The Cobb County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday renamed the county building off Marietta Square in honor of the late David Hankerson, the county’s first Black county manager.
Hankerson served in the position for 24 years and is lauded as one of the longest-serving county managers in Georgia. He died in January at the age of 77 after a long illness. Several prominent county leaders attended his funeral in February, including Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, former Gov. Roy Barnes, former Chairman Sam Olens, and current County Manager Jackie McMorris, who said that Hankerson “created a pathway not only for me, but for so many at Cobb.”
The county building at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta will now be named the David Hankerson Building. The commissioners also presented a proclamation to his family to “celebrate his life and to honor his service to Cobb County.”
Hankerson’s accomplishments as county manager included creating the first stormwater ordinance in the county, obtaining permits to build the East-West Connector, and creating the Cobb Safety Village, which now has an education building also named after him.
His tenure as county manager ended in 2017 after then-recently elected Chairman Mike Boyce decided only to renew his contract for one more year, citing a need for a “new direction” in the wake of the controversial Atlanta Braves stadium deal. At the time, Hankerson said he only became involved with the deal after then-Chairman Tim Lee decided to move forward with it.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the CEO of the Braves Development Company Mike Plant presented Hankerson’s family with a signed Braves jersey in honor of Hankerson’s role in the stadium deal. The number 24 jersey also represents the number of years he served as county manager.
“As the longest serving commissioner up here, Mr. Hankerson — there will never be anyone like Mr. H. He was dearly loved, and was fair and honest and full of character and integrity,” said Commissioner JoAnn Birrell.
