AROUND TOWN: On Law Enforcement and Educator Endorsements

When it comes to Fraternal Order of Police lodges in Georgia, none is bigger than Kermit Sanders Lodge #13, covering Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. That means an endorsement for Cobb sheriff from the lodge counting more than 1,300 members carries some weight.

But what about the fact that the lodge’s president is Maj. Steve Gaynor, head of community engagement for the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, and a close adviser to Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens? Or that the lodge's secretary, Jeff Brackett, is a retired lieutenant from the sheriff’s office and now works as a part-time deputy?

Gaynor and Brackett are not the only two on the lodge’s executive board with immediate or past experience in the Cobb Sheriff’s Office – the majority is currently involved with the office, according to Gaynor. However, both assured the MDJ they will not have a role in running the endorsement process for the lodge this time around as Owens seeks a second term.

Lodge #13 will endorse a candidate after the field is whittled down to two candidates, Gaynor said.

The process involves bringing the Democrat and Republican chosen by primary voters into the lodge for a presentation. After that, members vote on their preference, and the majority rules. Gaynor said that, considering the size of the lodge, a turnout of 500 or more, out of the 1,300 plus members, would be a success.

Gaynor is stepping aside from handling the endorsement process, as is Brackett. Instead, a Cobb Police lieutenant on the board and two retired Cobb Police officers who are members will handle the endorsement and balloting process.

“So that takes the (sheriff’s office) totally out, so I’m not involved in the endorsement process other than being able to vote,” Gaynor said. “We’ve kind of eliminated that appearance that ‘This is going to be run through because he works for the sheriff.’”

Regarding the dynamics of the race itself, Gaynor expects Owens to cruise to the Democratic nomination. Democratic candidate Gregory Gilstrap “runs on signs only,” Gaynor said, and is not doing nearly enough to mount a real challenge to Owens.

It’s on the Republican side where things get interesting for Gaynor. He anticipates the race will go to a runoff and thus push off the lodge’s endorsement election to July.

Antaney Hogan, a former Smyrna Police officer now in internal affairs at the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, just doesn’t have the name recognition throughout Cobb to be competitive in the Republican race, but Gaynor said Ricci Mason and David Cavender do.

Mason, a former police officer with Marietta, Cobb, and Cobb Schools, has a strong social media presence, is a Marine Corps veteran and worked in the Cobb Department of Corrections in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Cavender, a sergeant in both the Cobb Police Department and the Army Reserves, is also making a name for himself.

“Cavender’s obviously got a good campaign manager,” Gaynor said, noting that his signs are everywhere and he is too, making it out to events across Cobb.

Cavender told the MDJ in a text that he does not have a campaign manager, instead doing most things for his campaign “with the help of a couple of people.”

His stock has also risen since a recent meeting with the most talked-about man in American politics. Cavender somehow snagged face-time with former President Donald Trump when Trump came to town last month.

“He’s got a good old picture with Donald, so he can play that up. That’s worth a lot of money right there,” Gaynor said.

No matter who comes out of the Republican primary as the party’s nominee, Gaynor is sticking with Owens.

“He’s my boss, he’s been good to me,” Gaynor said. “He’s done a lot of good things … Change is always good, we’ve made some really good changes. I really appreciate the changes he’s made, I think the deputies do too.”

It will be interesting, he added, to see how an Owens-Cavender general election matchup plays out, and to Gaynor, it all comes back to Trump.

“Donald Trump really controls a lot of how the country is going to go. If there’s a strong Republican push out there and people come in and vote ‘R’ all the way down, then they’re going to catch Cavender. It all depends on who gets people out to the polls.”

ON EDUCATOR ENDORSEMENTS: Jeff Hubbard, president of the Cobb County Association of Educators, said endorsements from the education association will soon be made public.

At least four candidates for Georgia State House and State Senate will get the group’s endorsement as early as Friday, Hubbard said.

As for the four uncontested primaries for the Cobb County Board of Education, Hubbard said those seals of approval won’t come until at least August. But he added that the organization already knows which qualities it will seek from candidates before backing them.

“That they’re a friend in regards to what makes up a truly good school system. Investments in our children. Respect for children’s rights, respect for the parents’ rights and respect for the employees’ rights,” he said. “Financial transparency, how can people tell that their tax dollars are being spent with fidelity, that we are able to see that children, regardless of their ZIP code, are receiving the supports they need, whether they be academic supports, financial supports in regards to more resources to help them succeed, that’s what we look at.”

Hubbard said in the last few years stakeholders — particularly parents — haven’t felt like school boards and districts really take their best interests to heart. In both Cobb and Marietta, that includes the book banning debacle.

But Hubbard added that one school system — Cobb — has been particularly egregious in its disregard for parent and student voices.

“One system does listen a lot more than the other system, and of course that system doesn’t have any elections this year,” Hubbard said. “Marietta definitely has some issues in regards to whether parents are truly being listened to and students are truly being listened to, but they don’t feel like they’re being dismissed or not taken seriously.”

Another issue specific to Cobb, Hubbard said, is persistent partisan spats.

“People are tired of the infighting. I think that’s the biggest thing. People want to be able to feel that boards of education are not putting their own individual agendas out there, but are putting what they truly feel are in the child’s best interest and not some group whether it’s vocal active groups or outside pressure groups,” he said. “The parents want to feel that their voices are the ones that matter.”

He added that it doesn’t just come down to elected officials, but also district leadership, making mention of the Cobb School District's communications staff which reportedly moved the public comment line ahead of the board’s September meeting, resulting in a scrum that left several, including Hubbard himself, physically injured.

“The other thing is leadership, that leadership is responsive to the concerns and the needs of the students and parents and that open and transparent communication is not only desired but encouraged,” he said.

Hubbard said his teacher association will happily endorse candidates from either party, so long as they prove they are committed to the betterment of children’s education above all else. He added that for this first batch of state-level endorsements, only candidates in contested primaries who filled out the Georgia Association of Educators’ questionnaire are eligible to get the group’s thumbs-up.

As for the Cobb school board, Hubbard hinted that there might be a need to flip it from the Republican control it has enjoyed for decades.

“If people are happy with what’s going on with their child’s education and their representation, by all means support them,” he said. “But if they think that there is a better fit out there as we educate Cobb and Marietta’s 100,000-plus children and Georgia’s 1.8 million children, go for the other party and give them a chance.”

FESTIVAL FLAP: The May-Retta Daze brought hundreds to Marietta Square for the two-day arts, crafts and music festival — but it wasn’t all fun and games for those in the area.

“It’s Saturday and they (Marietta Parks, Recreation and Facilities) did it to us again by placing the children’s bouncy houses right up to our front door,” a weekend Facebook post from Johnnie MacCracken's Celtic Pub reads. “Also, the ‘paid parking’ is raised to an unreasonable level so that our regulars avoid The Square on these festivals,” the post continued. “We are a ghost town as seen in the photo because people think we are closed.”

MacCracken's owner Gary Leake is known for running commentary on the issues of the day on the bar's Facebook page.

The post received hundreds of likes and dozens of comments, many of which asserted the city owes greater respect to the local businesses that keep the Square bustling year-round.

One commenter encouraged Leake to attend the next Marietta City Council meeting, which had the MacCracken's owner reminiscing about the days when the late Ansley Meaders was running the Gem City.

“Back in the day there was a mayor named Ansley, who I could pick up the phone and she would try to take care of it,” Leake replied. “Those days are gone.”

Around Town asked Marietta Mayor Steve ‘Thunder’ Tumlin what he thought about the matter.

“Should we have an emergency number when a business is blocked? I’d be very receptive to that. Whether it was my phone number or anybody else's,” Tumlin said. “... The events are successful, but it’s not a complete success if people couldn't get to their offices or they couldn’t get to their businesses, so we need to build on that … I’m taking this as feedback that we’ve got to do better.”

The city will have a chance to redeem itself over the coming weeks, with the next Summer Square Screening Series event scheduled for May 17 and a Glover Park Summer Concert set for May 31.

MOST SCRUMPTIOUS: Thousands flocked to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Saturday, where the 16th annual Taste of East Cobb was held, benefiting the Walton High School Band. The festival featured 40 local businesses and 29 restaurants, where nine took home titles. Among the restaurant winners were:

“Favorite Overall Taste” – Sterling Estates“Rookie Award” — Verandah Indian Cuisine“Most Scrumptious Sweet” — Schmoo.Pies“Most Unique Taste” — Verandah Indian Cuisine“Most Likely to Order Seconds” — Righteous ‘Que

The vendor and sponsor titles went to:

“Friendliest Booth” — Rohan Law“Most Likely to Call Tomorrow” — Mojo Vitality“Most Interesting” — Peachtree Curling Association“Best Giveaway” — DC Patel Financial Services“Favorite Overall” — East Cobb City Lifestyle

ON THE RIGHT: The Cobb County Republican Women's Club will celebrate its 60th birthday Thursday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the celebration begins at 7 p.m. The event takes place at the Hilton Marietta Conference Center, 500 Powder Springs Street, Marietta. There will be heavy hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, photo booth, silent auction, birthday toasts and Republican politicking. Cost is $45 a person and dress is cocktail attire. For more information: CCRWC.org.