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WHITE ELEPHANTS Senate Bill 31 would provide safety net for Georgia Power

In 1974, Georgia Power broke ground on nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, embarking on a nuclear odyssey that would nearly bankrupt the company.

Almost 15 years later — and after several delays and environmental hurdles— the project’s construction costs ballooned from $680 million to a staggering $8.4 billion. And it wasn’t until then that Georgia Power could begin to recoup the cost from ratepayers.

Now, as the state’s largest utility moves forward on two new reactors at Plant Vogtle estimated at $6.4 billion, the first in nearly 30 years, the company wants to cover its assets — and it’s enlisted the assistance of a phalanx of lobbyists and a controversial legislative plan of attack.

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Georgia voters have never gotten terribly excited over our Public Service Commission elections, partly because the issues involved — franchise agreements, amortization schedules, telecommunication service areas — are often so complex that few people understand them. But that’s why we elect these folks, to six-year terms, no less: to make difficult decisions about very complicated matters involving huge utilities.

Plant Vogtle near Augusta

That’s why no one I’ve talked to can figure out why the Senate is handling legislation to enact a fundamental change in the way Georgia Power bills its customers — meaning all of us. Sponsored by Rules Committee chairman Don Balfour, R-Duluth, SB 31 motored through committee Wednesday, even though some of his fellow Republicans indicated they didn’t completely grasp what it would do.

So, what would it do? Put simply, it would require Georgia Power customers — again, you and me — to begin paying for two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle as they’re being built. This is a huge departure from how the billing process has worked in past decades. For all previous projects:

1. The utility gets approval for a capitol project from the PSC
2. The utility builds the capitol project on its own dime
3. The utility raises our rates to recoup its investment

This process has worked fairly well so far. Now, however, Georgia Power is pushing to get its money up front. I suppose you can’t blame ‘em; Vogtle’s two original reactors nearly bankrupted the company. Construction began in 1974, but endless delays caused by numerous redesigns and shifting federal regulations meant the plant didn’t go into operation until 1989. Costs ballooned from a projected $680 million to a staggering $8.4 billion — money the company couldn’t begin to recoup for a solid 15 years until the project was completed. (more…)

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Not going to city hall, he's going down the street to CNN's Headline News (Image courtesy Clark Howard)

A heaping helping of news headlines from me exclusively to you; cuz that’s just how I aggregate…

• Clark Howard isn’t running for mayor, he’s got far more important things to do, like, hosting his own show on CNN’s Headline News.
• Another spoonful of schadenfreude courtesy Atlanta Magazine’s Steve Fennessey. I bet CL’s bad news is just making nice with their web traffic (no hard feelings, Steve, ours too).
• Speaking of which, are we to be in good company(?): Tribune Co. is considering filing for bankruptcy protection.
• Remember when gas was just a buck fifty a gallon? Yea actually, I just paid $1.39 last night…
• Should hospitals follow patients through Twitter? Sure, until they discover patients can block them … (and you should follow us instead).
• Well that was quick: Pakistan arrests suspected Mumbai terror plotter.
• Democrats want to give automakers a bailout, but with strings attached: they want a seven-person board to oversee the companies’ restructuring. They call it, the “auto board.”
  
• President-elect Barack Obama was on Meet the Press yesterday and reiterated the need to save the auto industry, but said it should be “conditioned on an auto industry emerging at the end of the process that actually works.” The cynic in me asks, “what about oversight to the financial industry?”
• Barry Cooper is your new BFF.
• And from one morning newsdome to another morning briefing, say hello to the Mother Nature Network.

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Every few weeks, I still hear people mention radio penny-pincher Clark Howard’s name in connection with next year’s Atlanta mayor’s race.

Although I cheerfully admit that we at CL started the “Clark for Mayor” rumors more than a year-and-a-half ago — and at the time, he was seriously considering it — I feel the need to point out that Howard has since repeatedly tried to put the notion to rest.

In fact, he just did so again a few minutes ago, live on WSB 750 AM.

“I’ve really thought it through and, as much as I love my city … right now it’s not going to happen,” he said (according to a CL staffer who was listening in his car).

Howard went on to reveal that he’s had a hankerin’ to be mayor since he was a teenager and even took college courses he thought might prepare him for the job. Who knew?

Ultimately, however, Howard decided — as he told us last May — that he didn’t want to subject himself and his family to the sacrifices of political life, such as no longer being able to spend time with his children.

In other words, Clark-o-philes, please pin your hopes on someone else. What about Dagmar Midcap?

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The departure of Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders from the Atlanta mayor’s race earlier this week has, by political strategists’ calculation, left behind a large window of opportunity for the right candidate.

Specifically, we mean someone backed by the Atlanta business community – anointed by the Chamber of Commerce, as it were. Borders, a protege of mega-developer Tom Cousins, had been that person, but now she’s out.

Therefore, the buzz of the moment has concentrated on a well-known and universally respected chief executive, a man of unique achievement who’s arguably done more than anyone since Ted Turner to restore the vibrancy of Atlanta’s downtown business district.

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Consumer advocate and radio host Clark Howard likely doesn’t want to you to gamble your money. He’d probably prefer you to pay down your credit card debt, invest it, or stash it in your 401K.

But if you’re the betting type, Howard would like you to know he’s leaning against the possibility of running to replace Mayor Shirley Franklin.

“If I was placing odds, I’d say there’s a one-in-three chance I’ll run [for mayor of Atlanta],” Howard told CL yesterday afternoon.

Howard, who CL reported last year was considering a mayoral bid, says his enthusiasm has been tempered by the realization that running for mayor would limit the time he could spend with his young children.

Howard says he was deeply affected by a conversation he had with ABC News correspondent Chris Cuomo. Cuomo is the youngest son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. According to Howard, Cuomo still gets emotional when he talks about the time he missed with his dad.

“He told me how awful it was,” Howard says.

He hasn’t made a decision yet, but Howard says unless he can figure out a way to do the job without diminishing his relationship with his children, he probably won’t run.

Watch this space for ClarkWatch updates as they become available.

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Insurance commissioner is one of those state jobs that doesn’t normally generate a lot of attention. In part, that’s because the incumbent, Republican John Oxendine, is happy to quietly pocket insurance companies’ campaign cash as he waits for a shot at the governor’s office — a long shot.

The race could get really, really interesting, however, if consumer hero, maximum penny pincher and all-around swell radio guy Clark Howard decides to run. Howard, we can be sure, would turn the office into a watchdog agency, a prospect that likely scares the bejesus out of those who are supposedly regulated by the insurance commissioner.

When last heard from, Howard was considering a run for Atlanta mayor. That race, however, is now crowded with candidates.

The news of Howard’s interest comes from three prominent local Democrats. Howard’s office didn’t return calls.

The Democrats might have their best chance in years to recapture statewide offices. A Zogby poll in January showed that U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-BushToady, has low approval ratings and would be in a statistical dead heat with a Democrat. The carnival show at the state Capitol has revealed that the Republicans are incompetent at serious governing, and more interested in buffoonery over abortion than confronting critical state problems.

The Democrats need only one commodity to win back some seats: candidates. Howard is just the sort of wild card — a true crusader for average citizens — who would attract voters.

More later …

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Consumer advocate and political fence-sitter Clark Howard on Thursday provided a striking, if less than detailed, indictment of what he thinks is wrong with Atlanta city government. Speaking at the Buckhead Business Association’s annual luncheon, he accused City Hall of running a jobs program for the well-connected and being a cauldron of waste.

If any of the hundreds of businesspeople gathered at a ballroom in the Atlanta History Center came expecting Howard to declare his candidacy for mayor, they went home disappointed. Instead, the upbeat radio host delivered a somewhat rambling, sort-of stump speech.

“The purpose of the city government has gotten perverted,” he declared. “It’s about providing jobs to people who supported the right candidates when it should be about providing services to the public.”

Still, he added, “Shirley [Franklin] is a great woman. She’s cleaned up corruption, but the mentality that government should serve people isn’t there yet.”

For all his famous frugality, Howard didn’t dwell on cutting taxes. In fact, he said the city should devote more money to deal with homelessness to make downtown more appealing to visitors and conventioneers. Also, the city needs to find the funds to bring the police department up to full strength. And he advocated “spending what it takes” to install public transit up Peachtree Road into Buckhead; he favors a new subway line.

Most oddly, Howard hinted that if he were mayor, he’d try to gain control over the Atlanta school system, but he offered no details as to how such a takeover could occur. By the way, he’s a big fan of vouchers and charter schools.

The crowd response was surprisingly subdued, with moderate applause and a question about which big-screen TV is the best deal.

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for Clark Howard to announce he’s running for mayor.

We’re not implying he won’t do it, mind you. We’re just saying that holding your breath would get mighty uncomfortable, because it’s likely to be awhile until Atlanta’s celebrity pinch-penny decides whether to get into the race.

In fact, from what Howard tells us, even if he decides to throw his hat into the ring, he’ll be cutting things very close. Because of syndication contracts, he’s obligated to do his daily radio show until March 2009. And since Howard feels it wouldn’t be fair to begin campaigning until he leaves the air, that would likely put him a year behind some of the other candidates. So far, only Council President Lisa Borders has declared, but others, including state Sen. Kasim Reed and Councilman Ceasar Mitchell, are expected to follow suit in coming weeks.

But Howard won’t wait that long to make a decision about the race. Because of his contractual situation, he’ll need to make up his mind no later than Sept. 26, he tells CL.

Which way is he leaning? We wish we knew. But he did offer insight into one important factor.

“My wife is not on board yet,” he says. “Unless that changes, it ain’t happening.”

If you want to ask Howard what he would do as mayor, you can attend the Buckhead Business Association’s annual luncheon next Friday, where he will be the keynote speaker. But hurry, the $75 tickets are going fast.

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As we see who’s already thinking about running for Atlanta mayor in 2009, it’s also interesting to note who’s not running. One name that has often come up in discussions is that of at-large Councilman Lamar Willis, who has spent lavishly on billboards to boost his citywide name recognition. Willis has told colleagues that he’s shifted his sights to the council president’s job, which will be left open as Lisa Borders goes for the mayor’s office.

Another short-lister has been former state Sen. Sam Zamarripa. But Sam Zam recently told CL that his current job overseeing a large private equity fund leaves him little time to pursue politics. As of now, he says, he doesn’t see himself jumping into the mayor’s race.

There are also a couple more names that should be added to the field of potential candidates. One is state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and downtrodden with such legislation as his anti-payday lending bill.

Another rumored possibility is parking-deck magnate Michael Robison, president of Lanier Parking Systems. While Robison has been too behind-the-scenes to have wide name recognition, he’s well-respected in the business community, which is expected to rally behind a chosen candidate in ‘09. On the other hand, there’s a good chance that the Chamber of Commerce candidate could be Lisa Borders, who works for and has the backing of influential über-developer Tom Cousins.

If celebrated WSB tightwad Howard does decide to throw his hat into the ring, however, many prognostications will need to be thrown out the window.

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Any Democrat that has their eye on that race needs to start thinking seriously now about how you derail Howard.

– chrisishardcore at GAPolitics.net on radio host Clark Howard’s nascent bid to replace Shirley Franklin. CL’s Scott Henry spoke with Howard Monday.

A victory would make the consumer guru Atlanta’s first white mayor since 1974, as well as improve the city’s odds of becoming the home of the proposed World of Big K Cola Museum.

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Dear God in heaven, what hath the Internet wrought?

– AJC.com’s Political Insider on news that two contributors to the political blog Peach Pundit are considering running for political office.

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Here is the process I think Phil Kent uses to write columns like this one:

1. Buy a MadLib pad at the local Waldenbooks.

2. Lure Sean Hannity to his house with promises of freshly-clubbed, ground baby seal on sesame crackers

– Rusty at Radical Georgia Moderate on the 15-step process he imagines local conservative bon vivant and Georgia Gangsta Phil Kent uses to write his columns. Full disclosure: Phil Kent once annoyed me.

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WSB Radio consumer guru Clark Howard confirmed today to CL’s Scott Henry what has been rumored in political circles: He is giving serious thought to a run for mayor.

A radio talk-show host running for public office is usually an opportunity to poke a little fun at their overinflated egos and sense of self-worth. But in Clark Howard’s case, it’s different because he is very likely the most trusted person in Atlanta.

He’s smart, he’s personable, he knows his stuff and he certainly has more name recognition than anyone else out there. And he has a disarming amount of empathy.

In short, Clark Howard would make a very formidable candidate.

I wrote two feature stories on Howard for Atlanta magazine — one was a long cover story and the other involved taking a shopping trip with him to Costco and Sam’s Club. People ask me what he’s really like. Well, from my time with him, he’s exactly like he is on the air: genuine.

This is already shaping up to be a very interesting political season. There’s not only no clear-cut heir to Mayor Shirley Franklin, there’s every chance Atlanta will see its first white mayor since Sam Massell in 1972. To read Clark Howard’s comments, and to find out others who are sticking their toes in the water, check out Scott Henry’s story in this week’s CL.

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