Democrat Kevin Redmon has raised more than $100,000 to challenge four-term Republican incumbent JoAnn Birrell for the Cobb County Commission District 3 seat that represents unincorporated East Cobb, according to a campaign disclosure filed Aug. 7 with the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission.
Birrell, by comparison, has reported raising $50,839 with $32,007 cash on hand, East Cobb News reported Aug. 11.
The roughly 2-to-1 fundraising gap is unusual for Birrell, who has held the District 3 seat since 2010. The general election is Nov. 3.
Who is Kevin Redmon?
Redmon describes himself as a 30-year enterprise sales professional, not a career politician. He previously helped fight the East Cobb cityhood effort and served as Cabinet Lead on Commissioner Richardson's Community Cabinet, according to his Ballotpedia candidate profile. He also ran for the District 2 commission seat in 2024.
His campaign raised $30,525 in July alone, exceeding a $30,000 monthly goal. "Every dollar goes to work in District 3. Mail, walk cards, yard signs, doors," Redmon wrote on his campaign Facebook page Aug. 1, after the July books closed.
Redmon's platform centers on what he calls "An Affordable Cobb" with responsible budgeting, "A Safe Cobb" with competitive pay for police and fire, and "A United Cobb" focused on restoring the Community Cabinet.
What's at stake
District 3 covers unincorporated East Cobb, making this commissioner's seat the primary elected voice for residents without a city government. The race comes amid several high-profile county disputes:
The budget fight: Birrell dissented from the $1.41 billion FY2027 county budget adopted July 29 in a 3-2 party-line vote, with the board's three Democrats in favor and Birrell and Commissioner Keli Gambrill opposed. "There's too much that isn't critical now that we need to cut back on," Birrell said at the July 29 meeting, as we reported at the time.
The school tax lawsuit: The Cobb County School District sued the county June 15 in Cobb Superior Court, alleging the county improperly billed more than $130 million in administrative fees over 15 years for collecting school taxes. Mediation failed July 31. The county is charging the school district $20 million for tax collection in FY2027.
The SPLOST vote: The same Nov. 3 ballot will ask voters to renew the county's 1% special-purpose local-option sales tax, which includes $20 million for a new East Cobb Library and $4 million in road improvements.
What's next
Neither campaign responded to requests for comment on the fundraising gap. The next campaign disclosure deadline will provide updated totals closer to the Nov. 3 election.
