After four years, 50 town halls, and a contentious cityhood vote, the newly incorporated city of Mableton is about to get its inaugural municipal leaders. A March 21 special election didn’t produce a majority of votes for a mayor and four of the city council members, so early voting for the fledgling Cobb County city’s runoff election starts this week. Election Day is April 18, and then Mableton’s first mayor and six city council members will begin to serve four-year terms.

There’s been lots of confusion over the town’s annexation from Cobb County, its possible de-annexation, and the elections for mayor and city council, so here’s a breakdown of what’s at stake and what’s next:

Is Mableton officially a city in Georgia yet?

Yes. On Nov. 8, voters approved incorporating the city of Mableton in south Cobb County by a narrow 53% margin. That makes it the largest city in the county with roughly 41,000 people. The new city is east of the cities of Austell and Powder Springs, southwest of Smyrna, and bounded by the Chattahoochee River to the southeast. Mableton is still part of the Cobb public school district and Cobb will continue to provide public safety services, but it will have its own departments for planning zoning, and code enforcement; parks; and trash pickup. 

Why are some residents angry about the results of the cityhood vote?

Some local voters within Mableton’s new city limits were against the cityhood push from the start. The group Preserve South Cobb argued that they’d likely face higher taxes to pay for separate new services and infrastructure. Other residents complained after the vote, saying they were confused by the ballot question’s language and didn’t know they’d be included in Mabelton’s city limits.

In February, some anti-Mableton residents called for a new election, saying the November one was unfair or stolen. But no residents filed an official…