Cupid’s Dog and Pony Show on Dobbins

In our last edition of SPOTLIGHT, we informed readers of the impending “pass the buck” meeting that Cobb Chair Lisa Cupid was planning on the Dobbins debacle. To provide more particulars to you, we filed Open Records Requests on July 16 with Cobb County government asking for details about the meeting, including who was invited. However, our request has been dragged out, so we could not give you, our readers, a preview of who would participate or what they would even talk about.

Well, the meeting was held last week. Business and government stakeholders from all around came. Instead of an informational meeting, it turned out to be a Dog and Pony Show, with Cupid providing little to no details on the proposed land swap that was revealed weeks earlier during a community meeting by a fellow commissioner.

Cupid damaged relationships across various demographics and interests when she led the board’s Democratic members to approve a condominium complex just inside the base’s accident potential zone. She had months to come to terms with how she screwed up the Dobbins matter and provide answers to the public on why, which is what many expected, but at her meeting she had none.

Cupid’s leadership on the issue, or lack thereof, has been blaring. Her temperament has been mindboggling. Her mistreatment of business leaders and other elected officials – those who had the nerve to disagree with her – has been shameful. Instead of apologizing to these folks who were trying to educate her on Dobbins’ importance to Cobb County, Cupid decided to use her power to summon these people under one roof – for what? Nothing of any substance as she shared no new information with them. Some pointed to gamesmanship at work – Cupid assembling this group and refusing to provide any details on her plans.

Many say that after 8 years as a commissioner in Cobb, Cupid should know and understand why Dobbins, one of our main economic engines, is a big deal. She should know and understand how issues she leads and decisions she makes as the county chair could jeopardize its future. As Captain Alan Abernethy, the public affairs officer for the base put it, “its not one big deal – its many, many, many things.” Some wondered if Cupid really needed this meeting to understand that point and say, if she did, we have a troubling future ahead of us under her.

Not partaking in Cupid’s side show was Lockheed Martin, who chose not to waste their time in sending a delegate. We assume they have had enough of Cupid and her antics.

Although the cat is out of the proverbial bag on the land swap deal that she is cooking up, Cupid was tightlipped and literally refused to advise these “stakeholders” on what is going on when they specifically inquired. Cupid also refused to tell those in attendance why she cast such an ill-fated vote and led others to follow her. Could her vote be attributed to her support of Garvis Sams and his issues that come before the board boys and girls?

At one point, Cupid tried to dissuade the group from taking any stock in decisions coming out of the Planning Committee saying, “The responsibility of land use and zoning lies solely with the Board of Commissioners.”

That’s good to know as we citizens solely place the blame for this Dobbins debacle in the lap of Cupid and those who voted with her.

Cupid’s closing remark to the group was, “The reality is elected officials can come and go, but the mission of the base remains the same.” If Cupid realizes this then why not do right by Dobbins and Cobb County and reverse the board’s decision? Like we tell our children “It’s okay to make a mistake but own up to it and make it right.

Yes, politicians come and go, but some get pushed out before there time is up because citizens grow tired of their abuse. They come together and use their voting power to do something about it.