Health & Fitness
Fight to Reform Cobb EMC Heating Up
Read about needed action from Cobb EMC members in the wake of an expected Georgia Supreme Court ruling on June 13 that could allow long-suspended elections for the co-op Board of Directors to resume.
One of the results of the numerous lawsuits brought against the Cobb EMC Board of Elections was the courts’ suspension of the annual election for the Board. The result has been a Board that many members consider as increasingly out of touch. Prime example: The continuing saga of former CEO Dwight Brown. He was indicted by a Cobb grand jury on 31 counts of theft and racketeering. The indictment was quashed by a legal technicality, but the Cobb District Attorney is appealing the ruling.
Meanwhile, Brown early this year was forced into early retirement by an earlier court ruling. In an act considered by many members as flagrant defiance of their wishes, the same Directors who had endorsed Brown’s policies that were largely overturned by the courts immediately brought him back as a consultant—and announced their intention to rehire him as CEO. The result: another lawsuit is making its way through the courts—at members’ expense. Yes, so long as Brown claims that his decisions were legitimate business decisions, members will continue to pay his legal fees. Brown’s chief lawyer, of course, is Roy Barnes.
A ray of sunshine is now on the horizon. The Georgia Supreme Court is due to issue a decision today on the lawsuit that has held up elections. Cross our fingers, the electoral process will resume. Two immediate points:
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One, the Cobb Alliance for Smart Energy (CASE), an independent Cobb-based grassroots movement, has for two years led the fight to get reform candidates elected to the Cobb EMC Board. CASE is meeting Tuesday, June 14, to engage members in the steps needed to ensure not only that elections are held but that they result in the ouster of the current Directors. Rib Ranch, 7:00 pm (6:00 if you want dinner and informal socializing), 2063 Canton Rd., Marietta 30066. See PATCH events for details.
Two, one of the candidates that CASE endorses, Eric Broadwell, has just had a write-up in his fraternity’s newsletter. Check it out! http://betapitke.org/eric-broadwell-runs-for-cobb-emc-board