Atlanta suburb's push for cityhood mired in confusion, mayoral candidate says
Mableton, one of America's newest cities, hasn't even held the election for its first mayor, but residents are already pushing to be excluded from the town.
Mableton, Georgia, could soon become one of America's newest cities, but even before its first election, some residents already want to split, a mayoral candidate told Fox News.
Residents of unincorporated southern Cobb County near Atlanta voted in November to form the city of Mableton, giving it its own mayor and city council after an election later this month. But some residents at the time didn't understand the ballot question's phrasing and are now pushing to be excluded before the local government is even formed.
"On the November election, we had it on the ballot for forming the city of Mableton, and it did pass by a slim margin," Aaron Carman, a longtime resident and mayoral candidate for the city, told Fox News. "There was just a lot of confusion around the ballot and the way it was worded."
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The ballot question asked if residents supported the creation of Mableton but it didn't indicate which unincorporated parts of Cobb County would be included in the new city.
"That election was stolen! All the people who voted yes but didn’t know what the heck they were voting for," a woman yelled at a town hall discussing the new city in February.
Some residents called for an election do-over to vote on cityhood again.
Cobb County residents voted to create the city of Mableton in November. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
"It didn't say ‘you are a part of the proposed boundaries of the city of Mableton. Do you support this, yes or no?'" Carman, who faces three mayoral challengers, told Fox News. "It could have been a lot simpler and clearer in the communication to the residents."
"There's people that have no idea that they were even included in the city of Mableton because of their addresses being neighboring cities," he said.
Cobb County will continue to provide some services for the new city, though Mableton, population 42,000, will be responsible for others.
Cityhood supporters wanted to ensure their tax dollars were spent locally and rather than throughout Cobb County, according to Carman. Opponents, meanwhile, were happy with the services the county provided and were concerned they'd face higher taxes to bankroll new town infrastructure.
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Another neighborhood a few miles away, Buckhead, recently attempted to secede from Atlanta over crime and safety concerns. Residents pushed for a private police force to protect the neighborhood.
The Georgia Senate rejected the neighborhood's proposal for cityhood last week.
CEO of the Buckhead City Committee, Bill White, unveils new Buckhead City signage. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Carman said Mableton will be officially formed after a mayor and city council are elected later this month. After that, local leaders can address demands from residents who wish to be left out of the new city.
"Once those officials are in place, we will officially be the city of Mableton and start transitioning services away from Cobb County here in metro Atlanta," he told Fox News.
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"We have to look forward. The election happened," he said. "Cityhood passed."
Carman said he hopes to bring the community together and show residents "what the city could be."
To watch the full interview with Carman, click here.
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