Tumlin reflects on Marietta's history, touts new developments in State of the City address
Dec. 2—MARIETTA — Before Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin delivered his State of the City address Thursday, he was introduced with a song befitting his nickname.
Marietta city Attorney Daniel White played the AC/DC track "Thunderstruck" as he explained how Tumlin brought Marietta through hard times, from beginning his tenure in 2010 in the wake of a recession to confronting COVID-19 during his third term.
Tumlin charted Marietta's history going back 188 years to begin his speech. He then caught attendees up on an array of present-day statistics, including the average price of a home in the city ($310,000) and the percentage of Mariettans who graduated high school (89%) and college (44%).
Tumlin said the poverty rate in Marietta is 14%, something he said Marietta city officials work to address every day.
Tumlin also noted the newest addition to Cobb's cities has taken from Marietta a title it held for nearly two centuries.
"After 182 years of being the largest city in this beautiful county, we're now the second, thanks to our welcomed newest city, Mableton," Tumlin said.
Tumlin said Marietta has 61,000 residents, while Mableton is set to have more than 75,000. Voters in south Cobb approved the creation of Mableton in the Nov. 8 election.
Tumlin also gave a nod to Marietta City Schools — he is a graduate of Marietta High School, and six of his grandchildren are students in the city school system.
It is Marietta's thriving business scene, Tumlin said, that carried it through difficult times like the Great Recession.
One of Marietta's most noticeable businesses, the KFC home to the Big Chicken, got some attention during Tumlin's speech. He gave out four plush Big Chickens to audience members who answered trivia questions about past Marietta leaders.
One of the winners was Marietta Board of Education Member Jason Waters. After the speech, Waters praised Tumlin and the progress he has overseen as mayor.
"I think Marietta's going in the right direction and Thunder's doing a good job," Waters said.
Tumlin also highlighted developments proposed by city staff and adopted by the City Council over the previous year, including a new mental health initiative for public safety officials, an upgraded public safety training center, the Rottenwood Creek Trail set to connect Kennesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochee River, and a disc golf course in the works at Wildwood Park, across from Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
Tumlin said it makes sense Money.com listed Marietta on its 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2022, one of two Georgia cities, along with Atlanta, to make the list.
He acknowledged the activity around the Marietta Square and the city's safe neighborhoods, thriving businesses, plentiful educational offerings, strong museum culture and more than 100 churches as he concluded his address.
"I think our city has always been visionary," Tumlin said.
