Efforts to revive the proposed city of Lost Mountain will have to wait another year after all.
State Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) opted not to introduce the bill this session, delaying supporters’ ability to get the new feasibility study needed to put another cityhood measure on the ballot.
Last week, he sent out a map of the proposed new city and said the bill would be introduced on Monday. However, the bill was not filed Wednesday afternoon, the last day of the legislative session.
Setzler wanted to give the Lost Mountain cityhood advocates “a little bit more time for community engagement that’ll really build out and broaden and deepen the support,” he said.
“Lost Mountain lost in 2022 because of a lack of public understanding of the details,” Setzler said. “It’s a matter of wanting to give the supporters time to communicate the message, lay the groundwork, and make sure that all citizens are fully informed.”
In the May primary election in 2022, 58% of voters rejected Lost Mountain cityhood.
Cityhood opponents in part blamed the campaign itself for Lost Mountain’s drubbing at the ballot box. State lawmakers moved the election up months earlier than expected, leaving little time to convince skeptical county residents that they should form a city.
Additionally, cityhood supporters frequently promoted misinformation in community events and campaign ads, labeling Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Cupid as a threat to suburbia, and claiming without evidence that apartments and crime were coming for their neighborhoods under the county government’s leadership.
Setzler said he hopes to bring cityhood forward again after gaining more community support and finalizing the charter.
“When all those conditions are set, the process of filing a bill and moving through the legislative process can be very straightforward,” Setzler said. “I want it to really focus on building the community support first, rather than legislation first and committee support second.”
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