Two more Cobb EMC board members not seeking re-election

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb EMC board members Al Fortney and Don Barnett will not see re-election for their seats next month, according to the Marietta based co-op.

The two join board Chairman Larry Chadwick and vice-chairwoman Sarah Brown who decided last month not to run again when their terms are up next year.

The first of three rounds of long-delayed elections for the 10-member board, including the seats held by Fortney and Barnett, is set for Nov. 12. Eighteen candidates have filed for the four positions up in November.

Reached by phone, Barnett, who has served on the board since 1999, said the fallout from a 2007 customer-filed lawsuit and indictment of the EMC’s former CEO Dwight Brown has taken the focus off the co-op’s purpose of providing safe, cost effective and reliable service to its customers. “I think it’s time to look at the future of the company instead of at things that should be history,” he said.