Cagle may be odd man ‘up’ on tax

Picture Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle at one end of a teeter-totter.

This is a playground metaphor, but bear with me. It could help you understand the unfortunate connection between the time you waste in your car and a 2010 race for governor that’s still 22 months away.

This session, Cagle —- one of three GOP candidates —- is under pressure to prove both his own effectiveness and his independence from Gov. Sonny Perdue. He also must match wits with his institutional opponent, House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

So put Richardson and Perdue at the other end of that seesaw.

But two other Republican candidates for governor populate the state Capitol complex, Secretary of State Karen Handel and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. And it’s becoming clear which end of the teeter-totter they prefer —- especially on the all-important issue of transportation.

There is general agreement that Georgia hasn’t put enough money into roads, bridges and rail. The state’s business community has demanded an immediate reality check.

Cagle backs an approach that would allow groups of counties —- anywhere in the state, but metro Atlanta is the obvious target —- to band together for the sake of levying a 1-cent sales tax that would go toward easing congestion.

On Tuesday morning, the House speaker declared he wanted to revisit an approach that was attempted, and abandoned, last session —- a statewide sales tax that would generate many more millions.

“Simply drawing a circle around Atlanta and letting Atlanta tax itself to fix transportation in Atlanta, I don’t believe will help transportation in Atlanta,” Richardson said at a breakfast meeting of business leaders.

Afterward, reporters asked the governor —- who was also at the gathering —- what he thought. “The speaker made some good points. I want a statewide solution to transportation as well,” Perdue said.

Oxendine has declared himself in favor of whatever works —- but is suspicious of Cagle’s regional approach. Word is that Handel is prepared to say something similar.

That’s a lot of weight at one end of the teeter-totter, and there is the legitimate question of whether a GOP-controlled Legislature is in the mood for a statewide sales tax increase.

The situation, bereft of the balance needed for compromise, has left Cagle perched uncomfortably high in the air.

There’s a reason that seesaws have been banned from most playgrounds. Someone always winds up getting hurt. This time, it could be you.

jgalloway@ajc.com