The Race for Mableton Mayor and Council

Voters living in the area of the new City of Mableton will choose their elected officials during a special election set for Tuesday, March 21. Voters will decide on the first-ever mayor and city council members for the newly minted city.

Qualifying for interested candidates who want to run for office will be held over three days at the main Cobb County Elections office located at 995 Roswell St. in Marietta on Jan. 18 at 8:30 a.m. until Jan. 20 at 4:30 p.m.

In addition to electing a mayor, voters will be asked to vote on nonpartisan candidates who will be elected as council members. They will serve staggered terms for the first election, with a half serving a two-year term and the other half a four-year term. Subsequent council members will serve full four-year terms.

Qualifying fees will be $900 for mayoral candidates and $600 for council candidates, to be paid by cash, personal check, money order, or cashier’s check made out to Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration.

Located in the southernmost portion of Cobb County between Austell and Smyrna, the city of Mableton will become the largest city in Cobb with an estimated 77,500 citizens.  Mableton will offer four services to citizens within its boundaries — zoning, code enforcement, parks and recreation, and sanitation.  

Once elected, the new government will establish the city’s budget and determine what services to provide including the appointment of a city manager, clerk, attorney, and municipal court and judge. During the transition period for the new city, which can last up to two years, the county will continue providing services to citizens.

The proposal for the new city of Mableton had both supporters and detractors. Supporters rallied around renewed economic development for the area, while detractors feared a new city would mean higher taxes. 

During the General election, 53% of voters on Nov. 8 approved the question to incorporate the south Cobb city, which is located east of Austell and Powder Springs and abuts the Chattahoochee River to the southeast. 

Despite a majority of residents voting in favor of a new city, a splinter group wants to de-annex their neighborhoods from Mableton. Some have questioned their motives for de-annexation, suggesting race and class may be at the center of this proposed exodus from the new city before it gets started. Although Mableton was successful with its cityhood push, three other cityhood efforts were not. This includes Lost Mountain, East Cobb, and Vinings. 

Other special election details:

• Residents wanting to vote in this election have until Feb. 21 to register to vote.
• Early voting starts on Feb. 27, and a schedule will be posted on the Cobb elections website.
• You can already start requesting mail-in ballots online. The earliest day to apply for an absentee ballot is Jan. 2. Ballots will be mailed no earlier than Feb. 27 and must be returned by 7 p.m. on election day.

Candidate Qualifications:

• Candidates interested in running must meet the qualifications laid out in the cityhood bill signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in April 2022. 
• Candidates for both mayor and city council must be at least 21 years old.
• Candidates must have lived within the city’s boundaries for at least 12 months immediately prior to the election. 
• City council candidates must have lived in the council district in which they are running for at least 12 months immediately prior to the election.
• Terms for the first council will be staggered, per the city charter, with three members serving from March 2023-December 2025, while the other three will serve from March 2023-December 2027. 
• All members of successive councils will serve four-year terms, and no elected officials in Mableton will be permitted to serve more than three consecutive terms.
• Council members will be elected by the residents of the district they are running to represent, while the mayor will be elected citywide.

The election will be held at the following polling places:

♦ BIRNEY 02 — C. Freeman Poole Senior Center, 4025 South Hurt Rd, Smyrna, GA 30082

♦ BRYANT 01 — Trinity United Methodist, 821 South Gordon Rd SW, Austell, GA 30168

♦ BRYANT 02 — Riverside Epicenter, 135 Riverside Parkway, Austell, GA 30168

♦ COOPER 01 — Calvary Baptist Church of Austell, 4780 Flint Hill Rd SW, Austell, GA 30106

♦ HARMONY-LELAND 01 — S. Cobb Comm. Ctr, 620 Lions Club Dr, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ HARMONY-LELAND 02 — Impact Worship Ctr., 6925 Mableton Pkwy, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ LINDLEY 01 — Lindley Middle School, 50 Veterans Memorial Hwy, Mableton, GA 30126♦ MABLETON 01 — S. Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Rd, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ MABLETON 02 — Mableton Elementary School, 5220 Church St SW, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ MABLETON 03 — Thompson Comm. Ctr., 555 Nickajack Rd SE, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ MABLETON 04 — Floyd Middle School, 4803 Floyd Rd, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ NORTON PARK 01 — Highpoint Christian Tabernacle, 3269 Old Concord Rd SE, Smyrna, GA 30082

♦ OREGON 02 — Worship with Wonders Church, 1887 Powder Springs Rd SW, Marietta, GA 30064

♦ PEBBLEBROOK 01 — Mableton Banquet Hall, 6114 Mableton Pkwy SW, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ RIVERSIDE 01 — City View Elementary School, 285 S Gordon Rd SW, Mableton, GA 30126

♦ SWEETWATER 02 — Floyd Road Baptist Church, 3996 Floyd Rd, Austell, GA 30106

Residents of the new city of Mableton can call 770-528-2581 if they have questions regarding registration or voting.