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Sunday, September 23, 2007
The link between Grady and MARTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is possible that, in order to make sense of transportation in metro Atlanta, it is first necessary to save Grady Memorial Hospital.
This is a theme that’s quietly building in many quarters of the state Capitol. Democrats, particularly African-Americans, have long seen the connection. Ranking Republicans are just beginning to recognize its importance.
The linkage is so strong that one black lawmaker told us there is risk in the mere mention of it. “That kind of conversation feeds the paranoia that causes people to do irrational things,” said state Sen. Kasim Reed of Atlanta.
The connection is the near-identical circumstances in which Grady and MARTA find themselves. Both are creatures of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Both are controlled largely by African-Americans.
Both Grady and MARTA operate on antiquated, two-county funding mechanisms, but have become essential to a far larger geographic area. “There’s no question that we need to transform these institutions to keep up with the facts on the ground,” said David Adelman (D-Atlanta), chairman of the Senate Urban Affairs Committee.
Both institutions cry out for a deeper connection to state government. Grady requires cash. MARTA, while solvent, needs to be blended into a larger regional transportation system if it is to remain relevant. And in return, state government — controlled by white Republicans — would demand significant changes in the operation of each.
In Grady’s case, for instance, the first requirement is placing the hospital’s operation in the hands of a non-profit corporation.
This is not to say that Grady and MARTA are peas in a single pod. But in each case, the solution requires a mutual level of comfort between black Democrats and white Republicans that hasn’t existed — and extends far beyond the state Capitol.
“I get a surprising number of people who think there’s some crooked business going on. There’s no trust,” said state Sen. Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain).
Last week, after two separate committee hearings at the state Capitol, an informal, biracial group of lawmakers, business leaders, church leaders, and members of the Grady hospital authority convened in a private, invitation-only session.
They moved ever so slightly toward agreement on a restructuring of Grady. Many of the same people would be involved in any discussion of MARTA.
“If you have a willing partnership on Grady, you could have a willing partnership with MARTA,” said Adelman. His urban affairs committee could be part of any deal-making.
Reed, who’s often mentioned as a candidate for mayor of Atlanta in ‘09, doesn’t disagree that success with Grady could be contagious. “You’ve got the possibility of building a model,” he said.
But there’s the other side of the coin, too. If the Grady effort should tank, or is marred by coercion, Reed said, then that bodes ill for any rational discussion of restructuring MARTA.
Which is why he thinks it unwise to over-emphasize the link between the two. Otherwise, one institution’s future can be held hostage to the other.
Reed had an intriguing take on coercion. He defined it as the extraction of concessions without putting any money on the table.
This leads back to the matter of trust and transparency, and what Reed thinks his constituents will accept.
Consensus is growing for the idea of putting daily Grady operations under the auspices of a non-profit corporation. The Fulton-DeKalb hospital board could take a step toward it Monday.
The next hurdle is likely to be choosing the board that runs the non-profit.
Seats on the board should be distributed, proportionately, among the institutions that end up financing the new Grady, Reed said.
In other words, any dilution of Fulton and DeKalb’s authority over Grady — say, with appointments to the board picked or subject to approval by state government — would have to be matched by a appropriate amount of cash.
“Everyone understands that he who pays the piper calls the tune,” the senator said.
Newt to begin raising campaign cash
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that he’ll begin raising money for a presidential campaign next Monday and, if he can raise pledges for $30 million over the next three weeks, he’ll join the Republican race for president.
“I think the odds are very high, if we ended up with that level of pledges - I don’t see, as a citizen, how you could turn that down,” Gingrich said on Fox News Sunday.
“So you’d run?” host Chris Wallace asked.
“I think you’d be compelled to,” Gingrich said.
“If we have enough resources, then close to that (fundraising deadline) we’ll face a very big decision in late October,” Gingrich said. “If there aren’t enough resources, I’m not for doing unrealistic things.”
Prior to the start of that fundraising, Gingrich this week will host a national dialogue on all the issues that a presidential candidate would need to address. Under the umbrella of a group he formed, American Solutions, Gingrich on Thursday and Saturday will open debate - via satellite TV and the internet - on immigration, healthcare, education and other issues.
Hmmm. Talking about all those issues. Raising all that money. What does that sound like?
