Channel 2 poll: Support for transportation sales tax continues to slip
Lori Geary and Channel 2 Action News have posted another poll that shows support for a transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta continuing to slip – and not just among white Republican voters anymore.
The automated poll, conducted by the Republican-oriented political service firm Rosetta Stone Communications, has a 3.1 percent margin of error. Take a look at the crosstabs here. From the Channel 2 website:
The poll, conducted July 11, found only 33 percent of metro Atlantans support the referendum while 56 percent oppose the measure. Twelve percent remain undecided.
Seventy-one percent of Republicans in metro Atlanta now oppose the referendum, but only 50 percent of Democrats support the July 31 vote. Broken down by race, 47 percent of African-American supporters favor the referendum. Sixty-seven percent of white voters oppose it.
This in the face of a resumed TV campaign.
Those supporting the sales tax point out that, in a mid-summer primary, turnout is likely to be low and thus figuring out who will actually cast a ballot becomes an imprecise science. This will be about turnout, they say.
John Garst of Rosetta Stone sent the following state via email late this afternoon:
“The moment of realization has to be setting in with the business community in Atlanta. After spending millions of dollars on this campaign and seeing poll numbers drop steadily, they need to be searching for plan B.”
The survey, which was conducted on Wednesday night, sampled 1,050 pre-screened primary voters of both parties and was weighted to accurately reflect the demographic and geographic turnout.
“Due to the nature of this issue and the confusion surrounding the polling for this referendum, I invite anyone from the public, the T-Splost campaign, nervous donors or the opposition to call me and I will explain and clarify all numbers.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
318 comments Add your comment
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
5:19 pm
No new taxes.
Ray
July 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
Reasons the SPLOST will Fail:
• GA 400 Toll end date promise not kept
• Gwinnett Hot Lanes that back 285 up past Roswell Road when school is in.
• Proposed HOT lanes on 75 in Henry that would probably cause traffic to back up between I-20 and I-285 during the evening rush.
• The $200+ million bus terminal proposed for South Dekalb that no one in the area wants.
• Voters will look to the $600 Million Beltline neighborhood revitalizer/tourist attraction as to why very little is proposed for their area.
Randy
July 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
http://www.ajc.com/business/delays-cost-increases-at-1477334.html
Look at this boondoggle and explain to us once again how good government is at managing money.
Today in Monroe Ga they were giving out “Free Telephones” so are phone companies giving away free airtime? Nothing is free somebody’s tax dollars are paying for those free phones.
Taxes are up and governments are going broke….sounds like a spending problem to me.
Term Limits should be mandatory on every level of government.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
Damn straight, Tony B. Let the companies build the trains and roads.
JB
July 13th, 2012
5:24 pm
HAHAHAH! I can’t help but laugh at all the folks who bought into the “American Dream” -owning an underwater mortgage in the suburbs- where the police treat citizens to multi $100 tickets for any small driving infraction- paying giant car notes on inflated insurance premiums to wit- driving 2 or more hours everyday day to work for a company that barely pays all those American Dream bills- JUST TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW THEIR TRAFFIC NEEDS TO BE “FIXED”!
Hahahahahha!!! SHEEPLE
I sold my car 5 years ago and bike everywhere I go. I like to sit on my patio and watch the cars all stuck in traffic while I sip on a cold one and thank the big guy upstairs for all the cool restaurants / parks / bike trails and things- right here in Midtown.
I also quit my job and now I own my own company- where I set my own hours and fees.
Mike
July 13th, 2012
5:24 pm
We early voted in South Georgia & voted against the T-SPLOST. An increase in any type of tax at this time is just wrong. Besides, the DOT is a fourth branch of state government & requires way too much of our state’s resources. They’ve been rebuilding I-75 down our way forever. Now they’re making these eleborate off-ramps that you could land a 747 on. Good roads are nice but these guys go overboard. No T-SPLOST for us.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
5:25 pm
td, I don’t know what on God’s green earth you mean by “mass transit” but we should spend 0% on that, whatever it is.
Centrist
July 13th, 2012
5:28 pm
Unless the proponents who have skin in the game are just laying low, the pro $$ wins the advertising war, or the wording on the ballot tricks the uniformed – this pig is going down.
The interesting part will be the post-mortem. Will our government leaders admit an added general sales tax was the wrong way to go? Will they admit that our current tax dollars should be spent on higher priority transportation issues? Will a user (fuel) tax be part of a future mix? Or will they blame the voters and attempt to punish them? I reluctantly voted for Deal because I knew what we had with Roy Barnes. I will be taking a hard look at his re-election depending on how he handles a predicted T-SPLOST defeat, and am not alone in such an assessment.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
5:34 pm
I hear some fancy high-falutin’ folks say Georgia is near last on how much it spends per person on roads and such. Well hell, someone’s gotta be last!
Isis5761
July 13th, 2012
5:34 pm
As long as the State does not sensibly address the traffic problem which they have not done in the 33 years I’ve lived in Atlanta, I will not vote for it. What do I mean. We’re the only state that doesn’t fund a MARTA. The insignificant amt to be allocated to MARTA is a slap in the face while attempting to widening more roads so we can choke to death. Also, the Beltline will receive a huge amt for 23 miles for what and whom not to mention it’s public money that should be privately funded. The lack of public transportation in Atlanta is about race. I’m an African American not voting for it so include me in the nonvote.
American
July 13th, 2012
5:37 pm
I will “turn out” and I will vote NO
Schummann
July 13th, 2012
5:39 pm
I will NEVER vote in favor of additional taxes on myself or anyone else. I WILL vote in favor of the leaders to “live within their means” and STOP with their excessive spending… We are already TAXED for the roads in this state!!..VOTE NO
tony
July 13th, 2012
5:41 pm
Metro Atlantans need to do some soul searching about why the area was hit harder in the Great Recession than other cities, and look at places like Denver and Dallas that are investing huge amounts of resources into expanding their transit systems. Atlanta is very quickly falling behind its peers.
sparta_bubba
July 13th, 2012
5:45 pm
Let’s see now. I 285 was built to relieve traffic and became a parking lot. GA 400 was built to relieve traffic and became a parking lot. So why should we give Deal’s construction contributors money to build more parking lots. And they become parking lots because Deal’s developer contributors start building before the parking lots are complete. Bring me a tax with mass transit and I will vote for it. Nothing else.
shirley
July 13th, 2012
5:47 pm
@ Hilton Spence. Not sure how I am drawn into the T-SPLOST debate since I left office in 2009 nor did I serve in the legislature that passed the bill.. I’m not rich and never have been. In fact, I’ve never aspired to being rich just righteous and that’s hard enough to strive for every day.
dazed and confused
July 13th, 2012
5:48 pm
It appears that the ball to defeat this absurd initiative is rolling in the right direction in spite of the millions in TV advertising being squandered. Next project, lets get serious about the mayor’s 90 million dollar trolley ride.
Great Stuff
July 13th, 2012
5:48 pm
No Marta in Gwinnett!!!!!
No, No, No,
You can take the buses out too!
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
5:50 pm
No MARTA! No buses! No trains! No roads! No taxes! No government! Hallelulah!
Ga Values .................. VOTE NO FOR WASTE, GRAFT & CORRUPTION
July 13th, 2012
5:56 pm
shirley
July 13th, 2012
5:47 pm
What is your & your family’s cut on the waste/belt line?
Blade
July 13th, 2012
6:01 pm
I don’t why no one believes “it’s only a penny for 10 years” and then go away. I mean, look at hwy 400. They said all we have to do is pay .50 toll for 20 years until it was paid for and then be dissolved. And.as “PROMISED” true to their word, after reaching 20 years last year and finally paid for, the toll station was taken OOPS!!!……………………….never mind
Peanut gallery
July 13th, 2012
6:02 pm
Rather pay tolls than this 1% slush fund.
With a toll you drive on the road, you pay the toll. You are PAYING for a road to use it. I’m not happy with how 400 went down but at least the money collected has to be tied to the damn road in some way.
With the 1% tax, who knows?
Kevin
July 13th, 2012
6:03 pm
I live in Midtown and drive to Alpharetta every day. Trust me when I say that I wish we had improved transportation.
But, sadly, I’m with the majority here. I can’t trust these bass-ackward, greedy politicians with more money. They have not proven competent.
TSPLOST will fail. It’s sad, but it’s reality.
Church of the painful Truth
July 13th, 2012
6:04 pm
NO,NO, and a big damn NO!! Do not vote to tax yourself.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
6:08 pm
These greedy politicians will steal all of the T-SPLOST money. Who came up with this whole T-SPLOST thing anyway? Obama, I’ll bet. Or some bunch of liberals.
hind tit
July 13th, 2012
6:08 pm
Cut the retirement money the taxpayers have to match for government employees to pay for transportation improvements. I for one am sick and tired of people retiring after thirty years and receiving eighty to eighty five percent of their pay for the rest of their life. The reason states have no money is because they have to pay two people to do one job. Stop the insanity before it’s to late.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:09 pm
A rail transportation hub in The Gulch that does not include Amtrak, or any other future heavy rail enterprises? How many synonyms for “absurd” are there? Gainesville, Athens, Macon and the corridor along I-75 north may as well be in foreign countries.
Kris
July 13th, 2012
6:10 pm
@tim July 13th, 2012 2:26 pm
“Glad they didn’t poll me about actress wanna be Monica Pearson. She’s the worst. Glad she’s going.”
Shut your mouth for a female broadcaster to make it 37 years at the same station speaks volumes about as to how good a job she has done. Monica, Farewell and Good luck on your new adventures.
Vote NO sp-LOST.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
6:11 pm
I am voting no even though I have very little skin in the game. My annual mileage is less than 5,000, my wife’s is even less.
That there need to be improvements is obvious and much of the planned projects are not for widening existing highways, but for interchanges and improvements to strategic feeder roads (Think Old Milton Pkwy at 7:45 in the morning).
The one project that I would support even though I would benefit little form it is the transition from SB 400 to NB 85. Mostly because that fiasco is laughable to the point of being embarrassing.
I would support municipal tax increases in the form of local income taxes where those taxes are reserved for transportation infrastructure improvements. If the good folks in Alpharetta and John’s Creek want to improve the interchanges at exits 9 and 10, let them pay for it and not require the citizens of south Fulton and DeKalb to do so. Then they can decide if the costs are merited by the need.
I would also support use taxes in terms of raising the state gas tax rate (GA already has one of the lowest rates in the nation), additional tolls, city parking surcharges where the burden is met by those who use and need the improvements.
You could even look at a commuter tax such as exists in NYC or London.
For those who support the TSPLOST, you should look at the history of California’s Measure “A”.
As a past resident of the area, admittedly, Measure “A” did accomplish quite a bit of good in enhancing San Jose’s and the Silicon Valley’s commuting nightmare but there are two issues to consider:
The passage of of the measure occurred during and ran through significant growth and boom times in that area and the income level of those paying the taxes were quite a bit above the national norm.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:13 pm
You want to take the train up to D.C. instead of flying? Your best bet is to drive up to a parking lot near Perimeter Mall and take a cab to Norcross. Around midnight.
oldfart
July 13th, 2012
6:14 pm
The motor fuel tax is the most equitable way to tax for roads as those that use them the most pay the most tax for their gasoline. An equitable way to distribute that tax is what Georgia has been missing and the DOT should be required to utilize the funds proportionally by the taxes received from each region. Four lanes to Hahira and the like are often done because their guy is on the right committee not because the average daily traffic warrants them. ONE HALF BILLION DOLLARS of gas tax money was earmarked by the legislature to start the mostly unwanted HOT Lane in Cobb on I75 in the closing days of the last session. This didn’t even get a mention that I saw in the AJC. That money could be used to implement some of the needed projects held out as bait for this SPLOST. It would be criminal on the tax payer’s part to vote yes for an additional tax on goods that have nothing to do with transportation when the current taxes collected specifically for that purpose are being squandered.
RAMZAD
July 13th, 2012
6:20 pm
We don’t need no new asphalt pavements. We don’t need now bigger log jams. Hey! politician leave them dollars alone.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
6:21 pm
Here, here, RAMZAD
Centrist
July 13th, 2012
6:23 pm
Look posted ” My annual mileage is less than 5,000, my wife’s is even less. . . (Think Old Milton Pkwy at 7:45 in the morning).
Surprised you put that many miles on when you are sitting in parking lots. I’ve heard there are skeletons in those parked cars on Old Milton Pkwy with cobwebs all over those stalled cars, but nobody has gotten close enough to confirm.
td
July 13th, 2012
6:26 pm
hind tit
July 13th, 2012
6:08 pm
Cut the retirement money the taxpayers have to match for government employees to pay for transportation improvements. I for one am sick and tired of people retiring after thirty years and receiving eighty to eighty five percent of their pay for the rest of their life. The reason states have no money is because they have to pay two people to do one job. Stop the insanity before it’s to late.
You are not talking about the state of Georgia. I am pretty sure all new workers get 30% and that is down from 60% for current workers in the system.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:26 pm
How about maximizing user fees (doublespeak for taxing) freight haulers and their clients on the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System that pass through or near occupied areas? Is it fair to tax the occupants of said areas?
Don't Tread
July 13th, 2012
6:28 pm
Support continues to slip. GOOD. I’ll throw in a banana peel if that helps.
Bernie
July 13th, 2012
6:31 pm
Gomer @ 6:08 pm – Your name reflects your comments, You know who gave us this boondoggle. Only a Republican could come up with a “TAX” plan like this and then say you must DO it NOW or the world will end!
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
If you want my money, give me the right to join with my friends in buying a toll booth on your grandiose schemed byways.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
6:35 pm
Come now, Bernie, no God-fearing Republican could come up with such a thing as T-SPLOST.
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
@Centrist
My wife is an F/A for Delta. Her annual commute is less than 2.5K miles as we live in midtown ATL
I either work at home or fly every week – my mileage is higher because we use my SUV to do all the running around. She has the newest looking 7 yr old E320 on the block. Total mint condition. I only get to drive it when the oil needs to be changed. *sigh*
iheartsarah
July 13th, 2012
6:40 pm
TSPLOST: You ain’t getting my penny!
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
6:41 pm
@Gomer
Yet TSPLOST arises from a completely GOP dominated state legislature.
Says something about their commitment to God, eh?
td
July 13th, 2012
6:43 pm
Look before I leap…
July 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
“I only get to drive it when the oil needs to be changed. *sigh*”
Sounds like we may be living in the same house, or at least married to the same personality type.
brock
July 13th, 2012
6:43 pm
I am voting yes, because this plan is much better than nothing. I do not like increased taxes either, but sitting in traffic is taxing in itself.
I wish the state pols would get some attachments and simply raise the gas tax and get on with some improvements. It’s the most equitable and efficient way to levy a user fee. Don’t be cowards. Just do it.
td
July 13th, 2012
6:46 pm
Look before I leap…
July 13th, 2012
6:41 pm
“Yet TSPLOST arises from a completely GOP dominated state legislature.”
Remember the series of articles in this paper a couple years back about how the establishment Republicans are not taking the Tea Party serious in Georgia or how the Tea Party is not strong in Georgia? I have a feeling there are many establishment Republicans getting a rude awakening the past few weeks.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:46 pm
So, taxes are akin to gifts from “God”?
Look before I leap...
July 13th, 2012
6:51 pm
@td
She’ll change her tune when I bite the bullet and get my mid-life crisis car.
I have an evil plan. I am leaving brochures for Ferraris, Maseratis and even the Bugatti Veyron around the house. That way, when I opt for the Porsche Carrera, she won’t be so shocked.
Gomer
July 13th, 2012
6:53 pm
The Republicans should pass a law that makes the French pay for our roads. I reckon’ the good folks of Georgia would vote for that.
Bernie
July 13th, 2012
6:54 pm
Mayor Reed is just another “TOKEN” to be used like a “TOOL” in the woodshed in the hopes of running for a higher office. What office I am not exactly sure of, because none of the “good ole boys” are going to vote for him or anyone that looks like him, even if its for the local DOG CATCHER.
Delbert D.
July 13th, 2012
6:54 pm
Hey, there’s that new Viper coming out for 2013. Buy American. Or, the heck with socialistic ideas; get that Porsche.