Cobb chairman faces GOP primary challengers

Tax increase in 2018, coronavirus concerns are driving forces in the June 9 election. Andrew Wheeler will also meet with regional employees in 2-day visit.

Four years after he ousted his predecessor in a Republican primary runoff, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is facing his own party rebellion with two conservative challengers going into the June 9 election.

Retired businessman Larry Savage and retired police officer Ricci Mason are both running for the party nomination against the incumbent chair, who successfully championed a tax increase in 2018 that lost him some support from the base, according to

Jason Shepherd, chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party.

“There’s a lot of frustration with Chairman Boyce,” Shepherd said. But, he added, the vast majority of Republican voters are not the party activists who are the chairman’s loudest critics.

“Under Chairman Boyce, property taxes have gone up, but so have services,” Shepherd said. “The average voter may see it as necessary costs for overall

For the latest weather forecasts, watch Channel 2 Action News. improvement in services for the county.”

The primary could go to a runoff if none of the three candidates captures 50 percent of the vote. The eventual nominee will face Democrat Lisa Cupid, currently the South Cobb commissioner, in a county that has become increasingly competitive for her party.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton won

The head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency is touring metro Atlanta this week, meeting with local farmers and visiting area sites that have received federal grants for cleanup and redevelopment.

Administrator Andrew Wheeler will also meet with the agency’s regional employees to emphasize their role in supporting communities and helping those communities understand the EPA’s role, he said.

“When EPA steps in and we help a community, we can make a real difference in people’s lives,” said Wheeler in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Wheeler’s two-day visit — his first outside of the nation’s capital since the onset of the pandemic — began Wednesday with a stop at Southern Belle Farm in McDonough, where he spoke about efforts the EPA is making to support farmers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers nationwide have taken a hit as disruptions in the food supply chain have made it difficult to get products to market. The EPA has helped by aiding cattle farmers in managing food waste, Wheeler said. The agency has also continued its review of hotly debated

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM uth Beach Glass window washers work on the 36-story 101 Marietta Street building Wednesday in downtown Atlanta as clouds obscure the Westin Peachtree Plaza. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said today’s rain chance is 60%. By Friday, Atlanta could see highs in the low 80s. A cold front is expected to move through Friday, bringing some early showers. Behind the front, Deon said, dry air and sun returns for the weekend.