Cobb commissioner pays fine, avoids arrest

Cobb County Commissioner Annette Kesting has paid the balance of a fine to the city of Powder Springs for code violations on rental property she owns, a municipal court clerk said Friday.

A contempt order had been issued for the embattled southwest Cobb commissioner for failing to appear for an Aug. 14 hearing on city code violations on property she owns.

Kesting faced arrest if she did not pay the $700 fine. But the commissioner still owes $3,000 in court fines.

“She has a balance from when the judge did fine her for contempt of court,” Powder Springs Mayor Pat Vaughn said.

Kesting and her husband, Christian, previously owned three buildings on Cemetery Street. According to county land records, a duplex at 4502 Cemetery St. was sold at foreclosure on Sept. 2.

The Kestings have been delinquent on taxes for the properties in past years, and were cited last year by the city of Powder Springs for nearly two dozen code violations.

Kesting referred all questions to her attorney, Sims Gordon, who did not return repeated phone calls.

Kesting’s term ends Dec. 31. She won the seat four years ago from then Republican incumbent commissioner Woody Thompson. She lost a re-election bid to Thompson in the Democratic primary runoff.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that a South Carolina “voodoo priestess” had filed a police report in Cobb County accusing Kesting of paying for her services with bad checks.

George Ann Mills said Kesting came to her with a request to do harm to Thompson. Mills declined to perform what she called a “death ritual,” on Thompson but did perform a ritual to help Kesting with family matters. The GBI is investigating.

Kesting has denied the claim.