MARTA, Cityhood, T-SPLOST On Local GA Ballots today
It’s an election day in Georgia. Lots of local issues on the ballots today across the state.
Most ink in the metro Atlanta area will be dedicated to the MARTA referendum in Gwinnett County. A recent poll from Rosetta Stone showed the measure trailing 51-39, though late endorsements and a last minute PR push may have closed the gap. For those prepared to bring out racism as the reason the measure may be losing, you should note that the same poll found that 57% of Hispanics and 57% of Asian voters oppose the measure. If you’re going to try to solve a complex problem, try to get beyond knee-jerk explanations.
In the Savannah area, residents of Skidaway Island will vote on whether or not to form a new city. The bulk of the action is from the community of The Landings, where a group of neighbors led by some with political savvy have organized to oppose the measure, which has been led by a political team skilled in manufacturing new cities and funded by those same neighbor’s HOA dues.
Up in Catoosa County, a T-SPLOST has been put to voters for transportation projects. Most of my window into this effort is via Facebook friends who are vehemently anti-tax, and they seem to be pointing to the expense of a $14 Million “fly-over” bridge eliminating a major railroad crossing as their example of spending excess.
That’s a small sample of what’s going on today across Georgia. If you have other measures on your local ballot we should be following, let us know in the comments, please.
About Author
Charlie
Founder of GeorgiaPol.com; Now weekly columnist Very interested in Georgia and Georginas. Interest in politics is waning daily.
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FWIW, while I no longer live in Gwinnett in a recent conversation with 4 of my old neighbors, one of which is Caucasian, he was the only one voting for the MARTA resolution.
I attended two of the forums held to answer the questions people had about this issue. I have also seen several spirited discussions about this on NextDoor and I can say most of the people who are voting no are doing so based upon rumors, falsehoods and outdated perceptions. I heard one lady say that MARTA bus drivers had gone on strike during super bowl weekend and “ruined” the super bowl. Another said that everywhere MARTA went, crime increased dramatically. Several people complained about this bloated bankrupt system. None of this true but perception is reality.
If the commission had put this on the November ballot, it would have passed. However, the opposition is motivated to vote and the supporters are not. The issue was left off the mid-term ballot to appease two commissioners who are opposed to MARTA. One of them lost in November and the other one will lose in 2020. The commission will flip to Democratic control and this will be on the ballot again, soon.
If the railroad crossing is for Hwy 41 in Ringgold, they are going to need it once all the inlands and the dockside rails are done in the next 3-5 years.