Cobb commissioner finds herself in maverick role

Age: 38

Education: Undergraduate degrees in English (Georgia State) and mechanical engineering (Georgia Tech); a Master's in Public Administration (Georgia State); and Juris Doctorate (Georgia State).

Professional experience:

City of Atlanta Alternate Dispute Resolution Externship, mediator 2010-11

Georgia State University Urban Fellows Program, facilitator 2009-10

Progressive Redevelopment, assistant project manager 2007-08

Georgia Governor’s Office, Office of Planning and Policy, analyst 2006-07

Eastman Kodak Manufacturing Leadership Rotational Program, engineer 2000-03

Lisa Cupid has run against the grain of business-as-usual politics in Cobb County for most of her three years on the county commission.

Elected by a 3-to-1 margin in a 2012 runoff against incumbent Woody Thompson, Cupid is the commission’s only Democrat. She represents a large and diverse District 4 that runs from Dobbins Air base in the heart of Cobb, down past Smyrna then west through rural stretches near Powder Springs, and back across a healthy swath of urbanized South Cobb, including some of the county’s most economically challenged areas.

Cupid has seen her share of controversy: She is the only commissioner to vote against a preliminary agreement for the new Atlanta Braves stadium; and, over the vocal objection of Commission Chairman Tim Lee, she appointed an anti-tax activist to a committee overseeing use of the county’s sales tax levy.

But this summer — after she was followed by an undercover police officer who, at one point, sped behind her car as if to ram it — she wrote a seven-page memo that brought scorching criticism.

The memo said the officer, who apparently backed off after finding out he was tailing a commissioner, would not have followed a white driver in a more affluent part of the county.

That complaint, along with Cupid’s demand for answers and subsequent call for creation of a citizen police review board, led to columns and letters in the local newspaper demanding an apology or her resignation.

Commissioner Bob Weatherford said during a commission meeting that Cupid is an advocate for public safety but “this particular thing has created division that in my view may impede her ability to govern her district.”

David Schock, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University, said the 38-year-old Cupid is extremely popular in her district precisely because of the different perspective she brings to county leadership.

“I think Lisa is fulfilling a role,” Schock said. “She represents a very different view than the more traditional business, Chamber-of-Commerce-orientated Republican representative. She’s starting to bring forward a focus on social equity … and she goes against some of the traditional ways of doing things.

“She’s really the only voice on the commission that’s different.”

‘I’ve stayed true’

Cupid holds undergraduate degrees in English (Georgia State) and mechanical engineering (Georgia Tech); a master’s in public administration and her law degree from Georgia State. She took the bar examination this summer and is expecting the results later this week.

Cupid was returning home from a study session for the bar exam in a community room of a hotel when she was followed by the undercover officer.

The commissioner lived in East Cobb briefly while taking classes at Georgia State, and began thinking about a run for the county commission shortly after buying a home in the Six Flags area of South Cobb with her husband, Craig.

“We saw there were some basic elements of community that were lacking and challenged,” Cupid said. “The first thing that struck us was people walking in the streets because of a lack of sidewalks. And the concerns never seemed to have the [political] support to make improvements in the community.

“I promised to be a zealous advocate for citizens, and I believe I’ve stayed true to that.”

Cupid’s signature achievement thus far is getting the commission to pass a $10 million bond for the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority. Part of the money was used Thursday to close on the $3.7 million purchase of Magnolia Crossing Apartments, located at 490 Six Flags Drive in Austell. SCRA intends to demolish the apartment complex and sell the site to developers to spur economic growth in the corridor.

But even that was a struggle, with the measure barely passing 3-2.

Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Bob Ott, both of whom supported the $400 million public investment in SunTrust Park, voted against the South Cobb bond, which will be repaid by a special tax on area businesses. Ott said he voted against the bond because, unlike the Cumberland district, business owners in South Cobb did not get a vote on the tax.

Cupid acknowledged the bond is a minuscule investment when compared to the mountain of public money being poured into Cumberland, which is the county’s business hub. She said the point was driven home during a town hall meeting hosted by Lee at the South Cobb Recreation Center in August.

Cupid sat in the audience for most of the meeting, which included Lee’s stump presentation about SunTrust Park and the benefits that will come from the investment. Lee called her to the microphone at the end of the night.

“It’s very interesting, sitting in the audience … because I felt like you felt — that unrest and that tension that we know is a result of what Langston Hughes called … a ‘Dream Deferred,’” Cupid told the crowd of about 40 people. “While we are seeing a lot of good works … they don’t match the good works touted during most of the presentation here tonight.

“And I want to share with you, sitting in your seat, rushing to get my children situated, coming here tonight, I feel your frustration. I felt like you – shirked, in a sense — because I know you had expectations to have some issues addressed tonight that weren’t addressed.”

Cupid then told the audience she would stay for an extra half hour.

“I will stay here … because … we don’t get to see the chairman often and I think he needs to hear from us. And if he can’t, I will hear your concerns and take them back,” she said.

“If I can just finish my town hall, please,” Lee said before taking back the microphone.

Cupid stayed an additional 45 minutes after Lee left, answering questions and listening to statements on a range of issues from vacant and run-down buildings, to trash-strewn bus stops, to controversial zoning decisions.

It’s a brand of political populism that Ben Williams says is authentic and comes naturally to Cupid.

Williams, president of the Cobb branch of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said the commissioner’s work ethic first caught his attention during the 2012 campaign. He’s been watching her ever since.

“I have come to the conclusion that she is the right person to sit in that seat at this time,” Williams said. “She has fought to not be marginalized and … she is courageous as an elected official. I have great respect for that.”

Cupid announced last week the creation of volunteer board that will review citizen complaints against police and report back to her office. The board was created by Cupid alone and was not voted on by the full commission.

Still, Cupid said the review board will help her be more responsive to citizen complaints, for which she has a new appreciation after her own incident. She said the fallout from her complaint impacted her entire family, which includes two young sons, but that being silent about it wasn’t an option.

“I must admit I wasn’t sensitive enough when people brought concerns about policing to my office,” Cupid said. “I wasn’t following up on issues like people thought I would because I just thought I’d let the [police] department take care of it. But it’s real. … I would do my constituents a disservice by not bringing our concerns to light.”

Her critics aren’t backing off, either.

Weatherford said last week that he stands by his statement that the police incident is impacting Cupid’s ability to lead.

“It’s only broadened the rift on the board,” Weatherford said in an interview. “I respect her intelligence. I respect that she’s a hard worker. But she is not a team player. She doesn’t just represent District 4, but the entire county, as we all do.”

Cupid’s complaint clearly rang true with some of her constituency, particularly in a year in which citizen deaths at the hands of police have been closely scrutinized. Her supporters say the commissioner is a strong public safety advocate, and that her complaint isn’t an attack on the police department.

But Schock, the KSU political science professor, said it may create a more difficult political atmosphere on the commission.

“She may have set herself up to be more of a (community) leader, but I don’t think it necessarily helps her in terms of getting things for her district,” Schock said. “I think it will make it more difficult for her to work with her fellow commissioners. She created some real bad blood there.”

For her part, Cupid said she doesn’t think there will be any carry over: “At the end of the day, we all have to be willing to set aside our differences. It’s not the first or last time there will be disagreements with commission members. That doesn’t detour anyone of us from continuing to push the needs and interests of our districts.”