Gov. Sonny Perdue came out guns blazing Friday with protective fire for embattled state Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham.

One day after Transportation Board Chairman Mike Evans resigned from the board because of a personal relationship with Abraham, Perdue, joined in his support by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, said he has "confidence in Gena's ability to conduct the affairs of the Department of Transportation."

File photo

Gena Abraham

File photo

Mike Evans

Transportation news Are stimulus road dollars being divvied up fairly?  Atlanta traffic rated 3rd worst in nation  MARTA board member gets probation for sex charge  50-50 formula means MARTA can still spend  Georgia will meet deadline for highway stimulus funds  Topic: Atlanta transportation Recent headlines: Georgia State gets grant to study school bullying  Delta flight to Atlanta diverted to Chattanooga  State Masonic group withdraws charges     • Metro and state news

The Transportation Board has scheduled a meeting Monday to discuss Abraham's fate. The board elects the commissioner.

"Change is tough," Perdue said of Abraham's efforts to reform the DOT, which have riled local officials, legislators and contractors.

Abraham's reforms required the DOT to suspend work on projects it thought were approved while staff worked out which projects the DOT can actually pay for. "I'm convinced she is resolved to see that change through," Perdue said.

He said Abraham was distraught Wednesday, but "what I saw this morning was the Gena that I knew, a person resolved to make a difference for Georgia, that has the capability, that has the confidence, that has the capacity to change things."

Abraham did not respond to requests for comment.

"I think the board's got to probably on Monday make some decisions on how we want to move forward," said board member Bill Kuhlke, who added that he voted for Abraham in October "and I don't regret that."

Kuhlke said that going into the last of a string of board meetings Thursday, he expected to hear Abraham resign. But then, "she did ask for the board to give her a few days to talk to some people before she made that decision, and we granted her that request."

In October, the board chose Abraham, Perdue's and Cagle's choice, over Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), the choice of House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram). Richardson then campaigned to oust Evans from his board seat, but Evans won re-election.

"I think she needs to resign is what I think," said Rep. Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville), vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who opposed Evans then. "They're both guilty of violating DOT agency policy."

DOT policy forbids "intimate relationships" within any chain of command.

After broaching the subject between themselves of pursuing a relationship, Evans and Abraham waited weeks to alert Vice Chairman Garland Pinholster and didn't tell the board until two weeks after that, Evans said.

When they did tell the full board Wednesday, it was in a closed-door meeting called not by Evans but by board member Dana Lemon. Evans said he intended to bring the topic up Thursday.

Wednesday night, asked whether there would be a change in his or Abraham's status because of a relationship, he said: "I don't have the answer to that. I know come June 30 [the end of his chairmanship term] I won't be chairman."

Perdue said Friday that "the facts are that Mike Evans has resigned from the board," and "I think the right thing happened."

As to the timing, he said: "There's no light switch in relationships that comes on one day. It's not like that. It's a rheostat," developing gradually.

An essential question now is whether Abraham retains the credibility to lead the department.

Her backers say there is no question that she does, with a proven record from many years of bringing costs and projects into line at the Georgia Building Authority.

About the time Abraham and Evans met with Pinholster, she sent a memo to staff, noting that some employees had been caught using government money to buy personal gas, stealing, making indecent remarks and undertaking indecent or sexual activities such as using pornography on DOT property.

"This is unacceptable," her memo said. "Human rationalization, weakness of character and integrity, professional ego and personal faults and issues cannot dictate the choices that you make as an employee. ... I assure you, as Commissioner, I will accept no less."

The events of the week have given people with an ax to grind an opening.

Jimmy Benefield, a former lobbyist for DOT, says Abraham forced him to resign, but says he bears her no ill will. He says Abraham has a credibility problem now, and "I think she'll continue to have one if she remains there."