A judge scheduled the first hearing in the pending lawsuit over the new city of Mableton for March 6 in Cobb Superior Court.
Several residents filed suit last year alleging the bill creating the new city and the referendum approved by Mableton voters in November 2022 were “unconstitutional and fatally defective.”
The ballot question and city charter created both the city and a community improvement district, which are categorized in state law as separate governmental bodies. The lawsuit argues that creating both in one bill violated the state constitution.
Credit: Cobb County
Credit: Cobb County
The city of Mableton hired former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton to defend itself in the suit, which was filed in May and has been pending in Cobb Superior Court since then. In a news release last year, Mayor Michael Owens said the city is “resolute in its determination to overcome this legal challenge.”
The five plaintiffs are Mableton residents Deidre White, Ronnie Blue, Judy King, Tanya Leake and Robert Swarthout, represented by Allen Lightcap, the same attorney who challenged the legality of other Cobb cityhood efforts in 2022. The other three proposed cities — Lost Mountain, East Cobb, and Vinings — were all rejected by voters at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, Owens and the Mableton City Council have moved forward with the transition process for the city and have begun taking over services from the county. They are also hiring several top city positions, including city manager and department heads for community development, finance, IT and human resources departments. The city has until 2025 to be fully operational.
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