Said the wag, quoting the movie "The Godfather," Tumlin is taking Don Corleone's advice to "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
As the observer said, "Neither Goldstein nor Lewis is likely to be a key ally of Thunder's, but both are known to have big egos. Annette claims she isn't taken seriously and that she's often dismissed as a Goldstein clone because she votes with him so much."
While Goldstein likes to wheel and deal in the shadows, and at times has earned a reputation as the council's maverick, he also enjoys the limelight and is said to be "tickled to death" to be seated next to Thunder.
IN ALL NEW ADMINISTRATIONS there is the inevitable speculation about winners and losers in terms of power or perceived power. Such speculation was rife at City Hall after last night's swearing in.
Most often mentioned as top dog of Thunder's inner circle is longtime friend, neighbor and former Councilman Pete Waldrep, now director of development for the Marietta Housing Authority. Waldrep earlier served as Marietta school board chair, as did Tumlin.
"Nobody knows the ins and outs of Marietta better than Pete," said one observer. "Plus, Pete's only agenda is to help Thunder succeed."
Others who reportedly will have Thunder's ear: longtime friend and Traton Home founder and sometime golfing friend Bill Poston; law partner Hap Smith, the voice of the Marietta High Blue Devils and an "OM" of the first order; the Rev. Sam Storey, retired associate pastor of Marietta First United Methodist Church, where Tumlin is chairman of the board of Trustees and whose daughter, the vivacious Betsy Kelly, will be Tumlin's city hall secretary.
Thunder's son-in-law and father of his two granddaughters, attorney Ryan Patrick, has a wide circle of young Marietta friends that the new mayor says he will consult often. Others close to the mayor include Heath Garrett, Marietta lawyer/lobbyist and former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson; and Marietta school board chair Tony Fasola, to whom Tumlin will reportedly look for school board advice.
"Thunder has a wide circle of friends in the business community and he will rely on them more and not be as dependent as former Mayor Bill Dunaway was on City Manager Bill Bruton and his staff for advice," the observer said.
A SPECIAL SALUTE now to retired City of Marietta PR chief Audrey Griffies, who for the past year penned the weekly series of stories that celebrated the city's 175th birthday. Titled "Looking Back: Marietta Moments," the stories chronicled some of the notable events of the city's long history. Her research was based on the archives of the MDJ, the Marietta Museum of History and other sources. Among the conclusions that readers no doubt drew from the series was that Marietta is a great place to call home - both then and now.
WHO WILL THE CONTROVERSIAL Cobb school board elect as their chairman later this month? Traditionally, the vice chair moves up to become chairman, meaning the seat would go to Lynnda Crowder-Eagle.
But this board didn't follow tradition last year, preventing then-vice chairman Dr. John Crooks from becoming chair. Dr. John Abraham said at the time he could not in good conscience vote for board insider Crooks as chairman and the position conveniently went to Abraham, a self-styled reformer.
It's unknown who this board will elect as its chairman this year, but one thing's for sure: Crooks, Abraham and Holli Cash are all up for election in the July party primaries and November general election.
Abraham quietly has made known that he will not seek a second term in office and step off the board at the end of the year. Abraham angered many of his former supporters when he flip-flopped on one of his major campaign promises - for a later school-start date. He and member David Banks, who had made a similar pledge, both voted instead in favor of what is surely the earliest school-start date in county history, Aug. 2.
In other words, if you're going to break a campaign promise, don't just break it a little bit - break it a LOT.
MEANWHILE, CROOKS has angered a huge number of voters in his east Cobb post as well, to the point that a recall campaign is under way. He, too, has told confidants he doesn't plan to run again, either. Neither Crooks nor Abraham has made any public statement of their plans or reasons for not running, but most likely, they both realize they would have little chance of winning re-election to the board.
Cash is expected to have stiff opposition in the Democratic Primary. She is a self described "cheerleader" of the school system and has yet to vote against a single proposal from Superintendent Fred Sanderson. She went so far as to give him a hug and kiss when his contract was extended, and even came to one meeting last year sporting a cheerleader outfit and carrying pom-poms.
Should Cash, Crooks and Abraham end up being one-term board members they have no one but themselves to blame for rubber-stamping the super's nearly every wish.
Crooks and Cash won their seats by defeating Kathie Johnstone and Curt Johnston, running on a campaign of bringing an end to the rubber stamping that marked their tenure during the superintendency of Joe Redden. Moreover, Abraham's predecessor, Laura Searcy, another Redden rubber stamp, opted not to run against Abraham rather than be defeated, as Johnstone and Johnston were. Thus, two of the Redden-era rubber stamps were defeated at the polls and a third avoided that route by not running. Now, two of the current rubber stamps on the board are not expected to run again and the third may face tough opposition this summer or fall.
It's a clear reminder that siding with the super and administrators over the parents of Cobb County is usually the kiss of death for political careers.
AS FOR THE COMING Jan. 13 vote for chairman, it's believed the front-runners for the job are Crowder-Eagle and Crooks, with Abraham likely representing the swing vote.
Whoever is elected will have to do quite a bit of "fence-mending" with the public, much of which is still upset about the 2009 doings of what is perceived as an out-of-touch board. Parents are still upset about the vote to junk the "A, B, C ..." report cards in favor of "3, 2, 1 ..." Standards-Based Report Cards, which many critics say dumbs down the system by encouraging mediocrity. And many are ticked over the vote to start the school year practically in mid-summer. And many others recall the way the board and superintendent mishandled last year's decision to slash more than 1,000 stops from school-bus routes - a move that communicated to the public just days before school started.
TWO ANNUAL holiday events were well attended again last week. Helen Hines hosted the 25th annual Mountain Top Boys Home holiday party again at her Marietta home. Attending were her husband, Georgia Supreme Justice Harris Hines, and lifelong Cobb activist Carolyn Cobb Anderson. The staff of the Boys Home refers to Mrs. Hines as "St. Helen" because of her continuous help to the home, an alternative placement for troubled teenage boys at Sugar Valley. ...
TICKETS REMAIN for the "Boots, Bluejeans & Country Music" fundraiser Saturday sponsored by the Cobb YWCA and 100-Plus Women Against Domestic Violence.
Tickets for the Jim Miller Park event are $35 per person or $50 per couple, with food by Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Que and music by the Bill Atkins Band featuring Pat Head. Call Babe Atkins-Byrne at (770) 425-8122 or babeatkinsbyrne@yahoo.com.
MORE EVENTS: New Mayor Tumlin and Councilman Anthony Coleman will be the guests of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on Jan. 10 at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Ceremony. ... The City of Marietta Board of Education will have its annual retreat at the Marietta Conference Center Jan. 29-30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...
THE APTLY NAMED Frostbite 5K Road Race is Saturday at the north metro campus of Chattahoochee Technical College, off of I-75 and Glade Road in Acworth. It is the main fundraiser for the athletic department of Chattahoochee Tech. Online registration is $20 and runs through Wednesday. Visit www.frostbite5K.com. ... The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre will present Shen Yun Divine Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 16 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance and music in a colorful show. Visit www.cobbenergycentre.com.
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