Senate Democrats including gubernatorial candidate Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, took to the chamber floor Friday to press Georgia’s Republican leaders about their delayed response this week to the icy gridlock that made metro Atlanta a national laughingstock.
Among their themes: Georgia needs a cohesive emergency plan that unifies dozens of metro area governments; the governor needs to show leadership and take charge early; and the region needs a comprehensive transit plan instead of its current reliance on a “fragile” interstate system and an over-abundance of cars.
Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson, D-Tucker, also asked for a bipartisan legislative committee to study the state’s response and possibly propose fixes.
Henson and others stopped short of rehashing the anger residents expressed over the last several days, however. “There is no point today in trying to lay blame,” said Carter, who instead pointed to residents who helped neighbors and stranger alike. “I feel like Georgians were seen to have really stepped up to the plate.”
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