Cobb Planning Chairman Resigning

As County government continues its difficult struggle to take shape under new leaders, communities are eagerly seeking cityhood while longtime government entities find themselves either on the outside looking in or seeking the nearest exit to abandon ship.

The latest leaving the County is long time planning chair Galt Porter, who is resigning. Claiming they have no further information on his reasons for stepping down, county officials are tight-lipped as citizens who follow county government are left in the dark on his departure. Porter is said to not be responding to multiple requests for comment from other news outlets, which deepens the mystery on his resignation.

Porter, a real estate broker, was first appointed in 2013 to the five-member planning board. He is the longest serving member and was named Chair of the body in March 2020.

In not getting answers to why Porter is departing, some point to transparency being among the promises broken by Chair Lisa Cupid during her first 100 days in office. As a candidate, Cupid promised transparency to voters. They went on to say that there is nothing remotely transparent about what is going on as questions continue to churn on the reasons for Porter’s departure and why this is being kept from the citizens of Cobb.

Porter and his planning board drew the fury of Commissioners a few weeks ago when they dared to show independence on a rezoning issue. Porter says he was attempting to protect the county from losing money on a parcel of county-owned property, which was apparently not in alignment with Cupid and her board.

Cityhood proponents in West Cobb point to this clash and poor stewardship in protecting county assets, as they quickly add these items to their argument for creating the new city of Lost Mountain. Proponents believe that once they become a city, they will be able to control their own destiny as they would be from under County government management.

Many point to the upcoming loss of Porters’ experience, saying the County seems determined to run off more of Cobb’s capable, knowledgeable, and proficient entities as it takes on a form that is unrecognizable by its citizens. Many say that this, combined with the issues at the school board that threatens accreditation, will take Cobb and its citizens down a dark path that will negatively impact our stability as a County and leave us wishing for better days.

SPOTLIGHT will continue to bring you the latest on this issue.