"Does Georgia want elected officials who blindly vote in favor of something because someone claims 'it's good for transportation,' or should we expect public servants who are willing to make a tough vote to preserve the integrity of our state’s Constitution?"...
Below is a Statement by John Oxendine, Candidate for Governor 2010:
Georgia is ready for the Transportation Legislative Session in January 2009. The Governor and the Legislature need to be ready for Georgia taxpayers in January 2009.
Forbes.com has ranked Atlanta the worst city in America for commuters.
That is unacceptable.
Atlanta is the economic engine which drives the success all Georgia enjoys as the Empire State of the South. An Atlanta that is moving, creating jobs, providing a multi-model hub to transport goods, services and people wins investment of all types of jobs across Georgia. An Atlanta that is ranked as the worst city in America for commuters starts a trickle down affect that will result in Alabama, North Carolina, and other states winning the new economic development opportunities that should come to Georgia.
This past year Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jeff Mullis and House Transportation Committee Chairman Vance Smith demonstrated true leadership with their outstanding management of the Joint House and Senate Transportation Funding Study Committee. Their leadership was complimented by the commitment and dedication and objectivity of the members from both the House and Senate who served.
In a very real way, their hard work has provided the beginning of a solution to Georgia’s transportation crisis.
Another historic milestone for Georgia occurred in 2008 with the formation of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition. Joe Leonard, Kessel Stelling, and Charles Tarbutton and the entire Board of Directors demonstrated that working together, listening, demonstrating an ability to compromise and respect, and trust, Georgian’s can create positive and real solutions.
Their work serves Georgia well and SR 845 needs to become law in January 2009.
At the same time, Georgia is blessed to have solid conservatives such as Senators Judson Hill, Chip Rogers, John Wiles, Ronnie Chance, David Shafer, Bill Heath, Greg Goggans, Nancy Schaefer, Joe Carter, Bill Cowsert, Eric Johnson and Tommie Williams who understand that elected officials should not vote in favor of constitutional changes without being given the opportunity to read, discuss and debate the legislation.
The final version of SR 845 was offered to the state Senate at five minutes before midnight on the final night of the session. The sponsor of the resolution offered no explanation as to what was actually in the legislation and he took no questions. Senators were told to hurry up and vote "for it" because "it's good for transportation."
Does Georgia want elected officials who blindly vote in favor of something because someone claims "it's good for transportation," or should we expect public servants who are willing to make a tough vote to preserve the integrity of our state’s Constitution?
Who is to blame for the failure of SR 845 to pass?
Not the Get Georgia Moving Coalition, nor the Metro Atlanta Chamber nor the Georgia Chamber of Commerce as some have suggested.
Not Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis or House Transportation Vance Smith as some have suggested.
Not those true conservatives in the Majority Caucus in the Senate who took a principled stand to demand that on matters involving amending the state Constitution they will insist upon, on behalf of the taxpayers of Georgia, more than five minutes before Sine Die to review and consider such important legislation.
Not the tax-payers of Georgia who, as Sadie Fields of the Georgia Christian Alliance so brilliantly observed, are victims of a crisis that is just as much a social as it is a business crisis, because for every hour a parent spends stuck in congestion away from their children, and every event a parent misses because traffic is so bad, it becomes a crisis that attacks the foundations of Georgia families, and that is an attack that I will not let stand.
Transportation and congestion are the number-one threat to the economy and quality of life facing Georgians in 2008 and 2009 other than the threat of terrorism.
I call upon the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker to re-authorize the Joint House and Senate Transportation Funding Study Committee and empower them to schedule multiple public hearings across Georgia to fully inform all Georgian’s about the current version of SR 845.
I call upon the Legislature to reintroduce and pre-file SR 845 as SR 1 for the 2009 Legislative Session.
I call upon the Legislature to work with the Get Georgia Moving Coalition and get moving for Georgia and solve this transportation and congestion crisis.