By: L. Cramer
In Cobb County State House District 42, which covers areas of Marietta, Smyrna and Vinings a race is heating up between a self-proclaimed socialist and a conservative, which could redefine the political makeup of the entire county, and potentially the state of Georgia.
As we head into November, District 42 will see a new State House Representative no matter who wins the bid; but the question is: will it be for the worse or better of the residents of Cobb County?
Gabriel Sanchez, a waiter and Democratic Socialist of America chapter organizer and field lead, beat out Democrat incumbent Teri Anulewicz in a surprising unseating during the May primary. Opposition to Anulewicz claimed her lawyer husband had “represented a defendant in Fulton County’s election interference case” and she lost the race under the guise that somehow she and her husband were election deniers.
Sanchez has been a loud proponent of the “Stop Cop City” movement, an 85-acre Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, and has proudly railed against the complex for some time. This is the same complex where riots broke out in 2023, with Molotov cocktails thrown at police and police cars set on fire by those who oppose the facility; these riots resulted in 60+ arrests.
In a recent Marietta Daily Journal blurb in the “Around Town” section, Sanchez and his volunteers are pictured with a sign that reads “Workers of the World Unite” a slogan that is adopted from the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. It’s worth noting that the bottom of the sign reads “Democratic Socialists of America” as well.
This may be my opinion here, but this cannot be good for Cobb County, and certainly cannot be good for the state of Georgia.
Meanwhile, Diane Jackson, the Republican candidate, is running as the logical choice for Cobb County under a much more reasonable platform and certainly not under an idea that would completely reform everything upon which the community was built.
Diane Jackson is a 25 year resident of Cobb County, having spent 21 years building a local business and contributing to the economy. The values she brings to the people of District 42, and the state, are desires to lower the cost of living, lower crime rates and making Smyrna and Marietta a better place to live.
This is an outstanding race, because the favored incumbent lost to a socialist whose supporting organization wants to essentially change everything about what makes Cobb Country great. Defunding the police has proven to be more dangerous for citizens which is why places like Portland, Oregon, have had to refund the police after taking all the resources away from departments because they saw crime rates significantly rise.
Cobb County cannot, and will not, survive a socialist representative. It is up to the voters to have hard conversations with one another about who is the right choice and not who is the party choice.
We cannot continue to vote along party lines if it means fundamentally changing everything that we love about our communities. Understanding policy, motivation and personal character are what historically drove voters to the polls – maybe we should get back to that and make the right choice for our cities, counties and states.
