Local News
Cobb County election results: Kennesaw elects first black council member
Nov. 3, 2015 - DeKalb County - Helen Garner signs in at Hawthorne Elementary, where city hood for LaVista Hills was on the ballot, with 275 voters by 11am. She said she voted yes for city hood and for ethics reform. DeKalb County residents could vote on an ethics overhaul for the county and city hood for LaVista Hills and Tucker. Hawthorne Elementary is one of the busiest precincts in DeKalb, where voters will consider overhauling the county's ethics rules and city hood for LaVista Hills. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
Another November, another election day in Cobb County.
This year, Cobb County saw 16 contested races, several of them historical while some elections' results are still to-be-determined.
Austell's mayor is celebrating 26 years in office. Kennesaw elected its first black councilwoman. Powder Springs will see a runoff for mayor. The list goes on.
Using the AJC metro Atlanta election results database, here are the outcomes of all the contested races in Cobb County.
Austell
- Austell mayor: Mayor Joe Jerkins was relected, defeating Chris Djonis by taking 57 percent of the vote. He was first elected mayor of Austell in 1989.
- Austell Council Post 2: Valerie Anderson avoided a runoff after winning 52 percent of the vote. She defeated Robert L. McField II (31 percent) and Shondrae Knight (17 percent).
Kennesaw
- Kennesaw mayor: Former Cobb Sheriff's Deputy Derek Easterling won the race for Kennesaw mayor, with 56 percent of the vote. He bested former councilwoman Debra A. Williams.
- Kennesaw City Council Post 1: Jim Eaton defeated Steve Creason with 57 percent of the vote. Cris Eaton-Welsh's term expired this year.
- Kennesaw City Council Post 2: Yvette M.A. Daniel narrowly defeated incumbent councilman Tim Killingsworth with 51 percent of the vote. Daniel is the first black person elected to Kennesaw City Council.
- Kennesaw City Council Post 3: Leonard Church's term expires in 2017.
- Kennesaw City Council Post 4: Jimmy Dickens (41 percent) came out first in the three-way race between Bruce Jenkins (36 percent) and Jon Whitmer (24 percent).
Smyrna
- Smyrna Mayor: A. Max Bacon won almost two-thirds of the vote, defeating candidate Wade S. Lnenicka, who was on the council for 28 years. This is Bacon's eighth re-election bid.
- Smyrma Council Ward 1: Government affairs director Derek Norton won over three-quarters of the vote over incumbent councilwoman Melleny C. Pritchett. He is a new addition to the Smyrna City Council.
- Smyrma Council Ward 2: Andrea Blustein, Kennesaw alum and real estate broker, was re-elected unopposed.
- Smyrma Council Ward 3: Teri Anulewicz was re-elected, solidly defeated "Bentley" Brandon Bentley with 71 percent of the vote.
- Smyrma Council Ward 4: Charles "Corkey" Welch was re-elected, besting Alan Dunn with 63 percent of the vote.
- Smyrma Council Ward 5: Susan D. Wilkinson was re-elected after winning two-thirds of the vote to defeat Jerry Jacobs.
- Smyrma Council Ward 6: Doug Stoner, former state senator from Georgia, narrowly bested Tara Simon by 14 votes. He is also a new addition to the Smyrna City Council. The outgoing councilman, Wade Lnenicka, was on the Smyrna Council since 1988.
- Smyrna Council Ward 7: Ron Fennel, a consultant and former Georgia state representative, was re-elected unopposed.
Powder Springs
- Powder Springs Mayor: Councilman Al Thurman won 43 percent of the vote against candidates former councilman Chris Wizner and business consultant Alison Feliciano. Wizner and Thurman will participate in a runnoff election December 1 to determine Powder Springs' new mayor.
- Powder Springs Council At Large 1: Patrick Bordelon Sr. gathered nearly two-thirds of the vote to win over Tom Bevirt.
- Powder Springs Council At Large 2: Henry L. Lust won 40 percent of the vote to defeat candidates Patricia A. Wisbom and Ashanti Norton.
