Cobb's Richardson hit with ethics complaint over redistricting advocacy group

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·3 min read

Jan. 26—An ethics complaint has been filed against Commissioner Jerica Richardson over an alleged conflict of interest in the county's ongoing redistricting controversy.

Filed Monday by Debbie Fisher, who is listed as vice chairman of Party and Grassroots Development on the Cobb Republican Party's website, the complaint accuses Richardson of violating county rules in voting twice last year to support the county's home rule redistricting effort, which is aimed at redrawing the commission district boundaries to keep Richardson in office.

Filed with the Cobb Board of Ethics, the complaint asks for a judge to void those two votes by Richardson. Doing so would leave the split of the vote on the home rule effort at 2-2 between the board's Democrats and Republicans.

The complaint takes aim at a political group — For Which It Stance — which was created last year by Richardson and east Cobb's Mindy Seger to support her bid to keep her seat. Richardson's interest in the group means she not only had a personal conflict of interest in the redistricting votes, Fisher alleges, but a financial one as well.

For Which It Stance was formed in March 2022, about five weeks after the Republican-sponsored district map which drew Richardson out of her seat was filed in the General Assembly. Richardson is listed as the nonprofit's registered agent, while Seger is its executive director.

Since the Board of Commissioners' three Democrats began their home rule effort in the fall, the group has called on residents to support Richardson, solicited donations on its website, and is selling branded merchandise (T-shirts, tote bags and the like). And on October 11 and 25, when the Board of Commissioners took its two votes to assert home rule and redraw the lines, audience members bore signs from the nonprofit.

Fisher provided screenshots of the group's website (forwhichitstance.com), noting it advertises "Special Access to Elected Officials and Other Opportunities" as a benefit of membership, which Fisher alleges is a "pay to play" system.

Seger declined to comment on the complaint, and Richardson could not be reached by the MDJ on Thursday.

The allegations around For Which It Stance were previously raised by Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill, who said Richardson should have disclosed the nonprofit when the board met in executive session last year to discuss the home rule challenge.

In an interview earlier this month, Richardson told the MDJ disclosure of the nonprofit was "not required, but just to be frank, (Gambrill) was certainly aware that I was building an educational component," referring to the nonprofit.

Richardson added she believed executive session wasn't the right forum to bring it up.

"That's not necessarily an appropriate conversation for executive session. That is something that is shared as personal privilege, which I do my best to be as upfront as possible with my fellow commissioners," she said.

Richardson will have 30 days to reply to the complaint, and within 60 days the Board of Ethics will set an initial open meeting for an investigatory review of the evidence, according to Board of Ethics attorney Lynn Rainey. A final hearing date will be set if the board finds "specific, substantiated evidence from a credible source(s) exists to support a reasonable belief that there has been a violation."