Voters reject East Cobb, Lost Mountain, Vinings cities

May 25—Voters gave three thumbs down to the Cobb County cityhood initiatives of East Cobb, Lost Mountain, and Vinings, all of which were defeated in Tuesday's elections.

East Cobb was crushed under a 46-point margin, as 16,289 voters opposed cityhood (73%) and 5,900 were in support (27%) as of Wednesday morning, when 100% of precincts were reporting.

The anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance declared victory late Tuesday night, conducting their own tally of the results which election workers post outside of precincts. Those early findings, giving the nays a clear lead, would mirror the final results.

"The community didn't just say no," East Cobb Alliance President Mindy Seger declared to fellow opponents as they raised their glasses, "they said hell no!"

Representatives for the East Cobb Cityhood Committee did not immediately return a request for comment.

In Lost Mountain, cityhood went down by a relatively narrower margin. Some 15,004 voters voted against the measure (58%) with 10,900 (42%) in support.

Cityhood opponent Dora Locklear told the MDJ shortly after midnight she'd felt "optimistic all day" about the outcome.

"I have been focused on the necessary steps, but free from attachment to the outcome. That has allowed us to stay focused, and to just keep trying to tell the rest of the story," Locklear said. "All of the facts pointed in one direction, and that was 'no.'"

Cityhood advocate State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, R-west Cobb, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Vinings was too close to call early Wednesday, but had landed firmly on the 'no' side by 9 a.m. The closest of any of the referendums, it was defeated by just 255 votes — a 10% margin in the small electorate. Supporters garnered 1,150 votes (45%) and opponents gathered 1,405 (55%).

All election results are unofficial until certified. Check back for updates.