Tuesday, June 2, 2009
News Saporta: Vance Smith most likely next DOT commissioner
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 5:04 PM
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.
If you recall, Smith was Speaker Glenn Richardson's choice for the job in 2007 after Harold Linnenkohl resigned. Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle wanted Gena Evans (then Abraham) to lead the agency. It got pretty brutal, politics wise. Evans was appointed. We all know how that went.
In 2007, shortly after joining CL, I spoke with Smith about what the state needed to do to help Atlanta deal with its traffic. He stressed a need for light rail, because the influx of residents would need a way to move around. He added that many of those flocking to intown Atlanta were young people who had expressed a desire for transit.
We recently bestowed Smith with a highly desired Golden Sleaze Award for his behind-the-scenes work on one of two transportation funding proposals the Legislature failed to pass (for the second consecutive year). Smith's $25 billion statewide penny sales-tax proposal included funding for the Beltline and commuter rail lines, but also tunnels under the city. There was also talk that the other-than-asphalt proposals were merely bait to entice urban lawmakers to jump on board.
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