Anthony Gutierrez, accompanied by his fiancée Gabby Sterba, was sworn in by Judge H. Luke Mayes Photo by Rebecca Gaunt

By Rebecca Gaunt

All seats on the dais are filled again now that Anthony Gutierrez has been sworn in as the newest member of Kennesaw City Council.

Kennesaw Municipal Court Judge H. Luke Mayes administered the oaths of office at Monday’s council meeting. Gutierrez was accompanied by his fiancee Gabby Sterba.

Gutierrez won last month’s special election to fill the post 5 seat vacated by Trey Sinclair’s January resignation hours before his scheduled court appearance for DUI and hit and run. He will complete the remainder of Sinclair’s original term through 2025.

This was Gutierrez’s third bid for a council seat. He challenged incumbent Tracey Viars in 2023. In 2022, he ran in a seven-way special election to fill the seat vacated by James ‘Doc’ Eaton’s resignation.

“When you work for something for that long, finally achieving it is an amazing experience. I wouldn’t be here without the help of my volunteers and those who contributed to the campaign. It’s just a very thankful feeling to everyone involved,” he told the Courier.

Gutierrez is the third new council member in three years, following Lynette Burnette’s special election win in 2022, and Madelyn Orochena’s ouster of Burnette, the following year.

All council members serve at large.

The 26-year-old Kennesaw State University graduate and communications coordinator is the youngest elected member to the City Council since 24-year-old Dallas Thomas was elected in 1898, according to research by local historian Andrew Bramlett.

During his campaign, Gutierrez voiced strong opposition to the construction of expensive luxury apartments in the city and promised more transparency regarding city ordinances. He also supports tax breaks for new local businesses and limiting council members to two terms.

Five candidates qualified for the election, which was determined by a plurality, rather than a majority of votes. Gutierriez received 909 votes (31.75%). Beatrice Shakal received 789 votes (27.56%). Sara Torres received just over 15%, Ben Day 13%, and Jason Acree took 12% of the vote.

Rebecca Gaunt earned a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in education from Oglethorpe University. After teaching elementary school for several years, she returned to writing. She lives in Marietta with her husband, son, two cats, and a dog. In her spare time, she loves to read, binge Netflix and travel.