Four years after he ousted his predecessor in a Republican primary runoff, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is facing his own party rebellion with two conservative challengers going into the June 9 election.
Retired businessman Larry Savage and retired police officer Ricci Mason are both running for the party nomination against the incumbent chair, who successfully championed a tax increase in 2018 that lost him some support from the base, according to Jason Shepherd, chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party.
“There’s a lot of frustration with Chairman Boyce,” Shepherd said. But, he added, the vast majority of Republican voters are not the party activists who are the chairman’s loudest critics.
“Under Chairman Boyce, property taxes have gone up, but so have services,” Shepherd said. “The average voter may see it as necessary costs for overall improvement in services for the county.”
The primary could go to a runoff if none of the three candidates capture 50 percent of the vote. The eventual nominee will face Democrat Lisa Cupid, currently the South Cobb commissioner, in a county that has become increasingly competitive for her party.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton won more votes in Cobb than Donald Trump, and the outcome of down-ticket races in November will likely depend heavily on how the presidential candidates fare.
“Not having a primary where she has to run to the left has been an enormous help for her,” Shepherd said of Cupid. “She will be a very formidable opponent for us.”
Boyce has defended the tax increase, saying it was necessary to correct the mistakes of the past and put the county on firm financial footing. Specifically, he pointed to a 2016 tax cut pushed through by former Chairman Tim Lee on the eve of the election, and which Boyce said nearly cost the county its Triple A bond rating.
“I’m running on my record,” Boyce said. “I think it’s a good record.”
His record also includes overseeing the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended campaigning and is expected to have a huge impact on local budgets. Boyce said he intends to keep the property tax rate where it is this summer and that, thanks to his leadership, Cobb is in a good position to weather the economic blow from the virus.
But to Savage, who is running for chairman for a fourth time, the county isn’t doing enough to anticipate the financial impact of the coronavirus.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is nuts,’” Savage said of Boyce’s handling of the economic fallout. “You should have good reserves, but that’s not your first line of defense when the economy turns down.”
Savage said he thinks the Republican primary will come down to what he called the “fundamentals of conservative government”: controlled spending and low taxes.
That message appears to be resonating with some: Savage has raised more money than Boyce so far in this cycle — an unusual accomplishment for a non-incumbent challenger and perennial candidate. Savage has taken in $63,000, including a $4,000 loan from himself, against Boyce’s $32,000.
“I would suggest people be careful not to dismiss it simply because I’ve run before,” Savage said.
Mason, who is running for the first time, is also critical of the county’s budgeting and finances. He said his more than 30 years of experience with the Cobb and Marietta police departments gives him valuable insight.
“I’ve seen the county run from the inside,” Mason said. “I’m ready to step up for all the county employees.”
Mason said the government can save money without negatively impacting pay and benefits for employees by eliminating wasteful spending, particularly on capital projects.
“There’s a lot of things that are approved that shouldn’t be approved,” he said. “The budgets aren’t necessarily tight.”
Mason said he expects the coronavirus to be the primary concern on voters’ minds in the weeks and months ahead.
“This is unprecedented, so nobody has the answers,” Mason said of his plan for managing the crisis. “We have to take care of our cornerstone of our county, which is public safety, infrastructure and our water system.”
Mason reported raising about $11,000, including a $4,000 loan from himself.
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