By Mark Woolsey

The races have now been set for the Nov.4 Cobb County municipal elections, as voters will pick among mayoral, city council and school board candidates in six of the county’s seven municipalities.

Only Smyrna will not be taking part in the balloting, as the next municipal election there won’t be held until 2027.

Candidates filed a notice of candidacy and an affidavit to qualify while paying fees that ran into hundreds of dollars. In Georgia, the filing fee for a municipal election 3 percent of the gross salary the position paid in the prior  year       .

In Marietta, incumbent mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin, a CPA and an attorney faces opposition Sam Foster, a systems engineer. He’s said to be one of the youngest candidates for mayor in Marietta’s history, at the age of 24.

In Ward 1, Cheryl Richardson, the incumbent and an attorney, faces a challenge from Anthony McCalla, a security consultant. The Ward 2 post also drew multiple candidates, with Akella C. Clore, a bailiff, squaring off against Vicki Lucas, who is retired and Jason Waters, a mortgage lender and certified financial planner. None of the candidates is the incumbent, as longtime Ward 2 councilman Griff Chalfant chose not to seek re-election.

In Ward 3,with incumbent council member Johnny Walker stepping aside, a trio of hopefuls has surfaced; Daniel Gaddis, a planner, Nora Gaudet, a retired educator, and Boozer McClure, who is in retail sales.

In Ward 4, a pair of hopefuls seek to capture the seat held by the retiring Andy Morris. They are: Byron “Tee” Anderson, a homebuilder and West House, a mechanical engineer.

The race in Ward 5 pits Reggie “Game Changer” Copeland against incumbent Carlyle Kent, who beat Copeland for the seat four years ago. Copeland is listed as a CEO and business owner, while Kent works in the real estate field. Kenneth Wright, who is retired, is also vying for the post.

In Ward 6, realtor Andre’ Sims is unopposed, as is attorney and leasing manager Joseph Goldstein in Ward 7.

In Marietta school board filings, incumbent Jeff DeJarnett is unopposed in Ward I. He is a real estate managing broker.

In the race for Ward 2, Jason Waters is leaving the board to run for the Marietta City Council Ward 2 seat. That has opened the door for a couple of possible successors; Nicole Tirado, who works in technical program management and Laura Holder,  whose occupation was not provided.

School board Ward 3 finds a pair of candidates tossing their proverbial hats into the ring; Jeff Collins, whose occupation is listed as sales, and Matt Courtoy, a digital marketing director. They seek to replace the retiring A.B.Almy.

Incumbent Jaillene Hunter is running unopposed for the Ward 4 seat. She’s director of the Georgia Press association.

Incumbent Ward 5 member and nonprofit executive Angela Orange faces a challenge from Jesse D. Bonner Jr, who is retired.

With Ward 6 board member Kerry Minervini stepping away, Christina Rogers, a registered nurse, and realtor Tony Viola seek to win her seat.

In Ward 7, incumbent Irene Holly Berens is unopposed. She is retired.

ACWORTH

Longtime Mayor Tommy Allegood is running for re-election unopposed.

In the race for Post 4 Alderman, incumbent and retiree Tim Richardson faces a challenge from Kimberly Haase, who is the CEO of a concierge service company.

In the Post 5 aldermanic race, incumbent Tim Houston is unopposed.

AUSTELL

In Austell, all three council posts up for grabs will be contested races.

In the Post 1 at-large race, incumbent Melanie Marie Elder, a claims team manager, will square off against Jonathan Foster, an on-site representative.

In Council Ward 1, incumbent and tax accountant Marlin Lamar, Jr. ix being challenged by Derek Caffe,  a licensed general contractor and real estate broker.

In Ward 3, incumbent Meredith Adams, a senior operations manager, will contest for another term against Shawndra Williams, who is self-employed.

KENNESAW

In Kennesaw, one post is shaping up as a horse race while two other positions are unopposed. In the Council at-large Post 3 Race, Jonathon Bothers, a real estate broker, faces Donovan Giardina, a graduate research assistant. In at-large Post 4, optician Antonio Jones is running unopposed, as is Anthony Guiterrez-Leon in at-large Post 5.

MABLETON

Two out of the three posts open in Mableton drew multiple candidates. In council District 2, Dami Oladapo, the incumbent and a senior technology manager, faces Michael McNeely, a public safety executive.

In District 4, incumbent Patricia Auch, who works in the pharmaceutical area, faces a challenge from Cassandra Brown, a development director.

District 6 council member Debora Herndon is running for re-election unopposed. Her occupation is listed as legal support specialist.

POWDER SPRINGS

All three candidates for city council posts are running unopposed. They are Raja Antone in Ward 1, an IT program manager, retiree Doris Dawkins in Ward 2 and funeral director Dwayne Green in Ward 3. The latter two are incumbents