Fresh Loaf

Mike "Huey Lewis" Evans

Former state Sen. Bill Stephens, R-Canton, last seen getting his butt kicked by Karen Handel in the 2006 GOP primary for Secretary of State, has now posted the low fundraising score among the three candidates vying for the 9th District Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Nathan Deal.

His opponents are state Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, and state DOT board member-turned-lobbyist Mike Evans. Here are the numbers for all three:

• Evans — $150,881, incl. $147,281 from individual contributions and $3,600 from PACs
• Graves — $116,540, incl. $96,290 from individual contributions and $20,250 from PACs
• Stephens — $40,095, incl. $22,345 from individual contributions and $17,750 from PACs

Now, it should be noted that Stephens jumped into the race at the beginning of June, which means he raised that 40 grand in a month’s time. But Deal didn’t announce his run for governor until the end of May, so Evans and Graves had no more than two months to build their own war chests. Yet Evans raised nearly four times as much as Stephens and Graves almost three times as much.

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1. The Cheetah, one of Atlanta’s favorite strip joints, is a patriot (More patriotic than the National Museum of Patriotism? Maybe.)

2. Georgia is South Korea (At least when it comes to sizing up human development. And yes, Georgia ranks above Mississippi and Alabama — and even Florida!)

3. CL’s Thomas Wheatley is a finalist for national journalism award (Wheatly’s on the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ shortlist for “Sober.” Hooray!)

4. Ga. GOP primary: A sad and soul-crushing spectacle (State Rep. Austin Scott apes McCain at the state GOP convention.)

5. Huey Lewis — err, Mike Evans — calls for Pelosi’s resignation (Congressional wannabe issues unexpected and hilarious press release. U.S. House Speaker doesn’t blink.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Georgia Republican Congressional candidate Mike Evans — who knew? — has joined The World’s Greatest Catholic Newt Gingrich in calling for U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to resign over her comments about torture. STEP DOWN, MS. SPEAKER!

Evans, who wants to succeed gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal in Congress, said in an unexpected and rather hilarious press release:

“It’s unbelievable that a leader trusted with so much power would attack the integrity of the Intelligence community for petty political posturing. Someone this irresponsible does not deserve to serve in a role that makes her second in line to the Presidency.

The person who’s first in line, however? Badass. Evans continues:

“If the voters of north Georgia trust me to be their voice in Congress, I will not sit idly by while radical liberals endanger our country and our families to cover up their hypocrisy.”

Evans is a former State Transportation Board chairman. He resigned from that post after he and Gena Abraham, then-state Department of Transportation commissioner, disclosed they had fallen in love. They later married and now reside in Forsyth County. Prior to Evans’ service on the transportation board, he served four terms as a state representative.

(Courtesy MikeEvans.org)

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For someone who was recently given a pink slip, Gena Evans is chipper.

“If you can’t notice the smile on my face, the best day I’ve had at GDOT was Thursday,” the former Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner says, referring to her ousting last week from the state agency. “I’m very happy to be gone.”

And now that Evans no longer heads one of the state’s most powerful agencies — one that’s facing a drastic restructuring under a controversial plan pushed by Gov. Sonny Perdue — she says she can be frank in her criticism of the department. She speaks lovingly of the employees but paints a grim portrait of a $2 billion agency that’s mired in politics.

Evans, who now earns a paycheck as executive director of the State Road and Tollway Authority, sat down with CL at that agency’s downtown offices looking over the city skyline this afternoon. She talked about Perdue’s grand reorganization plan, the “systemic” problems at GDOT, her occasional thoughts about resigning, and Georgia’s overall transportation landscape. It ain’t pretty and it’s all after the jump.

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Not Mike Evans. But it kind of looks like him.

Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed Mike Evans, the former State Transportation Board chief who resigned after he and Commissioner Gena Abraham revealed the two were in a relationship, to the Department of Community Affairs Board.

After resigning from the DOT board, Evans was rumored to run for the Public Service Commission’s Northern District or try to return to the General Assembly. (Evans served eight years in the state House of Representatives.) He and Abraham recently married and she took his last name.

The Department of Community Affairs serves as an advocate for local governments, operates a large number of state and federal grants, and helps communities with planning, housing and building. (They’re also to thank for all those nifty Georgia History markers you see around the state.) Evans will serve as an “at large” representative.

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DAVID FRANKLIN: The ex-husband of Mayor Shirley Franklin and a chief architect of the Maynard Jackson political machine died Sunday at 65.

TRAVELATROCITY: Atlanta and several other U.S. cities are suing 17 online travel sites including Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, alleging the companies have cheated the cities out of millions in taxes.

REVACUEES: Gulf Coast residents who fled Hurricane Gustav may be repeating the ordeal less than two weeks later as Ike heads west-northwest.

OH, THE HEWED MANATEE: Four manatees are killed in the Savannah River, presumably by a large commercial or military prop boat.

HOSCHTON: The northeast Georgia city has broken Cincinnati’s world record for scarecrows in a single ZIP code, with nearly 5,000 at last count.

CLAYTON NOT APPEALING: The school system has decided not to appeal SACS’ accreditation-removal decision, instead focusing on getting its accreditation reinstated by September 2009.

ZONE COVERAGE: Former UGA and Cincinnati Bengals dynamo linebacker David Pollack, whose football career was ended in September 2006 with a broken neck, has signed on to host a sports talk show on 790 the Zone.

CONNECTING THE DOT: DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham and former DOT chairman Mike Evans were married Saturday night in Alabama.

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The former state legislator is currently involved in a sexual harassment investigation at the transportation agency.

InsiderAdvantage has more details.

Pinholster’s the second boardmember to resign in several months; the first was former Chairman Mike Evans who resigned to pursue a relationship with DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham. State lawmakers from the congressional district Pinholster represents will have to vote for a replacement.

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The election for the DOT Board seat left vacant by Mike Evans — he who fell in looooove — wasn’t nearly as contentious as the one earlier this year. Those races left a couple of state representatives who didn’t side with Speaker Glenn Richardson’s pick finding themselves relocated to less prestigious offices and losing committee appointments.

But that’s the past, man. Everybody behaved themselves this go-round. And now that Evans and DOT Commissioner are planning their nuptials, we, the gridlock-enslaved scribes of the city, present to you…Steve Farrow! (He’s a former state senator and attorney who oddly enough, seems to have never been photographed in his life. No, I don’t think this guy holding the lobster is him.)

After the jump, the requisite press release giving you the background on Farrow.

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The DOT board revealed the news today. The future bride and groom have registered at C.W. Matthews.

Pretty fast courtship, judging they only realized their love for one another a couple of months ago.

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The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the banner carriers of the Peach State’s free-market movement, hosted DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham last week to update powerplayers and bigwigs about the transportation agency’s pulse.

Here’s Abraham in a Florida Times-Union article about the event, talking about some of the good deeds that have gone unnoticed in light of all the romantic hullabaloo during her tenure (emphasis added):

In her speech, [Abraham] complained that news reports of [her relationship with former board Chairman Mike Evans] were distracting the public from information of substantive progress at the agency, namely a commitment to proceed with a long-discussed commuter-rail line from Atlanta to Lovejoy.

“I want to mention something that I am very excited about that the board passed in the last board meeting that didn’t get written about. Everything else in my personal life did. The board was very, very excited, and so was I about passing a resolution to look at commuter rail,” she said.

*Cough, cough* Ahem.

In more substantive news, the article also includes this choice nugget:

Another way of paying for [transportation projects] would be through privately run toll roads or, at least, toll lanes. Perhaps that’s why the luncheon was sponsored by Transurban, an Australian company that operates toll lanes for rushed commuters in Washington, D.C., and a toll road in Richmond, Va.

Common sense would tell me these speedy lanes would benefit the folks who could afford them — and who aren’t getting pinched by high gas prices — and cripple those who can’t, leaving them sitting in traffic in the Average Joe lanes, burning gasoline and seconds of their lives.

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Don’t look for this story in That Other Paper or on any of the television networks in town save for Fox5 — it ain’t there.

Three months ago, Dale Russell, the station’s investigative watchdog, broke a story about the state Environmental Protection Division’s Carol Couch giving developers planning a Wal-Mart in Forsyth County a green light to build on top of a stream.

In doing so, Couch essentially overrode her own agency’s previous judgment, and left many people wondering if the decision wasn’t part of a deeper political powerplay by Gold Dome bigwigs aimed at convincing then-DOT Board Chairman Mike Evans — who was developing the big-box store deal — to cast the deciding vote that placed Gena Abraham at the helm of the state transportation agency. Evans and Abraham later revealed they fell in love after she took the job. Evans resigned, Abraham stayed, c’est la vie, oobla di, oobla da, that’s amore.

Dedicated government gadfly George Anderson, of nonprofit one-man watchdog group Ethics in Government Group, filed complaints Friday about those scandals with the state inspector general against the EPD, DOT officials and Gov. Sonny Perdue. Anderson’s filed more than 300 such complaints and even questions the inspector general if she’ll act on them.

For a quick rundown of the details, view Russell’s report here.

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That’s what Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, is saying to the Gainesville Times:

“I was told about some things going on, and I knew they would surface. I just didn’t know when,” Rogers said. “They had been seen together, and I couldn’t give you any particulars.”

Rumormongering! That’s my kind of a guy. Us scribble-happy muckrakers would have more to write about if only all our elected officials were so loose-lipped.

The article also spells out some other names being bandied about for former DOT Board Chairman Mike Evans’ seat. Worth a look. Sen. Chip Pearson, R-Dawsonville, announced he’s seeking a third term, so contrary to previous reports, he’s out of the running. Breathe easy, Jon — for now.

(Photo illustration by Thomas Wheatley)

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Cupid fires his bow and in the process shakes up the state’s most powerful agency.

In a whirlwind series of events more akin to a Lifetime television movie, DOT Board Chairman Mike Evans resigned on Thursday two weeks after disclosing that he and DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham had begun a relationship that was deeper than just traffic plans and public-private initiatives — a no-no according to the agency’s rules.

On Monday the board scolded Abraham with a written reprimand but decided to keep her at the helm — a move that surely pleased such voices of support as Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and many associations who have eyed Abraham as the breath of fresh air DOT needs. All while this was happening, WSBTV reported board member Garland Pinholster, who resigned his position as acting chairman today, is the subject of a sexual harrassment investigation.

Evans was the deciding vote in a contentious political battle to appoint Abraham as commissioner. Many applauded the budding couple’s disclosure as a by-the-book step in the right direction, although that’s likely to be change if it’s revealed their relationship began earlier than the couple has described.

Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson must now announce a special election to fill Evans’ seat for the North Georgia district which he served.

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Let’s begin with a beautiful quote:

“There’s no light switch in the relationship that comes on one day. It’s not like that. We establish relationships — when you work with somebody you develop a mutual respect, it becomes an admiration, and then it develops into deeper feelings than that.”

That was Gov. Sonny Perdue waxing poetic about the magic of amor in a press conference at the Capitol. Standing alongside Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the governor voiced his support for DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham and said that while surprised by the revelation that she and now-former DOT Board Chairman Mike Evans had begun a relationship, he still thinks she is the right person to reform the state agency.

“I still have absolute confidence in Gena’s ability,” Perdue said when asked by a reporter if he would ask Abraham to resign. “For the last five months she’s been dealing with tremendous change in the DOT. The fact is change is tough and needs to take place. The change she’s talking about is good for the state, good for the public, good for Georgia’s infrastructure, and transportation, and I’m convinced she’s resolved to see that change through.”

Cagle agreed with the governor, saying that he thinks Abraham still has “the fight in her” to lead the dysfunctional agency.

Perdue said that Abraham told him about the relationship on Wednesday while he was in Texas at an energy summit — which was actually a Republican Governors Association conference, but whatever.

“It was a much more distraught Gena Abraham than I’ve seen before,” he said of their conversation. “She’s usually always much more in command of her thoughts and is very disciplined in her approach to solutions. And [their conversation] was very uncharacteristic of that.”

He said that he’s spoken with members of the DOT board and expressed his confidence in the commissioner. Abraham did not offer him her resignation, he said.

When asked if he would still support Abraham if evidence reveals their relationship started earlier than one month ago — the time Evans and Abraham have said they started developing feelings for one another — Perdue effectively dodged the question and said he trusts what he’s been told.

There may be more fallout from Evans’ and Abraham’s relationship. Earlier in the press conference the AJC’s Ariel Hart asked the governor if rumors that a private investigator’s discovery had triggered Evans’ announcement. Perdue laughed and said he hadn’t heard about such a thing. Before Cagle left the briefing, she asked him if he had convinced Evans to resign. He chuckled and made a swift exit. Whatever the case, on Monday we find out whether Abraham stays or goes.

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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ALL SHOOK UP: Illinois quake measured 5.4 on the Richter scale, was felt in Georgia and as far south as north Florida.

GWCC: Tornado damage is about $100 million, but officials say it will open April 28.

ASPHALT MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER: As Thomas reported yesterday, DOT chairman and commissioner are in love, and the former has resigned. Now Gov. Perdue has to grumble back into town to handle things.

SHOT IN THE DARK: Entire Charter cable TV, phone and Internet service knocked out Wednesday night in Hall County by a single bullet.

COAST IS CLEAR: Vidalia emergency room doctor is one of several volunteers being honored for working to fill potholes and doing other maintenance on coastal wildlife refuges that might otherwise not get done due to budget cuts.

FLU OFF THE HANDLE: Bad vaccine-mixing made 2007-08 the worst flu season in several years.

HONEYTASED HAM: Cops Tase a frenzied pig on I-75 after it falls off the back of a truck, the second time in two weeks a hoofed animal has caused an uproar on the interstate.

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I just want to thank my colleague Thomas Wheatley for reporting about the drama at the Georgia Department of Transportation today.

I finally have an explanation for all of the weird road signs I’ve been seeing around Atlanta lately.

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From the DOT:

STATEMENT BY BOARD CHAIRMAN MIKE EVANS

The following statement was made at today’s meeting of the State Transportation Board by Chairman Mike Evans in announcing his resignation:

“In the past five months, I have worked closely with Commissioner Abraham to work towards change within the Department. Over the course of those five months, I have grown to admire her and respect her more and more every day. Her sense of integrity and work ethic is well known throughout state government and I can see why. Over the last month or so we have grown to care for each other more than on a professional level, she became my friend. As our friendship developed, we realized that there was the possibility of something more than friendship. At this point we met with the Vice-Chairman, Garland Pinholster, to discuss and determine the best direction and concluded that it was best to also inform the Board, which was done in Executive Session yesterday.

DOT Policy does not permit relationships other than professional or friendship within the direct chain of command. As Chairman of this Board, I strongly believe that I should be the model for respect and adherence to policy that I wish to see in all GDOT employees, especially with the challenges that we face. In doing so, I must therefore tender my resignation today as Chairman and a member of the Georgia Department of Transportation Board.

I have served as a member of this Board for five years and it has been my honor and privilege to do so as a representative for District 9. My heart is heavy today because I know that in tendering my resignation, I am also disappointing a great number of people who have supported me throughout the years, in particular, during my re-election to the Board this year. There are those who suffered great losses in support of me. I will be eternally grateful for their support.

I will spend the rest of my days trying to restore their trust and in gaining their forgiveness for having stepped down at this point in my term.

I want to thank my colleagues on the Board who have been a support to me as well. As I leave my seat and return to my daily routine, I will still remain an advocate for systemic reform for Transportation in Georgia. It is still a worthwhile and noble cause that I will always believe in.

To the employees of the department, I have said how great they are and what dedicated public servants they are. I hope the board and senior staff will honor their service by doing everything they can to give them the department they deserve.

To the board, I hope you will continue the momentum and change that I have been pushing for the last five years, and that has accelerated over the last five months.

To the cities, counties and individuals whose dedicated support helped me win re-election I apologize for my untimely departure and will never forget their loyal support.

As always, I am honored to serve the people of the 9th District and the state of Georgia.

Again, I thank everyone for the opportunity to serve.”

At this time, there will be no further comment from the Department on this matter.

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Love will tear us apart … from our positions on powerful state agencies!

Georgia Department of Transportation Chairman Mike Evans admitted to the state agency’s executive board today that he and new Commissioner Gena Abraham have been “dating,” a DOT spokesperson says. Evans will resign from the chairman position and the board effective immediately. Evans was elected to the DOT board in 2003 and was elected chairman in 2006.

No word as to how long they’ve been dating and how much their relationship played a role into Evans joining Gov. Sonny Perdue to support Abraham over state Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain. Speaker Glenn Richardson wanted Smith in the job. That battle was a nasty one, resulting in House members who opted for Abraham to be stripped of their prized office spaces and placed on committees for not kowtowing to the Speaker’s wishes.

Lots of unanswered questions. Why now? Apparently, Abraham and Evans both came to DOT Board Vice Chairman Garland Pinholster two weeks ago and informed him of their budding relationship. They wanted to disclose it, Evans says, and move forward appropriately. Will Abraham face any punishment or penalty? We’ll find out April 21. The board has scheduled a special meeting for that date. Why does Mike Evans remind me so much of Huey Lewis? Unfortunately, this is more of a personal issue that I prefer to allow figure itself out.

We’ll have more on this as the day unfolds.

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Dale Russell of Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Carol Couch, director of the state Environmental Protection Division, may have engaged in a little favor dishing for Mike Evans, the state Department of Transportation board chairman.

Evans and some of his developer buddies had a proposed Wal-Mart project in Forsyth County. A stream ran through the land. With time running out on the development group’s contract with the big-box retailer, going through the EPD’s permitting process to build on it — you know, doing the right thing — would’ve been too time-consuming, they thought. So, according to the documents Russell obtained, Carol Couch — after a little prodding from U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., and Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta — overrides the variance and gives ‘em a pass. What ensues is confrontation journalism at some of its most awkward and delicious, although sadly there are no middle fingers or hands over lenses here.

Check it out. I’d heard that Russell had been holding this report until after the DOT election. I’m glad it’s out now. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs when the person looking out for the environmental well-being of the state has to be concerned with politicians’ business interests as well.

Oh, and the Wal-Mart planned for the site? Never built.

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If you’re the kind of guy or gal who enjoys watching grown men and women act like petty schoolchildren, you’ll want to be at the Capitol today. A political popularity and pissing contest starts at 10 a.m. or 30 minutes after the end of the state House’s session, whichever comes first. You guessed it — it’s the DOT board elections! There are a lot of background details and salacious gossip to get caught up on, but if you just wanna jump into it, here are some basic details:

State House Speaker Glenn Richardson — no wait, I wanna use this photo — is very angry that DOT Board Chairman — and probable distant relative of Huey Lewis — Mike Evans didn’t side with him and vote for state Rep. Vance Smith for the transportation agency’s commissioner job that opened up when Harold Linnenkohl announced his retirement late last year. Evans instead voted for Gov. Sonny Perdue’s pick, former Georgia Building Authority boss Gena Abraham. She’s the state’s first female transportation chief and supposedly a management wiz. Richardson, still smarting from all this, has been trying to get other state representatives to oust Evans when the caucus elections are held throughout the day tomorrow. No word yet on whether they’ll be secret ballot, heads-up-seven-up or what. His ultimate goal: get his picks on the DOT board, then — allegedly! — boot Abraham out of the top slot.

Oh, and the other guy Richardson wants out? Raybon Anderson. Who does King Glenn want in his place? Former Rep. Stacey Reece, R-Gainesville. He was caught in some shenanigans in 2006 involving lobbyists and his wedding shower.

Jesus, I feel like I just wrote a gossip column. Now go back and reread all that crap and don’t tell me that while, yes, it sure does makes for some Gold-Dome drama, it’s also slightly depressing. Back-slapping, back-stabbing, backroom-politickin’ bullshitake mushrooms. It’s like a Hollywood movie, only everyone’s not attractive. And the reason the kerfuffle is getting so much press is because no one really knows what’s going to happen. If the state House had some brains they’d sell advertising on tomorrow’s webcast. I’m sure they’ll have a healthy viewership.

But so be it. They gotta cast the votes anyway and at least it makes for good reading on what would be an otherwise mundane subject. Human faces and emotions illustrating the political process. Might even be a fistfight. We’ll see.

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For those of us watching the race for the next Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner, the resourceful Erick at the delightful Peach Pundit tosses some insider gossip into the muck. It reads more like a fourth-grader’s birthday party, but whatever.

A little bird lands upon his windowsill and whispers …

The Governor does not have the votes for Gena Abraham and Vance Smith does not have the votes either. [Ed’s Note: Remember, Cagle and Perdue like Abraham and Richardson likes Smith]

DOT Board members are very nervous. They do not want to piss off the Governor, but they don’t want to piss off the Speaker either. They’re all pretty pissed off that they’re getting caught in the crossfire between the legislature and Governor.

One guy said, “What in the hell does the Speaker’s tax plan have to do with the DOT Commissioner?” But that’s exactly the kind of politics going on.

Key members of the Board and General Assembly started pushing around an idea today. Their idea is to make Mike Evans, the current Chairman, the Commissioner. He’d offer Gena the position of COO of the Department of Transportation. Evans would offer Vance a senior role too, assuming Vance wants one.

Everyone would save face and everyone would win.

Governor Perdue likes Mike Evans. He’s one of the few people who actually works well with Sonny. He’s a former House member and leader and good friends with the Speaker. When in the House, h [sic] was part of Casey’s delegation, so they have a working relationship. Evans was also one of Cagle’s key backers early on and lined up lots of transportation community support for Cagle in the primary, see e.g. the Atlantic Station event.

Bold emphasis added, of course. Not to toot my own horn here, but I like to think CL’s online job listing for the DOT’s top slot should bring a massive influx of fresh-faced candidates from all walks of life into the agency’s pool of applicants. How awkward — and fruitless — is it going to be when one of these go-getters sits down for an interview with the very same person — DOT Chairman Mike Evans — who is already being talked about for the job?

Oh, to be … a fly … on the wall.

But this is my favorite line regarding the picking of teams so as not to wrinkle the brows of top-dog pols:

Everyone would save face and everyone would win.

Yes, everyone but the people trying to do something to fix the gridlock mess we call “everyday Atlanta traffic.” Lovely how — at least when viewing the tip Erick received — there’s little discussion about who has experience in the issues and more focus on appeasing the backslappin’ echo chamber and CEO of West Paces Ferry.

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