By Mark Woolsey

[Corrections: An earlier version of this article spelled Monique Sheffield’s name “Monica” in one instance, and identified the May BOC meeting as May 12. Late night writing and early morning editing– Larry Felton “The Buck Stops Here” Johnson. Thanks to reader Tania Robinson for alerting us to the errors]

The Cobb County Commission will again have a Democratic majority according to final, unofficial results in Tuesday’s special election.

Democrat and former State Rep. Erick Allen bested Republican Alicia Adams in the race for the reconfigured District 2 seat. With all precincts reporting, Allen had racked up 5,403 votes, or 58.58% of the total while development  professional Adams tallied 3,820 votes, coming in at 41.42% of the total 9,223 ballots cast.

Allen told the Courier that after a day of rest, he’ll plunge into boning up for his new job, meeting with staff beginning Thursday and soaking up a ton of knowledge.

“I’ll be drinking from a fire hose,” he said.

The Commission shifted blue in 2021 with the elections of Jerica Richardson and Monique Sheffield, joining fellow Democrat Lisa Cupid. Cupid was elected chair that year. Richardson was forced to vacate her seat earlier this year, marking the culmination of a lengthy fight over commission boundaries that led to a 2-2  political party deadlock for several months.

Allen downplayed the partisan angle as he spoke to the Courier, indicating he felt like his message resonated with voters from both parties.

“Regardless of who’s in control we have to govern and I look forward to governing, “ he said, calling District 2 the economic powerhouse of the county, containing as it does major companies such as Home Depot, Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) and the Dobbins Air Reserve Base.

He noted a concentration of smaller retail businesses spans the district and one of his priorities will involve maintaining a retail to residential balance as the county grows toward a projected population of one million by 2050.

In the other commission race that sent voters trooping to the polls on Tuesday, Incumbent District 4 Democratic Commissioner Monique Sheffield racked up 4,651 votes or 64.46% of the total, topping Republican and video design editor Matthew Hardwick. Hardwick tallied 2,564 votes or 35.54% of the total cast. Some 7,215 voters weighed in in that race.

Sheffield told the Courier she thought she won the right to represent District 4 for the next 4 years because of “the work I put in in the last four years.”

“My constituents are very familiar with my work. It’s being visible when it’s time to be visible.”

She also somewhat soft-pedaled the notion of political wrangling, noting that a lot of their decisions don’t fall along party lines.

“Potholes don’t care about a party affiliation. It’s just ‘are you going to get it fixed and when,” Sheffield said. She added that the items carrying a price tag tend to be more controversial.

It should  be noted that commissioners have clashed a number of times over the past four years, including on the redistricting wrangle.

Sheffield also says she’ll focus on the establishment of a new Cobb-Douglas Health medical facility which would bring an array of close-by services to residents in the Riverside Parkway corridor, tying in with a larger goal of bringing a beefed-up emphasis on health services. She says eyeing parks and green space fits that bill as well.

She also plans to push for expansion of Cobb’s experimental microtransit initiative further into the Mableton area.

Election results are set to be certified on May 5, and Allen says he thinks he’ll take his seat at the May 13 meeting.