Fresh Loaf

…that’s not the real story.

The veteran political reporter’s sources say the state agency wants to avoid ending the fiscal year with a deficit, possibly by tapping $75 million in federal funding. There’s also the question over what exactly Senate Bill 200, a piece of legislation that shakes up Georgia’s transportation power structure, means for GDOT.

At the same time – and this is where it gets interesting – talks have been underway between the DOT staff and the governor’s office over how to implement SB 200, the governance reform bill that gives the governor (through the new planning director) and the Legislature (through new budget authority) broader control over DOT. There are some loose ends that the bill does not address.

Some believe the two issues have become entangled in something of a quid pro quo, with the governor holding both a carrot (the bailout money) and a stick (the new rules which dissidents believe give the planning director – and through the planning director, Perdue – more power over issues like public-private partnerships and funding allocation formulas than the law stipulates.)

Others don’t see any such entanglement, but this week’s meeting should be interesting nonetheless. Even if there is no suspense about the new commissioner.

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Business blogger Maria Saporta reports state Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, seems to be the most likely candidate to be named the next Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner.

Smith, chairman of the House transportation committee, has been interested in the DOT job for nearly two years, and it appears he will get his wish.

The deadline for applications from people interested in the DOT job was today at 5 p.m.

Word has it that Smith’s top two potential competitors did not apply for the job, meaning that he is the last man standing.

Saporta reports one of those competitors, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Dick Anderson, decided to stick with GRTA to try to implement the governor’s recently completed statewide transportation plan. Interim GDOT Commissioner Gerald Ross is rumored to return to his position as chief engineer.

(more…)

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The House’s statewide sales-tax transportation bill doesn’t have the votes to pass, says the chamber’s Transportation Chairman Vance Smith. InsiderAdvantage’s got the report here. Smith, a Republican state representative from Pine Mountain, says he’s reworked a proposal that sounds eerily similar to the state Senate’s proposal that would allow one or more counties to band together and let voters decide on a sales-tax increase. Smith’s idea is based on districts in the state, however.

Check out here for more details.

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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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