THE CANDIDATE FIELD for the Marietta school board elections this fall is steadily growing.

Robert "Bobby" Thanepohn has announced plans to run for the Ward 1 seat being vacated by Scott Allen. Thanepohn and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of three children who attend the city schools, and he is the former co-president of the Marietta Charter School PTA.

He attended East Georgia College, The University of Georgia and is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. He was a Russian linguist in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps late in the Cold War era and now is an Internet professional for CryoLife in Kennesaw. He is a member of and volunteers for the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta, where his wife chairs the Atlanta Buddy Walk. Mrs. Thanepohn also serves on the Dunleith Elementary School Governance Team. They are active with Cub Scout Pack 277 at First United Methodist of Marietta.

Already announced in Ward 1 is investment trader Logan Weber, a 1997 graduate of Marietta High.

The latest candidate to announce for Ward 5 is Doug Martin, 56, a 1972 graduate of Marietta High School, whose 16-year-old twin son and daughter attend there now. Incumbent Ward 5 board member Jeannie Carter has announced plans to step down this fall after 16 years on the board.

Martin, whose great-grandmother, Lucinda Daniel, was a slave in Marietta, attended the segregated Lemon Street Elementary School where Carter was a teacher. He said it's important to continue the African-American presence on the school board with Carter stepping down at the end of the year.

A graduate of Norfolk State University and a former Marine, Martin has held a number of jobs over the years, from galley manager for the Naval Air Station to campaign staffer for the late Hugh Grogan, Marietta's first black councilman, to serving as a custodian with the Marietta City Schools from 2000 to 2006. He created a marketing firm, Diversified Educational Motivational Marketing, in 2007, which presently occupies his time.

Already announced for the Ward 5 seat is Stuart Fleming. Fleming, 32, works in strategy and operations for Coca-Cola Enterprises. He and his wife, Kim Fleming, who has a Ph.D. and works with SunTrust, are expecting their first child. Fleming's sister, Jennifer Bartlett, teaches at Davis Elementary, and his father, James Fleming, Ph.D., is a former president of the Kennesaw State University Foundation.

Ward 6 board member Tom Smith, like Carter and Allen, is stepping down off the board this fall. Two candidates have surfaced to succeed Smith. Thomas Cheater is general manager of North American operations at BT Global, a telecom services provider. His twins attend the Marietta Sixth Grade Academy. And Michelle Cooper Kelly is running as well. She is a manager with Anheuser-Bush with a son at the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics and a daughter at Sawyer Road Elementary.

The remaining four school board members plan to seek re-election in the Nov. 3 non-partisan municipal voting. They are Chairman Tony Fasola (Ward 2); Jill Mutimer (Ward 4); Randy Weiner, (Ward 3); and Irene Berens (Ward 7).

UNOPPOSED MARIETTA MAYORAL CANDIDATE and former state Rep. Steve "Thunder" Tumlin knows a thing or two about how hard it is to please everybody, thanks to his service in the Georgia House from 2004 to 2008.

Tumlin got an introduction to city controversy when he announced in Wednesday's MDJ that he would vote in favor of the controversial $25 million parks bond on the November ballot. Tumlin said he received a wave of negative feedback for taking that position, mostly from people saying a recession is not the time to ask people to approve higher taxes.

Some council members say that unless the council comes up with specifics in the next couple weeks on how to spend the $25 million, there is no chance of it passing. Yet City Hall watchers say that if the council couldn't agree on a parks master plan after several years of debate, it's unlikely it will agree in the coming weeks on how to spend the money.

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DOES GOV. SONNY PERDUE ALREADY HAVE A POST-GOVERNORSHIP GIG lined up for himself? Yes, writes Gary Reese for Insider Advantage this week:

“Rumors have been swirling in recent weeks over the Board of Regents and what is said to be a plan for some bold moves just before Gov. Sonny Perdue leaves office. As the storyline goes, Perdue — who is joined at the hip with UGA President Michael Adams — would consider being named by the Board of Regents as president of the University of Georgia at the end of his term. In exchange for the creation of an open seat via the resignation of Adams, Adams would then be in strong consideration to become the system’s new chancellor. Sound crazy? Well ... so did borrowing $21 million in the middle of a world financial meltdown. But Perdue pulled that one off didn’t he?

“But wouldn’t the new governor decide those matters? Not if the constitution means anything. Of all the board’s current members, only one has a term that ends in 2010. In fact, most of the members have terms that last well into the next governor’s first term in office. If they are willing to risk not being reappointed by the next governor, they could pull off an Adams-Perdue move with very little difficulty.

“And a Perdue presidency at UGA would not be unheard of. High-level elected officials have gone on to serve as presidents of other colleges and universities in other states in past years.

“Of course, good luck to the Adams-Perdue team in getting any funding for projects that might tickle their fancy. Most of the current gubernatorial candidates either have a bad relationship with the current governor or no relationship at all. And as for Adams — he’s had more lives than any cat could ever hope for but there is no love lost between him and most House Republicans and almost all legislative Democrats. And Lord help the pair if Roy Barnes should somehow make it back into office. It really wouldn’t matter what the constitution might say; the Regents, Adams, and Perdue would all be working at a university alright — the University of Phoenix online!”

One longtime UGA supporter, getting wind of the Insider Advantage item, told AT on Monday that if Perdue does in fact land the president’s job there, “I’m going to switch my loyalties to Georgia Tech!”

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ALTHOUGH MEMBERS of the Cobb County Convention & Visitors Bureau board say today’s meeting will involve possibly merging the bureau with the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority Hall to better “streamline” functions, those who have watched the 10-year tug-of-war over funding of the CVB believe the talks will be the beginning of the end for the bureau.

The CVB, which promotes tourism in Cobb, gets roughly $1 million per year in funding from the county’s hotel/motel tax collections. Observers say the Cobb-Marietta authority, which distributes those tax collections, has been eyeing the money to use on its Cobb Galleria Centre, where area officials believe the sun sets within a two-mile radius of, and its most recent development, the nearby $145 million Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.

Michael Knowles, CVB board chairman and president and CEO of Northwest Bank & Trust, and member Robert Weatherford, an alderman for the city of Acworth, admit a merger of the CVB with the authority would eliminate the CVB board, creating one body to govern both entities. Yet they say the merger would not do away with the CVB, which budgets an eight-member staff. Funding would still be available for it, they said.

However, people familiar with the scene say the merger would kill the CVB as part of a power grab by the Cobb-Marietta Authority — which is lead by chairman Earl Smith and includes Cobb Chairman Sam Olens, Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway, Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon, and others.

The public meeting will be today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest, 200 Interstate North Parkway.

IT’S ALMOST A SELL-OUT for the Cobb Library Foundation’s “Hatitude: A Hat Event” on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Georgian Club, reports Foundation director Donna Espy. Just a few tickets remain at $100 for a night of fashion, food and fund-raising to benefit the Cobb Library System. We’re told that even a few Cobb government leaders will don hats and fashion accessories at the elegant event, which includes a reception, seated dinner, jazz entertainment and silent auction. For tickets go to www.cobbcat.org or call (770) 528-2196.

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THE “CE CELEBRATION” at 6 p.m. Sept. 25 at the KSU Center will honor outstanding instructors, volunteers and community leaders at the school. The evening will include awards, fun and food.

Restaurants interested in taking part should contact Sue King at (770) 432-6258.