AROUND TOWN: Cristadoro fallout, Sam Foster's watching, Dooley's argument

More than a dozen people filled the boardroom at Thursday night's Cobb Board of Education meeting, carrying signs calling for Vice Chair John Cristadoro to resign and for an audit of the district.

Last month, Cristadoro settled a March 2024 lawsuit filed against him and his marketing and advertising company, Alliance Activation, agreeing to pay $225,000, plus interest, to a former client, a Tampa-based life insurance agency.

Per the settlement, Cristadoro admitted to receiving $250,000 from the insurance agency in 2023 for an advertising campaign, but instead used the funds to cover his own operating expenses and credit card statements.

Board Chair David Chastain addressed the situation at Thursday's afternoon work session, stating the board had "no authority" to take action on Cristadoro's conduct — a statement sharply criticized by multiple public commenters.

During the remarks, Cristadoro sat stone-faced beside Chastain, only reacting when board members Becky Sayler and Leroy Tre' Hutchins interjected.

As Chastain referred to the statement with the word "our," the board's Democrats objected, noting they were not privy to the statement beforehand. Sayler wrote on Facebook Friday she had not seen or heard the statement in advance and did not agree with what was said.

"Prior to this meeting, I initiated the process to call for a hearing concerning a possible violation of the Board Code of Ethics by a member of the board," she said. "Unfortunately, it did not have the support of enough board members to move forward. You, the community, deserve board members who are informed, thoughtful and guided by doing what is best for students. I'm sorry that not enough of my fellow board members saw this situation with the same urgency and morals that so many of us did."

Though Chastain argued it was "a personal business matter" occurring "before the member joined the board," Heather Tolley-Bauer, co-founder of Watching the Funds Cobb, argued otherwise.

"This wasn't ancient history. This was happening while he was campaigning, voting and chairing the Audit Committee, which means there is no daylight between his personal fraud and his public service," she said.

Cristadoro announced his candidacy in May 2023. The misuse of funds occurred between April and July 2023, according to court documents. He was elected in November 2024 after defeating Democrat Laura Judge, who has also been involved with the Watching the Funds group.

As a candidate, Cristadoro touted his business acumen.

"As the agency (Cristadoro's company) has grown into a multimillion dollar business, John is now ready to bring those same skill sets to help guide and lead the Cobb County School District," a bio on his campaign site reads.

Other speakers emphasized that the line between public and private life becomes blurred once someone chooses to become a public servant or even a candidate for elected office.

"Everything gets documented and everything gets scrutinized," public commenter Steven Lang said.

Earlier in the day, Chastain said: "This Board of Education does not exceed the authority we have been given by exploring the personal lives of our board members in the same way we do not involve ourselves in the personal lives of our students, staff and parents."

To some, the chair's claims were ironic, considering several district educators remain on administrative leave for comments made after the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The district still has not shared the details of any of these posts.

Speaking on behalf of a Cobb educator she said was scared of retaliation, Barbara Powell-Schager said, "When a teacher expresses their personal opinion about a public figure, they are disciplined. But when a board member misappropriates funds in their personal business, that is personal."

With audience members holding signs saying, "High Stakes Call for Higher Standards. Cristadoro Must Go" and "You must restore trust. Audit Cobb Now," another commenter said an audit would be the "only thing that would clear this board of suspicion and prove that (Cristadoro's) private misdoings were private and did not cross over."

A Change.org petition titled, "Hold Cobb County School Leaders Accountable — Call for John Cristadoro's Resignation" has received 519 signatures as of noon Friday. The petition also demands the school board "adopt a transparency and disclosure policy requiring all current and future board members to report any active lawsuits, bankruptcies or business conflicts" and fully cooperate with any state-level investigations should they arise.

Cristadoro did not speak on the matter publicly, but defended the situation in a statement shared by the district Thursday night, saying he "previously owned a small business that, like many others, struggled and ultimately failed during the challenges of COVID."

"I cooperated fully with clients, partners, and the court to resolve all matters responsibly, including recently selling my home," he said. "It was a difficult and humbling experience, but it was a business failure, not a criminal act. I'm grateful for the lessons learned. It reminded me of what matters most: my family, my community, and the responsibility I have to the students and families of East Cobb. As a parent and a community member, I understand how important it is for our schools to provide every child with the opportunity to learn and succeed. That remains my focus as a board member. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to serve, and I take that role seriously."

POLICE CHIEF UPDATE: Following the Around Town column published in Wednesday's MDJ, which outlines Chair Lisa Cupid's account of the Cobb police chief hiring flap, AT heard from Commissioner Keli Gambrill.

Gambrill objected to the column saying she had confirmed former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields was in the running for the job. Gambrill said she confirmed no such thing.

In the Sept. 28 edition of Around Town, AT asked Gambrill her thoughts on the Shields candidacy.

"It goes back to the interview. You know the interview process, we had three candidates, and it goes back to the interview, and it's kind of hard to explain because you had to be sitting there. But to me, there was a chip on her shoulder compared to the other two candidates."

MAYOR'S RACE: During public comment at Marietta's Wednesday City Council meeting, Sam Foster, who challenged Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin in the recent election, spoke to the council.

"It was a very interesting and heated election. It was fun," Foster said, laughing. "Was not fun at all, but we did it. We're on the other side."

Tumlin won the race by the skin of his teeth with a margin of 89 votes. Tumlin received 6,764, or 50.3% of the vote, to Foster's 6,675, or 49.7%.

Foster said it was an interesting election cycle.

"You know, people ask me, why did I do that? That was a little bit crazy. I'm 24, and the whole time going through the experience, the reason I come to these council meetings, even after losing, is because the main thing that is driving me, the thing that is pulling my strings, if you will, is the desire to see my community improve. The desire to see the things that I want to see. The desire to see Marietta improve in a way that I think is beneficial to everybody who lives here," Foster said.

Earlier during the council meeting, a concern over housing affordability was brought up during a public hearing for a land rezoning for a 79 single-family home development that was ultimately tabled.

"We've heard a lot of discussion today about affordable housing. I know that is the great debate," Foster said. "Bike and pedestrian safety. We also have the public transit question, which I know we all have different opinions about."

He said there are areas in the city's comprehensive plan where the city could be doing a better job.

"And, clearly, at least 49.7% of people agree. So, whatever we take away from this election cycle, whatever you take away from this moment going forward, I would love to see us be more responsive. Just follow through on a lot of the things that we've talked about in the past and just be more open-minded," he said.

"Marietta is changing. We're going to continue to change and we should be working with the people who are going to be here for that change. I know some of you are term-limited, so we can pass the torch to the next generation and make a great city even greater," he said.

Foster congratulated the mayor and all candidates who won their races, and said he is not going anywhere and looks forward to working with the council in the future.

MORE ON DOOLEY: Last week, the MDJ ran a Q&A with U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley.

The former football coach has received Gov. Brian Kemp's backing and is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat.

To win the primary he'll have to defeat two opponents: U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter of St. Simons and Mike Collins of Jackson.

Some interesting moments left out of that Q&A include the pitch Dooley gave to a couple dozen people at a "coffee and conversations" event at a hotel in Cumberland.

Dooley was speaking a couple days after Republicans lost two seats on Georgia's Public Service Commission. The GOP struggled in other races around the country, too.

Employing a football metaphor, Dooley argued that he can "stay on offense" against Ossoff, whereas the two congressmen he's running against will have to defend Donald Trump.

"He's (Ossoff) going to have $200 (or) $250 million to make it a referendum on Trump and all the congressmen who've … voted 100% behind the administration," Dooley said. "And so they're going to have to play defense. And we saw how that worked out … a few nights ago.

"It's not going to be easy. And so you need somebody up there who doesn't have that record. He can go make fun of my coaching record. I mean, lot of material there. But he can't make fun of my politics."

Trump has not yet endorsed anyone in the race. Dooley recalled meeting with the president two months ago.

"I'm not asking for your support," he told Trump. "All I'm saying is give me a chance to earn it. OK, don't come weighing in on our election in Georgia, it becomes Trump versus Kemp. … And then we all lose again. And so if you just would sit on the sidelines and let me prove to you I'm the best candidate to win, you're going to be wanting to support me when the year turns out."

Dooley also said his work as a college coach, and the recruiting it entails, gave him an ability to reach people of all backgrounds.

"If you don't have an ability to connect with every group out there, whether it's white, suburban mom, Black community, Hispanic, Indian, Asian, Jewish community, all these groups that represent a very important part of our state, if you can't connect with them, you're just not going to win statewide," Dooley said.

One attendee, Raj Patel, who immigrated to the U.S., asked about Dooley's stance on immigration.

"I was given the opportunity through the process of amnesty. … I think I've contributed to this society, and I have passionate love for my community and this country, and there are many like myself," Patel said. "How do we not just blanket this and say, 'Send them back,' but find the right balance and allow people to make this country their home?"

Immigration is important for the U.S. economy, Dooley said. Dooley's wife is a doctor in rural Georgia. Many of her colleagues are foreign-born.

"We got to do it the right way, and we can't have people just coming in unchecked," Dooley said.

He added, "We can't live in this world where we become this anti-immigrant country, because we're only going to go backwards. … We want people to come over here who believe in America, they want to assimilate to our ideals."

Dooley also took a football related question from Pat Gartland, a former member of the Cobb Board of Elections who played at Alabama.

"What are you going to do about NIL (name, image and likeness rules) and the (transfer) portal?" Gartland asked, prompting laughs from other attendees. "I was happy to get my two checks, $15 each, for laundry money, and then I'd go up to Druid Hills hospital and sell my blood for $20."

"It's a great question," Dooley responded. "... NIL really isn't the main problem. I mean, if we're being honest, we've been paying the good players all the time. The only difference is now, we're paying the bad players, too.

"… To me, the biggest issue is the transfer portal. And on one hand, it's really created a lot of excitement, if we're being honest, because it's spread the talent around, games are closer.

"But I go back to why I love football. In football, when you got a player in, you made it hard. And there was a lot of failure, there was a lot of hurt, and the young people learn how to start overcoming adversity, working hard, even though you're not getting the results you want, learning how to play for something bigger than you, being a good teammate. And the biggest concern I have is, the minute our young people get frustrated at a school, they just go hop to the next school."

Congress, he said, needs to protect the NCAA.

"Every time they make a rule, one of the member institutions, or the players, sues them. … In the NFL, you have a collective bargaining agreement, and so they pass a rule, it's enforceable. Well, the NCAA passes a rule, and they can just sue them. They go to court. And so they need some protection from all those lawsuits, and they need some uniformity in a lot of these NIL rules."