Clayton County residents weren't willing to finance transit for the rest of the region. They joined other metro Atlanta voters in soundly defeating the recent transportation sales tax referendum. But some of them appear to want public transit that fits their specific needs.
A pro-transit coalition is putting pressure on county leaders to let Clayton voters decide this November whether they want — and are willing to pay for — bus and MARTA service.
This week, members of the Friends of Transit, which includes Clayton delegates such as Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam, local ministers, and outside groups such as Citizens for Progressive Transit and the Sierra Club, urged county commissioners to put the issue on their agenda.
But it could be a hard sell.
County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, who pushed hard for passage of the regional referendum and is still smarting from its defeat, said this week there's little chance of putting more transit in Clayton anytime soon.
"The people (metro Atlanta voters) have spoken with a resounding no," Bell said after Tuesday's commission meeting. "To make an effort ... by asking for another penny is wrong."
The head of a newly-formed citizens group said the county shouldn't be financing transportation for what amounts to a small percentage of the county's population. But at a community forum, candidates for various offices, including Bell and commissioner Wole Ralph, who are seeking a third term in office, indicated they might look at various transit options for the county. Ralph voted to end the county's bus system in March 2010.
Transit advocates insist the issue did not die with last month's referendum. Two years ago, nearly 70 percent of Clayton voters endorsed the idea of bringing in more transit. They agreed to a penny sales tax to join MARTA. Although it was a nonbinding referendum, it indicated Clayton was ready to invest in mass transit, advocates say.
"This issue is extremely popular in Clayton," said Colleen Kiernan of the Sierra Club.
Morrow resident Carl Swensson doesn't think so. He said Clayton taxpayers shouldn't be forced to "subsidize someone else's transportation and the upkeep of buses," especially when so few people used the bus system when it existed.
Financing public transit would mean Clayton's sales tax would go from seven cents to eight cents for residents already overburdened with taxes, said Swensson, chairman of a new citizens watchdog group called Clayton County Citizens Oversight Committee.
Abdul-Salaam, who lives in Riverdale and represents parts of Clayton, said mechanisms already exist to get and keep transit running in Clayton. She said she helped create legislation that could generate up to $49 million a year to help pay for transit. By contrast, the referendum promised about $100 million for Clayton over 10 years.
She said the county is suffering economically without public transit. It has lost many businesses such as Blockbuster and Lowe's, and thousands of jobs and high foreclosures forced many people to leave after bus service ended.
Vance Scott, who lives in the Hampton area at the southern tip of Clayton, said the county needs public transit. He prefers MARTA service because "we already have an existing rail line. We might as well continue it on down this way." Buses would be a practical way to feed the MARTA line, he added.
Scott said he would be willing to pay another penny tax as long as the transit suits Clayton's needs. He voted against the regional referendum because he said it didn't appear to benefit Clayton much.
A well-thought-out Clayton-centered plan "would take a lot of cars off the road down here," Scott said.
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