For better or for worse, outgoing Commission Chairman Tim Lee will go down in history as the man who brought the Atlanta Braves to Cobb County.
The decision to spend hundreds of millions of public dollars on a new stadium and supporting infrastructure without a referendum angered many voters, even those who welcomed the team. It also contributed to Lee’s defeat in the polls this past summer.
Regardless of whether SunTrust Park proves to be a home run for Cobb County, many say the Braves deal marked the culmination of Lee’s evolution from humble homeowner advocate to self-styled CEO — of Cobb County Inc.
For some, this meant Lee made bold decisions to secure Cobb’s future success. For others, it meant Lee lost touch with the popular will, and behaved less like a public servant than a business executive beholden to corporate interests. That tone deafness, along with his failure to build consensus for pet projects, undermined some of his initiatives, they say.
Read the full article on the rise and fall of the Cobb chairman on our premium site, myajc.com.
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