It’s an odd-numbered year, which usually means that November’s Election Day is merely for municipal elections. Not so in 2025, as voters across the entire state have at least two decisions to make at the ballot box. And some Cobb residents have a separate special election happening two weeks after Election Day.
First, let’s address the statewide contests. All Georgia voters will have the chance to weigh in on the Georgia Public Service Commission special election. Incumbent Tim Echols (R) is being challenged by Alicia Johnson (D) for his District 2 seat, while Peter Hubbard (D) is challenging incumbent Fitz Johnson (R) in District 3.
Residents in six of Cobb’s seven cities — Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Mableton, Marietta and Powder Springs — have municipal elections. (Smyrna’s next municipal election, meanwhile, is in 2027.)
In-person advance voting began Tuesday, Oct. 14. Through Oct. 31, advance voting locations will be open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Find Cobb’s advance voting locations at this Cobb Elections link.
There is no voting on Saturday, Nov. 1, through Monday, Nov. 3. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, voters must go to their assigned polling location, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Visit the My Voter Page on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/ to find your polling place, the candidates on your ballot, and other voter information.
Two weeks after the Nov. 4 Election Day, voters in Senate District 35, which includes certain precincts in Cobb and Fulton counties, will head back to the polls to select their next state senator to succeed Democrat Jason Esteves, who resigned from the Senate to run for governor. Advance voting for this special election begins today, Monday, Oct. 27. There’s more information on this election on the front page of the Cobb Elections website, or you can access this PDF version of a flyer that addresses it.
A Better Cobb celebrates 3 members contending in election
We would like to congratulate and celebrate the following A Better Cobb members running for election this year:
Donovan Guardina is running for City Council in Kennesaw
Derek Caffe is running for City Council in Austell (and his opponent incumbent Marlin Lamar withdrew himself for the ballot, so congrats, Derek!)
And if you haven’t heard about it yet, our Co-Founder Sam Foster is running for Mayor of Marietta against 4-time incumbent Steve Tumlin
Although Derek has effectively won his seat, Sam and Donovan are facing very difficult races where it looks like the final result will be very close!
That being said, we recommend reaching out to their campaigns to see how you can help them get elected.
Donovan’s volunteer signup form can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQEA9ZJoLR_F5ILGFKpQB1rFrnFPZtZHWIb_TYcghvO2n3lg/viewform
Sam’s volunteer page can be found here: https://www.mobilize.us/samformarietta/
Join A Better Cobb at Canvass & Community tonight!
Tonight, many members of A Better Cobb are joining the Sam Foster campaign to canvass for a couple of hours and then celebrate afterwards with a house party.
If you have never canvassed before, don’t worry. We will train you in less than 5 minutes. And trust me when I say, there’s nothing better than having that conversation that convinces a voter. It’s the most influential way you can volunteer and help a campaign.
So come out and join us, talk to voters, and have an impact on this historical election!
🗓️: Wednesday, October 29th
🚶🏼♀️: 5:30PM
🥳: 7:00PM
For address details, register and RSVP here
ARC Survey: Affordable housing is Cobb respondents’ top concern
When you load up our A Better Cobb website, it doesn’t take long to notice that accessibility to housing is one of our group’s biggest pillars. But we’re not the only ones who see it as the huge issue that it is.
The Marietta Daily Journal on Friday reported that Cobb residents who participated in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s latest “Atlanta Speaks” survey listed affordable housing as the biggest problem facing metro Atlanta.
In August, Kennesaw State University’s A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research surveyed 4,121 adult residents across 11 counties in the metro Atlanta region with a survey wide margin of error of plus or minus 1.5% for the region as a whole.
The survey results, released Friday, show that of Cobb County respondents, 31.3% believe affordable housing is metro Atlanta’s biggest problem, followed by traffic at 25.2% and the economy at 15.1%. ...
In the survey, 41% of Cobb respondents noted they believe the reason for housing affordability issues is developers building homes that are too costly, followed by investors buying up properties to rent out at 34.2%.
Of additional note is the fact that 2025 was the first year affordable housing was included in the survey question.
Second on the list of most important issues was “Traffic” with 25% of respondents from Cobb.
Read the full MDJ story here, or to see the 2025 survey results and learn more about it, visit this link: atlantaregional.org/metroatlantaspeaks.
You can see from this survey that A Better Cobb is advocating for the issues that impact Cobb the most.
Tuesday, Oct 28th Board of Commissioners Review
Last night was the 7 p.m. Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting.
Here’s a quick review:
Presentations (3 items)
Public Comment Round 1 (10 speakers, up to 3 minutes each on any topic)
Consent Agenda (14 items)
Regular Agenda (8 items)
Item no. 18 will see commissioners consider the county manager’s recommendation to choose James D. Ferrell to become the county’s police chief. Ferrell has a 32-year career in law enforcement, getting his start in Cobb as a patrol officer, rising to sergeant in 2002, lieutenant in 2010, captain in 2014 and major in 2018. He currently serves as the interim chief of police following the retirement of the previous police chief in April.
Public Comment Round 2 (10 speakers, up to 3 minutes each)
Appointments & Announcements (1 item)
That’s it for this edition of the ABC Newsletter! Don’t forget to sign up as an ABC Member to receive future newsletters! We’re working on our schedule for the next events so stay tuned for that information!