Members of Marietta-based electric cooperative Cobb EMC will kick off a petition drive Saturday intended to oust the co-op's board.

A group called Take Back Cobb EMC said the board's decision to re-hire indicted ex-CEO Dwight Brown is the reason.

"I have never heard of a company rehiring and defending a man who allegedly stole money from it," said Dan Davis, a co-op member since 1999.

The group needs to submit signatures from 10 percent of the co-op's roughly 190,000 customers in order to request the removal of a board members. The petition asks for a May 21 special membership meeting and board election. The co-op has not elected a board member since 2007.

A Cobb County grand jury indicted Brown on 31 counts of racketeering and theft in January. Brown retired at the end of that month, but the board voted to re-hire him as a consultant.

The board also asked a Cobb County Superior Court judge to let it hire Brown again as CEO. His retirement was one of the terms of a settlement with suing customers in 2008.

The petition drive kick-off is between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at East Cobb Park, 3322 Roswell Rd. in Marietta.

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