.
Here is a summary of the event:
Candidate Meet & Greet Address:4905 Amberton Dr SW, Powder Springs, GA 30127 Date: July 25, 2024 Start time: 6:30pm Cost: Free!
Marietta, GA — The Cobb County GOP Committee met at the Switzer Library Tuesday evening primarily to fill vacancies and to vote on new rules revisions. Most of the business was not controversial, except for the rules changes related to the procedures for adopting resolutions. The meeting was well attended with 116 of the members present at the start of the meeting, although some left before the meeting adjourned.
Governor Brian Kemp
As we have reporteda few timesbefore, after the backlash the Cobb GOP received for passing a resolution reprimanding Governor Brian Kemp in September of 2021, Establishment influences in the organization led by Parliamentarian Donna Rowe pressured the committee to pendulum swing and adopt unprecedented cumbersome restrictions on how the body can introduce and pass resolutions. The Governor’s office reacted to the Kemp resolution by ostracizing the Cobb GOP, which made things particularly difficult during the 2022 election cycle.
Leroy Emkin
For the last few years, the Cobb GOP Resolutions Committee has not been able to propose resolutions directly to the county committee without first getting approval from the Cobb GOP Executive Committee. Several members of the Resolutions Committee have resigned due to these new egregious limitations that hand-cuffed the committee. On Tuesday the Rules Committee proposed a change to take away that restriction so that the Resolutions Committee could once again propose resolutions directly to the county committee. That proposal was adopted with little controversy, and it’s a correction that has been long over-due. Resolutions Committee Chairman & GRA member Leroy Emkin praised the change and thanked the committee for supporting it.
But other efforts to scale back the restrictions on resolutions were met with resistance by a minority within the committee. Since the rules changes require a two-thirds majority vote to adopt a change to the existing rules, that minority was able to block some of these additional revisions to the rules — albeit narrowly at times.
Chris Deeb
Another unusual restriction on resolutions is a requirement that all resolutions must receive a two-thirds vote to be adopted. Cobb RA President Chris Deeb pointed out that the customary vote needed for passage is a mere 50% +1.
Deeb made a motion to amend the rules to reduce the added requirement of a two-thirds majority to pass resolutions to a simple majority. Most bodies, including the GA GOP State Committee, pass resolutions by a simple majority. Catherine Floam argued against this motion, saying that the body needed to ensure there was a greater consensus from the body when dealing with potentially controversial resolutions.
Some of the committee members might have pointed out that the Kemp resolution that inspired many of these hyper-cautious reactionary restrictions passed with greater than two-thirds majority support, so this restriction would not have changed that outcome.
Nathaniel Darnell
After that motion failed, Cobb RA Chairman Nathaniel Darnell proposed another motion to amend the proposed rules by removing the limitation of the county committee only being allowed to vote on tworesolutions per committee meeting. Darnell pointed out that in the recent 14th District GOP Convention, the body passed 13 resolutions, and only two of those received any discussion. He also pointed out that the GA GOP State Committee took up seven resolutions in February, and passed five of them. For those who argued that resolutions don’t matter, Darnell pointed out that the State Committee passed a resolution against registered lobbyists serving on the state Board of Elections, which helped to effectively pressure registered lobbyist Ed Lindsey to recently resign from the board.
Some argued that resolutions don’t help the GOP accomplish what they see as the GOP’s mission: “to elect Republicans.” Darnell responded to this by saying that actually the real mission of the GOP is not to “elect people with an R next to their name, but to ensure that Republican policy is passed into law! We are against socialism, for example, because we are for capitalism! … People are drawn to the GOP because the party supports the issues they care about, and so the GOP must empower their volunteers to speak to their elected officials about those issues.”
Debbie Fisher
Cobb Board of Elections member & GRA member Debbie Fisher said that the real problem people usually have with resolutions is not the quantity but how long the debate over them can often go. She suggested a compromise to Darnell’s amendment which would add language limiting the debate on individual resolutions to ten minutes per resolution and an hour for all resolutions proposed. Darnell agreed to this compromise and the amendment to remove the quantity limitation on resolutions at county committee meetings passed with the time limitations added.
Darnell also proposed another amendment that would have removed the quantity restriction for resolutions at county GOP conventions. The rules currently put that restriction at four. Supporters of the amendment pointed out that leaving the restriction would induce the Resolutions Committee to look for creative work-arounds, like creating longer “omnibus” resolutions that deal with numerous subjects that may not be directly related.
Rose Wing
Past Cobb GOP Chairwoman Rose Wing, who the Cobb RA helped to successfully defeat in her re-election bid in 2017 due to her heavy-handed Establishment-oriented leadership, argued in favor of both the two resolution limitation at county committee meetings as well as the four resolution limit at county conventions.
After much debate, Darnell’s second motion to amend passed by a vote of 64 to 45. But the vote to pass the provision as amended came up a little short of the necessary two-third majority to pass. That four-resolution restriction at county conventions will remain in force for the time being.
While we applaud the progress made Tuesday evening to restore the process for the Cobb GOP to pass resolutions, much more needs to be done to simplify this process and bring it back to the free, straight-forward process it has been for decades in our county. Resolutions are an important part of how the grassroots provides feedback to the elected Republican officials at the county, state, and federal level on timely issues facing our civil government, and they should not be muzzled by a minority under the influence of the Establishment.
Other images taken from the Cobb GOP County Committee meeting Tuesday evening.
If you would like to help us promote the local candidates we endorsed at the Metro RA Regional Endorsement Convention a few weeks ago, we invite you to attend this event on this Wednesday at the Stratus Restaurant & Bar!
Three RA chapter Presidents stand on stage to welcome participants
Canton, GA — Three GRA local chapters joined together last Saturday for a combined Regional Metro Endorsement Convention. The Cobb RA chapter, the North Metro RA Chapter (which includes Cherokee & Pickens counties), and the Fulton RA chapter combined to hold a regional endorsement for local races in three congressional districts, spanning ten counties. Many GRA Members have been working for months to recruit candidates to primary RINOs and on Saturday they came together and endorsed ten candidates at this local endorsement convention.
Most of these legislative candidates at the event pledged to join the Georgia Freedom Caucus, affirmed their support for government accountability and indicated they would pattern their time in the legislature after State Senator Colton Moore (R-Dade). State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Cherokee) also gave one of the keynote messages at the event, re-capping what happened during the recent legislative session, and called for more candidates to join the caucus.
Cobb RA Chairman Nathaniel Darnell, who presided over the regional endorsement convention, interviewed the candidates from the stage, and participating members took turns asking well-thought-out questions from the floor as well.
The GRA only endorsed candidates by a two-thirds majority of the voting members at a convention. Here below are the candidates endorsed at this regional convention:
The Fulton Republican Assembly chapter has decided to join in with us for the up-coming Regional Endorsement Convention on April 6th! That means that the convention will now be able to endorse in Congressional Districts 6, 7, and 11 — and all local state legislative and commission races in the geographic area. In addition, GRA members who live in counties in these congressional districts can also participate even if they don’t have a local RA chapter for their area or if their chapter is not addressing these races. So now GRA members from Bartow, Douglas, Forsyth, Dawson, Lumpkin, and Hall counties will also be able to join with Cobb, Cherokee, Fulton, and Pickens for this event.
Remember that an RA endorsement always requires a two-thirds majority vote.
Already some key contests are shaping up for the regional endorsement convention. Candidate Paul Kettering, for example, has qualified to challenge incumbent State Rep. Jordan Ridley (R-22) whose district covers part of Cherokee and part of Cobb. Ridley two years ago won election to office in an open seat after receiving the GRA endorsement. He also took the maximum contribution from the GRA-PAC. But after getting elected, Ridley quickly distanced himself from his supporters and the GA Freedom Caucus, earning himself a legislative vote score of 43% (“D”) in 2023.
Kettering says he’s running as a true conservative America First patriot, and aims to replace Ridley for the Republican nomination in State House District 22. He has already confirmed as one of the candidate speakers at the regional endorsement convention.
To pre-register for this 2024 local RA Regional Endorsement Convention, please register here. Lunch will be included.
Early-bird pricing is available for those registering before April 6, 2024. At the door pricing will be $25 per participating RA member. Candidates registering to speak at the event pay a $50 sponsorship. Other like-minded partner organizations pay $75 to hold a table at this regional endorsement convention.
If you are concerned about the direction of our country, don’t yell at the TV or stay home and complain, please join us in taking constructive action. One person by himself is helpless to stop the leftist onslaught, but by working together we can fight and, with God’s help, save our community.
Endorsement conventions provide an opportunity to meet and network with like-minded patriots who share the same passions and causes you care about. By attending these conventions you will be encouraged and feel better to know you are not alone and are doing something to help make a difference for the next generation.
Marietta, GA — Dozens of Cobb RA members and other conservative patriots showed up in force at the Cobb Commission meeting Tuesday night. Approximately 40 concerned citizens spoke out against the “Stormwater Fee” or “Rain Tax.” Only two women in favorof the tax presented. The meeting was “spirited” to say the least with Democrat Chairwoman Cupid pausing the meeting several times for breaks.
Cobb RA member Christine Rozman, who oversees the Government Accountability Task Force (GATF) in Cobb, reported: “Fantastic results can happen when we show up for meetings and SPEAK OUT – and/or email the Commissioners or just FILL THE ROOM! Speaking of filling the room – it was PACKED and lots of folks standing.”
Citizens came holding lap signs with effective messaging that helped fuel the cause. It was close to 11:30 when the commissioners finally voted to table the Rain Tax issue until August.
Marietta, GA — At Roswell Street Baptist Church last Saturday, the Cobb County Republican Party held their county convention to elect delegates to the congressional district and state conventions, to adopt rules, and to pass resolutions. Most of the convention went fairly smoothly with only minor changes made to the delegate lists proposed by the Nominating Committee, primarily due to some delegates dropping out because of scheduling conflicts.
Delegates check-in at the convention
However, the convention once again ran into a reoccurring problem for the Cobb GOP with being able to pass resolutions due to the ridiculous red tape Parliamentarian Donna Rowe has put in the Cobb GOP Rules, creating an arduous process to get resolutions submitted and approved. This was done in reaction to the backlash the Cobb GOP received a few years ago when a resolution was overwhelmingly passed by the county committee criticizing Governor Brian Kemp. This time the procedures made it so that a resolution favored by Cobb GOP Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs could not be voted on by the body.
The resolution would have called for Board of Elections member and lobbyist Ed Lindsey to have been removed from the board and replaced with a grassroots champion for election integrity. Although the Cobb GOP’s procedural rules did not allow for the delegates to consider that resolution, other county GOP conventions did pass resolutions on that subject. Marci McCarthy, Chairwoman of the DeKalb GOP, for example, reported that her county’s convention passed the resolution. As the Over 80K Chair for the GA GOP, Salleigh Grubbs was said to be encouraging other county GOPs with over 80,000 populations to pass the resolution she could not pass in her own county.
The Cobb GOP did, however, manage to pass two strong resolutions at the county convention, which were presented by Cobb RA member Leroy Emkin, who serves as the Chairman of the Resolutions Committee. The first of these denounced the use of “Diversity Equity & Inclusion” (DEI) policies, which are tied to theories of Marxist “social justice,” in the Georgia university system. The second called for election integrity reform. You can see these two proposed resolutions here:
The proposed versions of the two resolutions passed by the Cobb County Republican Convention this year.
The Cobb RAs and the North Metro RAs have decided again to join together for a regional endorsement convention of the local Georgia Republican Assembly chapters in Cobb, Cherokee, and Pickens counties. Since announcing this, the Fulton RA chapter has also decided to join in the event.
Participating RA members will be able to vote on endorsing local candidates in races within this geographical area, including state legislative races, and races for local school board and county commission.
To pre-register for this 2024 local RA Regional Endorsement Convention, please register here. Lunch included.
Early-bird pricing is available if registering before April 6, 2024.
At the door pricing will be $25 per participating RA member. Candidates registering to speak at the event pay a $50 sponsorship. Other like-minded partner organizations pay $75 to hold a table at this regional endorsement convention.
Tonight we heard an eye-opening report during our meeting at Taco Mac with Lance Lamberton from the Cobb Taxpayer’s Association. He informed us of some of the latest shenanigans from our Democrat-controlled County Commissioners.
In particular, we learned that the proposed county transit development tax increase would cost $11 billion. This would cost the average household in Cobb County $500 per year —even though only about 3,800 people (out of a county with a population with 766,802) use the public transportation! Indeed, ridership in the current transit system has decreased since 2019 by 75% in spite of them adding Sunday service.
With so few people likely to use such a very expensive proposed service, why would Cobb County support this — unless voters are simply ignorant of its details when they go vote on it at the polls in November?
Although the proposal is coming from the Democrat County Commissioners, the legislation that allowed this proposed tax increase to even be considered this way was sponsored by Republican State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta).
It’s important that we get the word out about this terrible tax increase through SPLOST in Cobb County! Let us know if you would like to help us reach voters in Cobb County regarding this fiscally irresponsible proposal.
Keeping our taxes low and local government small, efficient, and non-intrusive are principles of our Republican Party, and we are proud to support partnering organizations like the Cobb Taxpayers Association who are working to champion this cause. We appreciate so many concerned citizens who came out to our meeting last week.
We are pleased to announce our next local Cobb County Republican Assembly chapter meeting to be held tomorrow, Tuesday evening, February 13th, at the Taco Mac on Dallas Hwy. Our special guest speaker will be Lance Lamberton with the Cobb Taxpayer’s Associationto inform us of the latest shenanigans brewing from Democrat-controlled County Commissioners to raise our taxes — and what to expect to see on the ballot in Cobb on that subject in November!
Keeping our taxes low and local government small, efficient, and non-intrusive are all tied into our Republican principles, and we are proud to support partnering organizations like the Cobb Taxpayer Association who are working to champion this cause.
Here are the important details on this local RA chapter meeting:
Cobb County Republican Assembly Meeting: Lance Lamberton with the Cobb Taxpayer Association Location: Taco Mac at Dallas Highway Address: 2650 Dallas Hwy SW, Unit 110, Marietta, GA 30064 Attendance free! Be ready to order dinner. Opens: 6:30pm. Starts: 7:00pm
