Great leaders have showed us the way to inspiration, to compassion, to globalization and to creating a path — not defined by our differences, but built on the strengths of diversity and respect.
In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave what is arguably the greatest speech in American history. But that same summer in Washington, another remarkable Atlantan gave a courageous and powerful testimonial before Congress. Mayor Ivan Allen stepped forward as the only elected Southern politician willing to speak in support of President Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill. He thought he was signing the death sentence for his political career, but he boldly led because it was the right thing to do.
Now is the time for us to stop looking for divisions and instead look for ways to come together. Last year, the regional transit committee at the Atlanta Regional Commission unanimously approved a governance framework that serves as a model for what we should be as a region, specifically identifying jurisdictional participation, proportional decision-making based on population and financial contribution, and unified decision-making.
Our region’s leaders approved the ARC legislation. I believe our Legislature should look to this wise approach as a shining example of how to come together to build bridges, not trenches.
Recently, the House passed HB 1052 which reshapes MARTA’s board of directors by blatantly taking power away from Fulton County instead of addressing what truly harms MARTA today.
Currently, HB 1052 serves only to inflame the emotions of the north/south divide by taking two board appointments from Fulton County and giving them to a caucus of north Fulton mayors. This is illegal. The MARTA contract is with Fulton, DeKalb and Atlanta.
Those jurisdictions should be making the MARTA board appointments. It is a simple function of accountability and fair representation.
This bill should instead be changed to right a historic wrong. When MARTA was created, the Legislature imposed onerous financial restrictions not felt by any other transit authority in this nation: It mandated a 50-50 split of MARTA’s sales tax revenues between capital and operating expenses. I hope the Senate takes the opportunity to amend this bill to eliminate the “50-50” provision.
Let’s use HB 1052 to build the region, not divide us. In Fulton County, we have focused on building those bridges by running our government well.
We haven’t raised countywide taxes in more than a decade. We are creating an Economic Development Division that will help grow, retain and attract jobs across the county.
To continue to grow and prosper as a region, we need to work together with mutual respect for one another as well as those who worked to build this place we call home.
John Eaves is chairman of the Fulton County Commission.
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