Lisa Cupid was sworn in as Cobb Commissioner for South Cobb Friday. With a baby in one arm, she took the oath of office. Her husband held their other child. She is a Georgia Tech grad with four degrees and has extensive connections to all parts of her community. The articulate new Commissioner plans for greater transparency in her new job which means more town hall meetings and other ways to stay engaged with the community.
Ms. Cupid is also the third woman on the commission which makes it a majority female commission, which should be a better commission. As Mika Brzezinski said on the Morning Joe Show recently, women make better elected officials because they know how to listen.
Just being any elected woman does not always make for a better government. There are many exceptions to the rule. Ask anybody in South Cobb; Former Commissioner Annette Kesting was a mistake comparable to the election of party switching Commissioner Woody Thompson. Helen Gorham started off in office with a plan to relieve West Cobb traffic by moving it west to Paulding County and then somehow south to gridlocked I-20. On the other hand, Commissioner Bob Ott developed a fascination for floating trains that go from Kennesaw to Sandy Springs. Helen and Bob seem to have that Chromosome abnormality which in Republicans keeps them from using common sense on any matters relating to transportation.
Helen seems to be getting better. Bob will be the wiser is he pays attention to how the ladies on the commission listen and legislate based on the needs of all the citizens in the community. After all, Bob got his job thanks to former East Cobb Commissioner Joe Lee Thompson who did not have town hall meetings, just like Woody (no relation) in South Cobb.
