Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday there are no do-overs.
The governor declared he will not turn to voters again on transportation funding and said he does not support an increase in the gas tax or a hotel/motel tax to fund transportation projects.
Deal's comments at the groundbreaking for Baxter International's $1 billion plant near Covington came the day after voters in metro Atlanta overwhelmingly rejected a one-cent sales tax for transportation. Asked if he would support a second referendum with a re-jiggered project list, Deal was unequivocal.
"I have no interest in that," he said. "I think the public has expressed their opinion on that. I see no sense in revisiting an issue that the public has rather resoundingly expressed their opinion on."
His stance puts him at odds with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. Reed said late Tuesday that a new vote "has to happen" and is the only way to get the necessary money for the most ambitious projects.
Reed, who was perhaps the referendum's most visible and vocal supporter over the past two weeks, said these kinds of efforts often take multiple attempts.
Instead, Deal said, he'll try to do the most with the reduced state and federal money already on the table and will prioritize major projects such as the Ga. 400-I-285 interchange. Deal will maintain transportation decisions at the state level, where he would have a final veto over projects that pass through an alphabet soup of state agencies.
Later, in a press release, Deal emphasized that he would continue to take input from legislators and local officials to develop the priority list. He stressed that it will be a "need to do" list, not a "want to do" list.
His plan does not embrace plans put forward by the unusual partnership of the Sierra Club and the tea party. The groups, which opposed Tuesday's T-SPLOST referendum, last week called for a series of alternatives including a consolidated motor fuel tax that could be used for all transportation projects and creation of new alternatives for cities and counties to adopt their own transportation sales tax increases to pay for local projects.
Tea party leader Debbie Dooley, who helped coordinated the shared message, warned elected officials Wednesday against a petulant reaction to the referendum's 62-to-38 percent defeat.
Deal said his decision is not reactionary. The transportation tax referendum was not his idea; it came from his predecessor, former Gov. Sonny Perdue, and an act of the 2010 General Assembly.
"I felt that it was my responsibility to embrace it," Deal said. "It was not an approach that taxpayers embraced, but that doesn't mean that many of the projects on the list didn't have merit. The ones that have merit will still be considered and will hopefully have prioritization."
Deal was adamant about working within the existing structure of transportation planning. But he also made it clear he feels the three regions that approved their transportation referendums — Augusta, Columbus and a collection of counties in south-central Georgia — made the smart choice.
"I say watch them grow," Deal said.
Some said Deal's plan won't solve the underlying problem of voter distrust in government — a prominent theme among T-SPLOST opponents.
The Fulton County Taxpayers Association, for example, said it is "imperative" that a project list be compiled by engineers, traffic planners and consultants, not by elected officials.
"We call on Governor Deal to put together such a group that can hand over a working plan to ease congestion in the Atlanta Metro area," association executive director Barbara Payne said. "Any other plan, coming from any other entity, will only serve the pet projects of elected officials and special interests."
As for the Sierra Club, NAACP and other groups that opposed the transportation tax because it did not include enough investment in rail, Deal delivered a bitter pill: They're still not going to get what they want. He indicated expansion of MARTA and other rail projects will not be high on the priority list.
"MARTA needs to be fixed and before the taxpayers are going to spend any more money on MARTA ... I think [voters] also sent a message that they're not going to put more money into something they perceive is not functioning appropriately with the revenue that's available."
Later Wednesday, Deal said Tuesday's vote "slams the door on further expansion of our rail network anytime soon."
Sierra Club lobbyist Neill Herring said, "This is not the response we had hoped for, but it's not a response that's surprising." He said MARTA could still see a revenue boost through legislation to remove restrictions on how it allocates its money.
"I believe we can get the handcuffs taken off MARTA," Herring said. "If the governor wants to veto that, that will be an interesting discussion."
Georgia NAACP president Edward DuBose said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote and also urged Deal to absorb the reasoning behind it.
"The governor needs to understand the people were not speaking against projects, but rather accountability," DuBose said. "The governor would be wise to pause and move emotions out of the way and read exactly what the people are saying. That kind of rhetoric is irresponsible."
Key lawmakers who opposed the tax plan, meanwhile, vow to follow through on their promise to explore other options.
"I met today with a number of senators, including Senator [Vincent] Fort who joined me in the effort to stop" the tax, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said. "We remain committed to finding a solution that will actually relieve traffic congestion."
Deal landed at least one ally Wednesday when Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle pledged to help prioritize projects and "stretch every penny we have."
"Throughout our history we have shown that our state doesn't shy away from challenges, but instead we rise up to meet them," Cagle said.
Staff writer Jeremiah McWilliams contributed to this article.
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