Cobb EMC members oust one incumbent director, send second into runoff

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb EMC members pushing for changes at the electric utility ousted one incumbent board member on Saturday and nearly got rid of a second in the cooperative's first board elections in four years .

Incumbent director and Kennesaw businessman R.J. Patel eked out a runoff in his re-election bid, while incumbent Henry Balkcom, who represented the utility's customers in the far southwest Pataula district, was soundly defeated by Cheryl Meadows, a candidate endorsed by groups seeking change in the EMC tarnished by scandal.

Saturday's vote came four years after customers filed a lawsuit against the company following reports in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the EMC and an associated for-profit business that the plaintiffs said siphoned off assets of the co-op and benefited insiders. Since then, former CEO Dwight Brown has been indicted, new CEO Chip Nelson was named in July and six of the 10 incumbent board members -- including the longtime chairman and vice chairwoman -- decided not to seek re-election.

For plaintiffs of the 2007 lawsuit, the change has been long in coming.

"I feel good to say that the EMC is on the move to being on the right track," said Butch Thompson, a former county commissioner and plaintiff in the EMC suit. "My job is finished."

Three groups worked for months before the election educating members about the EMC’s history, legal problems and what they saw as a need for new management. Two of the groups collaborated and spent about $10,000 endorsing and supporting a slate of four candidates. Two of those candidates, Edward Crowell and David Tennant, won election Saturday. The incumbents in those seats did not seek re-election.

The EMC has spent about $160,000 for the election, candidate mailings and postage, all of which was handled by Election Services Corp., EMC spokesman Sam Kelly said. The cost does not include overtime paid to EMC employees helping with the election on Saturday along with police and traffic enforcement.

The utility will have to pay similar expenses for the Dec. 3 runoff election between Patel, who received 354 votes, and printing company owner Charles Malcolm Swanson, who fell just shy of the majority necessary for election, receiving received 1,203 votes, or 49.47 percent. Seven candidates ran for the seat held by Patel, who did not join the board until about three years after members filed the lawsuit.

To save the company money, Thompson recommended Patel concede and drop out of the runoff, a decision Patel has yet to make. Patel spent between $2,200 and $2,500 on his campaign and talked throughout the race about his dedication to service and his hopes to move the EMC forward. He and Balkcom were still unable to break through with some members still angry over the actions that led to the company's legal troubles and fallout.

“I read all of the candidate bios but couldn't support the two incumbents,” said Marietta resident Charlotte Hipps, noting some of the decisions the board  made after the customer lawsuit. “You can always stand up against wrong even if you’re the only one, and they didn't do that.”

Cobb EMC has about 173,000 members, and 2,471 members, or 1.4 percent, voted in Saturday’s election which was the first of three rounds of elections for all 10 seats on the electric utility’s board. The next two elections, for three seats each, are scheduled for Feb. 18 and May 12. All three incumbents up for re-election in February, have said they would not run again, and one incumbent in the May race doesn't intend to seek re-election.

The board’s next meetings are set for Nov. 21-22. In the meantime, the newly elected directors will undergo training next week conducted by a national service organization for the country’s more than 900 co-ops. The new directors are also encouraged, but not required, to become professionally certified directors.  At least one of Nelson's transparency initiatives for open board meetings will be discussed at the Nov. 22 meeting. Along with open board meetings, Nelson has recommended publishing quarterly earnings reports and establishing a member advocacy committee. The groups seeking changes in the EMC have supported these initiatives and also want a forensic audit of the company completed. The initiatives must be approved by the board.