Politics & Government
East Cobb Incumbents Prevail
Parsons and Dollar defeat challengers to keep legislative seats; Banks may have avoided a school board runoff.
Two longtime East Cobb state representatives brushed back rare Republican Party challenges in Tuesday's primary elections, while an incumbent school board member appears to have avoided a runoff.
State. Rep. Don Parsons defeated JoEllen Smith to hold on to the District 44 seat he has held since 1994.
State Rep. Matt Dollar defeated Cynthia Rozzo and Nick Johnson to win the District 45 race and return to the Georgia General Assembly for a sixth term.
Find out what's happening in East Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
David Banks recieved 50.18 percent of the vote in the Post 5 GOP primary for the Cobb Board of Education against two challengers, but election results were not complete early Wednesday.
Banks, who represents portions of the Pope, Lassiter and Wheeler high school districts, received 7,167 votes, according to the latest returns posted shortly after midnight. Lisa Hanson got 5,259 votes, or 36.8 percent, while Stephanie Henry received 1,858 votes, or 13 percent.
Find out what's happening in East Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Banks and Hanson clashed often during the primary. Banks lashed out at the Cobb County Association of Educators for . She accused Banks of violating her privacy by inquiring about her parental activities at Lassiter with school officials; the allegations resulted in school board member Kathleen Angelucci calling for Banks .
Parsons, chairman of the Georgia House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee, received 3,974 votes, or 60 percent, to 2,627 votes, or 40 percent, for Smith, a Tea Party supporter who mounted a high-profile campaign. There was no Democratic candidate. (View updated results here.)
Dollar didn't need a runoff to retain his seat in District 45, getting 5,680 votes, or 58 percent. Rozzo, publisher of the EAST COBBER magazine, but collected 3,146 votes, or 32 percent. Johnson had 951 votes, or nine percent. No Democratic candidate qualified in November's elections. (View updated results here.)
East Cobb office holders unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary were State Sen. Judson Hill, State Rep. Sharon Cooper and District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott.
None will have Democratic opposition in November, so Tuesday's results cemented their re-elections.
Return to East Cobb Patch Wednesday for the latest updates on election results, reactions and more.
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