Resident Wants Cherokee School Board Seat

A lawyer wants to trade the courtroom for the classroom.

Brett Ladd has qualified as a Republican for the District 3 seat. Incumbent Michael Geist announced he will not be seeking re-election to the seat.

Ladd, who lives in Holly Springs, said he looks forward to bringing his "education, professional experience and strong, but fair, demeanor to the board.”

“Leadership cannot accomplish anything if the goal is to burn bridges," he said. "I intend to be a board member that works to persuade the community and colleagues that conservative principles in education are what we need.”

Ladd, an attorney at the Ladd Law Firm, has served as assistant solicitor in alongside former Cherokee County Solicitor General David Cannon Jr., who is now a Cherokee superior court judge. 

Ladd in 2004 was appointed as the circuit public defender in the Cherokee Judicial Circuit and later moved his law practice in Woodstock. 

He added he wants to take his history of "conservative activism and strong principles" to serve the people of District 3. 

“We love our children," he said. "We love our homes and our community. We love our teachers and the impact they have on our kids. Balancing competing interests and resolving them is tough to do, but I am prepared to do it because it’s the obligation of anyone on the board to serve our community.”

Ladd has over three decades of service to the Cherokee, Fulton and Georgia Republican Party organizations. He's worked with elected officials from the local, state and national level on issues touted by conservatives.

Ladd graduated with a B.B.A. and J.D. from the University of Georgia. He and wife, Kyle, have two daughters who attend Sequoyah High School and two adult daughters in college. 

The family also attends Canton First United Methodist Church.