Cobb County voters on Tuesday voted from office the incumbent chairman who negotiated a deal to move the Atlanta Braves from downtown Atlanta to the Smyrna area.
Mike Boyce picked up 63.9 percent of the vote to Tim Lee’s nearly 36.1 percent. A total of 39,510 voters cast ballots yesterday.
“I want to emphasize this — it’s never been about the Braves. They are a business and they did what they had to do for their shareholders. The issue was transparent and open government and transparency, and this was never brought to the people in a way that reflected that,” WSB-TV quoted Boyce as saying.
“I’m happy for the trust that the people of Cobb County has put in me by electing me as the new chairman,” the Marietta Daily Journal quoted Boyce as saying. “But I’m not sure if I’m happier for my volunteers, who put in so much work during this campaign.”
Many pundits saw the election as a referendum on the Braves moving to Cobb County for the stare of the 2017 season. Many residents are upset they had no say in the decision that leaves taxpayers on the hook for upwards of $400 million.
“I think voters are expressing a dissatisfaction with what they believe to be true,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Lee as saying. He added the deal may be “the most beneficial economic project for decades to come” for Cobb, according to the newspaper.
