Perdue defends move to overhaul DOT

Washington — Gov. Sonny Perdue on Sunday defended his plan for a massive and controversial overhaul of the Georgia Department of Transportation and denounced critics who say the move is more about politics than about doing public good.

“What I’m trying to do in Georgia is get us a process where we can commit to citizens that we can deliver value for their transportation dollars,” Perdue said in an interview at the National Governors Association meeting here.

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• Topic: Atlanta transportation

Perdue last week announced a sweeping plan that would wrest power over most transportation projects in the state away from a 13-member Transportation Board elected by the General Assembly, and put it in the hands of a new, 11-member board appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the House. The General Assembly would choose projects for 10 percent of the money.

Critics of the plan say it would deliver power over project choices to politicians who would be unable to resist using the money to win political points. Politics may affect the current Transportation Board, they say, but it’s more independent than the alternatives.

State Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) chaired the Senate Transportation Committee when Democrats were in the majority. In an interview earlier this month, he said that the system was reversed from gubernatorial control for just that reason decades ago.

“I’d probably be guilty too of trying to reach into that pot to try and get money for my citizens,” Thompson said.

To those who say the move is a political play by Perdue, a Republican whose term ends in 2011, Perdue on Sunday had an unflinching answer: “I would say they’re wrong.”

He said that the new set-up would make transportation officials much more accountable to taxpayers. Instead of having to navigate through the maze of legislators in the General Assembly, citizens would be able to turn directly to the governor’s office if they didn’t like how things were going.

“This is a process by which citizens can look those they vote for in the eye and say, ‘I’m holding you accountable, these are my expectations, and if you don’t meet them, don’t ask for my vote again,’” Perdue said.

“I want the best value, and I don’t think we’ve gotten that,” he added. “That’s my goal.”

— Staff reporter Ariel Hart in Atlanta contributed to this story.