Atlanta and its 'burbs need to know much more about Brian Kemp than they do now. And they need that information rather quickly.
Recent events argue for urgency. The biggest jumped up early one morning this week, when the Gwinnett County Commission approved a contract with MARTA that could, among other things, establish a heavy rail link from Gwinnett to downtown Atlanta and the airport beyond.
But rather than put the necessary one-cent sales tax to a vote in November, tapping a probable mid-term surge of Democratic activity, the all-Republican commission scheduled the referendum for March 19, 2019.
The commission, in essence, chose a low-turnout venue with an electorate likely to be more Republican, but also older – and thus less likely to be saddled with the horror of a daily commute. The lift for supporters of transit could be a heavy one.
Perhaps more important, commissioners moved the Gwinnett vote beyond the influence of Gov. Nathan Deal, whose administration has actively acknowledged the link between transit and economic development, and into the term of Georgia’s next governor.
My friends on one side of the aisle must bear with me here. Yes, aided by antipathy toward President Donald Trump and a sharper focus on turnout, Stacey Abrams may have a better shot at becoming governor than previous Democratic nominees.
But the Republican in the race remains the odds-on favorite, and if you’re a business leader in metro Atlanta, if you’re heavily involved in crucial area of regional logistics, you’re required to respect those odds.
In June, Governor Deal put $100 million in state funding behind a bus rapid transit system that will run up Ga. 400. Kemp has been more cautious on the topic of state funding to solve metro Atlanta’s transportation woes.
In his stump speeches during the primary, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the presumed favorite through most of the campaign, was always careful to utter the word “rail” when listing the required ingredients for curing metro Atlanta traffic. Kemp did not.
“He has not endorsed the expansion of commuter rail,” Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney confirmed. Yet expansion of commuter rail will be the primary purpose of that Gwinnett vote next year.
Credit: Jenna Eason
Credit: Jenna Eason
We’re told that leaders of the Metro Atlanta Chamber will be meeting with the Republican nominee for governor within the next few days. They’ll want to know where Kemp stands on the Gwinnett referendum and whether, as governor, he would oppose it, support it, or remain neutral.
Members of the Metro Chamber aren’t the only ones who need to make Kemp’s acquaintance. You can add Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to the list, too.
On Thursday, my AJC colleagues Stephen Deere and Kelly Yamanouchi reported that the Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into whether airport revenues were improperly used to help pay for $7 million in legal fees connected to a grand jury investigation of corruption at Atlanta City Hall.
In previous years, such a development — and many others like it — would remain parochial in nature, insulated in part by that famous alliance between Mayor Kasim Reed and Governor Deal.
But Reed is gone now. Deal has fewer than six months left in office. Appearances matter more than they once did.
One sign that the relationship between Atlanta City Hall and the state Capitol is something to be renegotiated came in March, when Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican seeking election to a full term, opened an investigation into whether an aide to Mayor Reed illegally withheld public documents.
When Casey Cagle cleans out his lieutenant governor’s office, he will leave something important behind — an active state Senate study committee that is exploring the idea of a state takeover of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The Senate committee has yet to hold its first meeting. Chairman Burt Jones, R-Jackson, told me his mission had been greenlighted by Cagle and state Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth, who was a candidate to replace Cagle as lieutenant governor.
But both Cagle and Shafer were defeated. Jones said he now needs to have conversations with Kemp and Geoff Duncan, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, before he proceeds. But Jones himself is serious about the effort.
Essentially, the senator said, Hartsfield-Jackson is under the control of a single individual — the mayor of Atlanta. “I think it’s obvious that with something that important, the state needs to have a little more input,” Jones said. Questions about airport vendors, procurement and the use of revenues “certainly” will have a role in his committee deliberations, Jones said.
We asked his campaign whether Kemp supported state oversight of Hartsfield-Jackson. In the emailed reply we received, Kemp didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no. “We must demand transparency and stand against corruption. Hartsfield Jackson plays a fundamental role in recruiting and retaining jobs,” Kemp said. “It should be known as an economic driver — not a venue for shady deals.”
Delta Air Lines opposes state oversight of the airport, but the airline has struggled to get its way in a Republican-controlled Legislature ticked off at social stands the corporate giant has taken. (Kemp this week shifted his opposition to a tax break on jet fuel – a prime Delta objective — after Governor Deal announced he was suspending collection of the sales tax. During the primary, Kemp had labeled Delta a "corporate coward" for its decision to end a discount for NRA members.)
What infrequent observers of state politics need to realize is that, as Democrats grow closer in parity in Georgia, issues within the Capitol are likely to grow more polarized, not less.
One last example: Given this year's successful effort in the General Assembly to pass legislation that could lead to the creation of a city of Eagles Landing, in part by disassembling the city of Stockbridge, we asked Kemp whether he would support any effort by residents of Buckhead to secede from the city of Atlanta.
In past years, this has been considered a rather farfetched idea and dismissed out of hand.
But Kemp didn’t do that. “I will not weigh in on hypothetical cities in metro Atlanta,” he said, “but do support local control and the ability for hardworking Georgians to choose — within the confines of the law — what’s best for their communities and families.”
Exactly what that means – well, that’s something we need to find out.
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