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DEL.ICIO.USSam Olens and business’ disenchantment with the state Capitol
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the six weeks since the Legislature imploded and departed Atlanta, Georgia’s business community has moved from denial to anger to outright depression.
A cynic, or a Democrat, might say members of the state’s economic elite have contracted a virulent case of buyer’s remorse.
This fresh Republican administration, a governorship and two legislative chambers, had advertised itself as a best friend to commerce, but has been unable to deliver what commerce needs most — a strategy for breaking through metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion so that goods and people can move from one side of Georgia to the other.
Other issues scream for attention, too, but transportation remains the chafing point.
One reaction by business types had been to place calls to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, to beg him and his air of competency to join the 2010 race for governor. Isakson declined early this month.
Ever since, Georgia’s corporate phone trees have scoured the landscape for another, next governor — perhaps an outsider who might be able to raise the state Capitol up from the frat house basement it’s fallen into.
Jimmy Blanchard of Columbus, the retiring CEO of Synovus? Kessel Stelling, head of the Bank of North Georgia? Their names, and those of a handful of other business executives, have surfaced.
So has this one: Sam Olens, the seven-year chairman of the Cobb County Commission. Olens, who has a reputation as a concensus-builder, confirmed last week that he is indeed thinking about a Republican run for governor.
You might call Olens an angry optimist. His current chairmanship of the Atlanta Regional Commission has given him an appreciation of the state’s strong points — including a thriving airport in Atlanta and an expanding port in Savannah.
But Olens also has the stats that show him what’s missing. Big-salaried jobs are no longer coming to the region. State tax credits for new jobs are a “worthless” tangle of bureaucratic tape.
Road money is spent poorly, and not enough cash goes into education. “Asphalt doesn’t bring jobs. Diplomas bring jobs,” he said.
Then there’s the “absolute lunacy” of the attitude owned by many in the state Capitol, who think that — if metro Atlanta is allowed to choke on its own congestion — then jobs will flow to rural areas.
“There’s an economic development strategy for everyone. It doesn’t pit one section of the state against another,” Olens said. Bring corporate jobs to Atlanta, he said, and many of those same companies will move their plants to rural Georgia.
Olens wants more vision and fewer bad ideas coming out of the Capitol. “I spend more time killing bills than trying to get anything passed. Not even close,” Olens said. “There comes a point where the steam’s coming out. And I’m there.”
How real is this? Olens, who is unopposed for re-election this year, will give it more thought after November. No county commission chairman has ever made the leap to governor.
And there’s the question of whether business discontent is real, or a feint aimed at bringing ambitious Republicans in the Capitol — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle foremost among them — back into line.
January should tell.
An online bonus: Earlier this month, Olens gave a speech to the Council for Quality Growth, outlining the above points and more. He’s handed over his talking points. See them on the jump.
The Future of our Region
Following another disappointing session of the Legislature, a concise analysis of Metro Atlanta’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is in order. We have much to be proud of, but we cannot rest on past laurels.
Strengths
Metro Atlanta is blessed with many outstanding attributes. Strengths include:
1) A highly educated work force, with great schools, technical colleges and universities;
2) A growing City of Atlanta, with exciting new venues such as the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke;
3) Fantastic suburbs, with quality of life enhancements such as open heart surgery and other state of the art medical services, the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Gwinnett Arena, and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park;
4) Outstanding non-profits and corporate leaders;
5) The world’s busiest airport and a fantastic port that help bring leading businesses to our region;
6) Regional leadership that is more mature and unified, emphasizing our interdependence and creative energy;
7) The embracement of diversity;
8) Significant leadership from the Natural Resources and Transportation Chairs (Jeff Mullis, Vance Smith, Ross Tolleson and Lynn Smith); and,
9) Quite simply, a great place to live, work and play.
Weaknesses
Our weaknesses include:
1) Excessive reliance on the car with insufficient transit choices;
2) Insufficient infrastructure funding, to expressly include water and transportation;
3) A myriad of transportation plans with inadequate construction to relieve traffic congestion and excessive reliance on local SPLOSTs to fund capital projects;
4) 19 years of water litigation, action/inaction of the Corps of Engineers and sprawl, have poorly served us; and,
5) The State’s incentives to encourage the expansion of existing businesses and the pursuit of new businesses are not linked to specific sectors or adequate metrics.
Threats
Instead of aggressively seeking to improve the State post-Olympics:
1) We are losing high salary jobs while our overall population grows;
2) Local government in general is under attack at the Capitol while the State insufficiently funds the criminal justice system, education, trauma care & mental health;
3) An anti-Atlanta mentality foolishly believes that a weak Atlanta serves the rest of the State well; and,
4) The funding of pork projects by the legislature before Public Safety and Education.
Opportunities
Thankfully, we have immense opportunities to include:
1) An emphasis on environmental sustainability, “green” initiatives and the acquisition of park land;
2) An aging region with priceless volunteers and mentors;
3) A new direction at GDOT with greater collaboration between GDOT, GRTA, ARC & MARTA;
4) Exciting new tourism destinations, to include the Center for Civil & Human Rights, Aquarium expansion, and Gwinnett Braves;
5) The ability to incentivize regional transportation and water solutions, to include financial encouragement for the consolidation of governments and school systems;
6) A redevelopment emphasis;
7) A renewed push on lower class size and proven school technology; and,
8) Reasonable tax reform, such as the elimination of the corporate income tax and property tax indexed to government inflation.
Having just returned from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s exploratory to Denver, our strengths and opportunities far surpass our threats and challenges. With a little help from the State and an appreciation of regional solutions, metro Atlanta will encounter boundless success. Yes, Denver has beautiful snow-capped mountains. But they like many other regions of our country can’t compete with us in regard to civic and corporate leadership, a can-do mentality and outstanding quality of life.
Comments
By Eduardo
May 25, 2008 9:45 PM | Link to this
Sam Olens has definitely identified the problems facing Georgia. Can he fix those problems? Maybe.
Our state government is led by the outrageously incompetent and shamelessly self-serving. Oh how times have changed. Florida used to look to us as a model and now we look their way and ask how in the world they were so lucky to have leaders like Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush.
By SharonH
May 25, 2008 9:56 PM | Link to this
RE: threats #2 and #3.
You knew what you were getting when you helped those idiots ride into office on the promise of the Confederate flag and keeping gays from getting married. Now you are “disenchanted?” Well I would say you get what you deserve (you do) but unfortunately we all have to pay the price for the immaturity and the lunacy at the state capitol. I hope you are satisfied because you should have had the foresight to see this coming.
By SUBURBAN OVERLORD
May 25, 2008 11:22 PM | Link to this
Metro Atlanta pays 65% of the state’s taxes, yet gets back (in a good year) about 60 cents of every dollar it pays.
This communistic wealth transfer goes to heavily subsidize failing rural schools, crooked rural sheriff offices, rural welfare handouts, wasteful rural fishing programs, building fancy rural horse barns in Governor’s home county, and widening rural roads to nowhere.
How can this happen? Because you have the same rascals that helped ruin rural Georgia still sitting in the legislature. These people are secretly unreformed rural Democrats shamelessly dressed up like Republicans! The most prominent example of this fraud is the GOVERNOR! When faced with losing power they use a pen to strike a line through the “D” behind their name and put in an “R.”
Only through the amazing STUPIDITY of metro Atlanta’s Republican General Assembly delegation does this ruse work.
All the rural rascals have to assert to metro Atlanta’s dingy General Assembly delegation is money spent in metro Atlanta is “wasted” unless the project comes from a detailed cost-benefit analysis and follows “Republican” business principles. What a joke!
By Jeremy
May 25, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this
I would get out and beat the streets like a madman for Sam Olens if he decided to run… he’s got the right idea for Georgia and he is smart enough to realize that Atlanta and the rest of the state ought to be allies, not adversaries. PLEASE run Sam!
By Fond Memories
May 25, 2008 11:55 PM | Link to this
Republicans’ main argument is that government cannot do anything right. Then, they get into government and prove it! If you’re surprised at the situation we’re in locally and nationally, what did you expect?
By R U Kidding
May 26, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
Who has ever heard the name Sam Olens outside of Cobb County? How does his heritage play in the rest of the state. Best case is he splits the metro vote with Ox, and gets losses big outside of the Metro area.
Sam doesn’t have a chance. He should consider a down ballot race. That could position him for a future shot at the Mansion.
By GodHatesTrash
May 26, 2008 11:06 AM | Link to this
Olens is right - jobs won’t flow to rural Georgia. People there are too stupid and lazy to build any kind of workforce.
Unless you want to make ‘shine or run a w-horehouse, then Georgians are perfect.
By TW
May 26, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this
Today’s Republican Party demonstartes the detriments of a lack of competition. They have taken the conservative vote for granite. No more. Bob Barr may not win in ‘08, but he has my vote. For the first time since Bob Dole ran in ‘96, there is a true conservative running for president. And for those who say a vote for Barr is a vote for Obama, to a real conservative their is no difference between Obama and McCain.
Barr ‘08 It’s time to give Washington back to a grown-up.
By Churchill
May 26, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Dole was not a conservative. Check his voting record. Dole was, then, our McCain, now. Dole ran against a sitting Democrat president. Major difference!! The political landscape has changed.
McCain will either run against some half-a* lib community organizer or Hillary, the most hated woman in America. Big difference, TW brush up on your history before you start sounding like a Democrat. Peace.
By Livefrom theUK
May 26, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this
Church is stop on.
By TW
May 26, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this
Churchill - you sound just like the ‘Republican’ trash that has spent the last eight years running up the deficit and spending American tax payer money on nation building. What we spend per Iraqi dwarfs the pennies we’re getting back this year for our ‘stimulus’ checks. Time for an American president. Your way sucks. Not only that, it’s a proven failure.
Barr ‘08 Fiscal responsibility is more than talk.
By CLAX
May 26, 2008 10:14 PM | Link to this
How could anyone support Sam Olens? Not only did he support Ralph Reed in his run for Lt. Governor, he was chair of his campain. This was well after the ties between Reed and Abramoff as well as the shenanigans of cheating the tribes were revealed. Olens also pushed Gena Abraham onto the Governor and continued to support her despite the fact that she was ethically challenged. Olens is tone-deaf when it comes to appearances of impropriety or suspiciously self-serving. Olens does not make decisions based on what’s best for the region or state, but only for his own self-engrandisement and to polish the apples of his closest financially supportive business interests. Olens has powers of triangulation which would make Bill Clinton blush. If anyone thinks Olens could work with Glen Richardson and get any legislation passed, they are dilussional.
Olens would be a gigantic mistake for Georgia just as he has been an embarrassment for Cobb County
By Churchill
May 26, 2008 10:17 PM | Link to this
Ru/Barr ‘08.
By Wackolibhack
May 26, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this
It is Bush’s fault that all republicans are evil. Bush made all republicans just like Reed. REEd IS EVIL AND IT IS BUSH’S fault. I HATE REED. OLENS IS BUSH’s POOOOOOO. I HATE BUSH AND EVERY REPUB. BUSH IS BAD . BUSH STOLE THE ERECTION FROM ALGORE. I HATE BUSH!!!
By Will Jones
May 27, 2008 5:59 AM | Link to this
CLAX - Thanks for the “heads up” on Olens and Ralph Reed. This is what American politics should be about…we can be “asymptotic” with earthly perfection if We, the People, band together - as we did at The Founding - and, in unity guided by the Mottoes and the shared desire for Truth and Righteousness, banish those who demonstrate the willingness to cozen us, or to tolerate those so proven.
Olens’ backers must now be identified, stained by contact with Ralph Reed, as well.
www.theamericanfundament.blogspot.com
By Electile dysfunction
May 27, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
Wacko, “Bush stole the erection from AL Gore” it is obvious you are a self-hating log cabin republican. You should come out of the closet and quit hating yourself.
By Go Sam Go
May 30, 2008 12:04 AM | Link to this
I usually vote Dem but Sam Olens is one of the best elected officials I’ve ever seen. Cobb Co. is extrememly well run, especially in comparision to Fulton & DeKalb.
Sam gets my vote!