Like the Monster in a Bad Movie

De-annexers will simply not go away, or in this case, accept the new city of Mableton.

I asked a friend who she thought was the scariest movie monster of all time and gave her my top three choices, Jason, Michael Myers, or Freddie Krueger. She suggested Freddie because he always ended up in someone’s dreams before he sliced them up. I agreed with her choice and am using that monster symbolism as I prepare to talk about the latest scary monsters in our community, Mableton de-annexers. No, they are not actual monsters, but the things they have been doing have kept many up late at night and have haunted the dreams of many citizens who voted for the new city of Mableton who just want to move forward.

None of the scary guys from the movies can top our community monsters, the de-annexers, as they continue to plague the Mableton community with their demands to be de-annexed. Folks in the community have grown weary of this selfish onslaught and begged that we discuss anything but them. We tried; we really did. However, we would be doing you a disservice if we didn’t ring the alarm and say something about what is going on now because we refuse to allow our community to be blindsided by their latest action.

Here is a little history. After failing to stop cityhood at the ballot box in November, de-annexers tried and failed to get their way at this year’s legislative session because lawmakers could not reach an agreement on legislatively de-annexing parts of the city. De-annexers also failed to get their preferred candidate elected Mayor. Each time they have tried to stop Mableton, de-annexers have lost, they have failed. Yet they refuse to give up.

This time they are coming back, not with knives as fingers to slice you up, but with a lawyer in one hand and a lawsuit in the other, as they prepare to slash away at the recent elections for Mableton city government and the city itself, that is if they can raise the money.

A copy of an email made its way to SPOTLIGHT, which reflects de-annexers asking supporters to donate money to a legal challenge against Mableton. Also floating around with this email is the suggestion that de-annexers are trying to find a Black person to be the face of the lawsuit, instead of one of the White leaders of this effort. If true, this would be insulting and an attempt by them to hide their actions against Mableton, a majority Black City, behind a Black person. A member of the community who asked not to be identified discussed this matter with us. She confirmed that she initially voted against cityhood, but has accepted the results of the General Election in 2022 and does not understand why others are unwilling to do the same.

One of the de-annexers who has been identified as a leader of the group, Christie Lynn, told the MDJ, “The de-annexation movement supports any process to stop the city from going forward, because there are a lot of people who don’t want to be part of the city, and we will exhaust every option we can to not be part of the city.” We previously reported on class and race-related rhetoric coming from this group. This seemed to hit a nerve that we would call them out on that, but that moment did nothing to slow them down. If they do file a lawsuit, we will be waiting to see which unsuspecting person, Black, White, or purple that Lynn tricks, I mean hoodwinks, I mean suckers, I mean convinces to be named in the lawsuit or if she has the courage to put her own name on it. If it is a Black person, the rumors will be confirmed and the sideshow will begin anew for all sides, especially the person who puts their name on that suit.

If filed, the suit would allegedly challenge the city charter’s constitutionality as some questions have arisen about the legislation. De-annexers have likened this to their nuclear option, which has the potential to blow Mableton elections and possibly Mableton cityhood out of the water. If they take such action, the blowback for the community will be tremendous. Who will be responsible for paying to defend the de-annexer’s lawsuit…Taxpayers in Cobb County, Mableton, or even the state of Georgia? If our community ends up with the bill, we will have someone to blame and need look no further than Lynn and her ‘Freddie Krueger’ like a group that does not know how to just go away.

Many have asked why the de-annexers and Wilkerson would allow three costly elections to occur as they sat silently on a constitutional issue, if true. Some say de-annexers were hoping to get Carman elected mayor. Now that Carman failed, they are ready to throw Auch, Herndon, and their election under the bus. They also question if Auch and Herndon will keep their campaign promises and de-annex themselves from Mableton or if will they choose to stay.

De-annexation Movement beginnings

Similar to the Tea Party movement of the early 2000s, the de-annexation movement has a history. Unlike the Tea Party who had several goals, the de-annexers only have one, get out of Mableton at all costs, even if it ends up on the backs of the rest of you.

After ending up on the losing side of their campaign to stop Mableton Cityhood during the November 2022 elections, the losing side created a group called the de-annexers and they set their sights on the general assembly. They demanded that lawmakers de-annex them, while also adding their own candidates to the races in an effort to get them elected to damage the new city from within. Many voters questioned this action and asked similar questions…if the de-annexers don’t want the city, how can they want to be elected to govern. Notwithstanding that logical question, they ran several candidates under the umbrella of honest and ethical choices. 

The de-annexer candidate for Mayor, Aaron Carman, was beaten by Dr. Michael Owens, but at least two of the council district seats have been won by professed de-annexers, Patty Auch and Deborah Herndon. We are unsure about the leanings of District 2 winner Dami Oladapo. If we added her to their count, we would have a split council with Owens providing the deciding vote. Mableton’s mayor and council are expected to be sworn in soon. The City Charter for Mableton indicates the city will go into full effect on June 1.

Prior to the mayor and council races being finalized, de-annexers were led down a rabbit hole by State Rep David Wilkerson who has positioned himself as their champion. Many say Wilkerson appears to have abandoned what got him into office in exchange for being the de-annexer whisperer. He has massaged their de-annexation demands and held several meetings with them – both in Mableton and in the capital. Supporters of this movement followed his directions as they went after legislators with demands and threats, including running someone in the next race against a legislator if they did not get their way.

Many within the Democratic party are left scratching their heads and wondering why Wilkes, a Black Democratic lawmaker, has such interest in destabilizing Mableton and why he is trying to slice the new city up as he supports these efforts. Many have labeled him anti-Mableton. The new city of Mableton is a majority Black community, which now represents the largest community in Cobb.

Preparing the new city to deliver services to the residents is the focus for Mayor-elect Owens, who spent the weekend dealing with a fire that displaced 58 citizens in the Riverside community.  Said Owens, “We have got some really serious issues and challenges that we have to deal with in this city. The de-annexation movement cannot be the top priority.”

After a costly Primary and Runoff for the county, city, and candidates, one would think that electing Mableton’s first Mayor and City Council would calm things down, but not so fast for the de-annexers. They are still sharpening their knives as they force an off-ramp from Mableton to materialize.

As I said earlier, Freddy has nothing on the sharp claws and unyielding demands by Mableton de-annexers that have left many citizens poised for the latest attack that could come any day and have the potential to damage all.