Photo above: District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield speaks at ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Chattahoochee RiverLands (Larry Johnson/Cobb County Courier)

By Mark Woolsey

Monique Sheffield is now officially on board for the next four years as District 4 Cobb County Commissioner.

Sheffield took her oath of office from Cobb State Court Judge Ashley Palmer Friday afternoon, in what she called an “intimate” ceremony featuring her mother, her husband and her administrative assistant.

“I wanted something low-key and a day with my mom since it was her birthday, “ she said, saying the date was chosen deliberately.

Four years ago, she added, she was sworn in on her father’s birthday.

She told the Courier in a later interview that she wanted to put a focus on health and wellness during her second term.

Four years ago, she says, she was meeting with representatives of Wellstar Cobb and “they shared some kind of disturbing news on mortality in certain census tracts in my district.” She was told that average lifespans in those tracts were five to eight years lower than in other parts of the county.

She noted pockets of “food deserts” in District 4, most notably along the Riverside Parkway corridor near Six Flags. She says the establishment of two new farmers’ markets in South Cobb is helping to fill gaps where not enough produce and healthy food are readily available, particularly to residents without vehicles. That work is expected to continue.

In addition to eating habits, she tied in such concerns as diabetes and high blood pressure, “the whole gamut,” as she put it. And mental health issues as well.

“That will be my emphasis the next four years, and I’m really excited about it because healthier communities are happier communities, and where people are healthier, they’re more civically engaged, “ Sheffield said.

Sheffield,  a Democrat and a realtor, won another term by handily beating Republican and video design engineer Matthew Hardwick in an April 29 special election. Her victory helped to cement continued Democratic control of the five-member body.

District 4 encompasses much of the South Cobb area, including the cities of Austell, Mableton, and Powder Springs.