Commissioner Gambrill refiles new redistricting lawsuit against Cobb County after withdrawing previous lawsuit

Cobb County citizen Keli Gambrill, also known as District 1 Commission Gambrill, has brought forward a third and fourth lawsuit this week against Cobb County as she looks to judges to address ongoing questions regarding a county drawn map using home rule powers that conflict with the state approved map.

Gambrill does so after withdrawing an earlier lawsuit she filed with Larry Savage in February. Gambrill has refiled the litigation without Savage. He lives in the disputed areas of Districts 2 and 3, but says he is unable to participate because of his two prior suits against the county.

In her capacity as a resident, Gambrill wants the court to decide whether the county had the power to amend its own electoral map last year, which she opposed. The Cobb board changed its map last fall in part to protect Richardson’s seat after GOP state lawmakers drew her out of her district halfway through her term.

One of the new lawsuits asks Cobb County Superior Court Judge Sonja Brown to issue a declaratory judgment that the county-passed map is unconstitutional, as Gambrill, some state lawmakers and the state attorney general have previously asserted.

The second lawsuit asks Superior Court Judge Ann Harris to order that the county retract its amended map and “ensure that only those commissioners who are validly, legally, and constitutionally permitted to serve in their capacities” continue to serve on the board — an apparent request to oust Commissioner Jerica Richardson from her post.

“We want the judge to decide what the law says, which is the question we’ve all been asking,” Gambrill said.

It is unknown what a court will do, but many suggest that striking down the county’s map could render Richardson, the tie-breaking vote in the board’s Democratic majority, disqualified from office because commissioners must live in the district they represent — an outcome that could leave the board in a party-line stalemate until a new District 2 commissioner could be elected.

Others say Richardson won her race and should be allowed to complete her term of office. As residents and County officials wait for this matter to work its way through the court system, Gambrill and her Republican colleague, JoAnn Birrell continue their protest by reading their objection statements into the record for each vote and attaching them to each meeting’s minutes until the matter is resolved.

During an earlier meeting this year, the two refused to vote on a matter. In a bizarre move, Cobb Chair Lisa Cupid directed police to physically remove the women from ‘her’ dais. As police approached, the two women removed themselves but remained in the audience and continued their protest.

Georgia’s Attorney General’s office had issued a statement calling the Cobb Commission’s move to amend its own electoral redistricting map “inappropriate and not legally binding.”

AG spokeswoman Kara Richardson said in a previous statement, “Georgia law does not grant our department the authority to initiate a lawsuit in the current situation. We will, however, not hesitate to engage when and where appropriate should a lawsuit be filed by the right party.” Now that two lawsuits have been filed, Cobb citizens and officials should expect an appearance from the AG’s office.

Meanwhile, Cupid’s ‘home rule’ map remains in place until a judge rules otherwise, which should be soon.