Your morning jolt: One-third of early voters supported TSPLOST, says poll
Only a third of early metro Atlanta voters supported the transportation sales tax, according to the firm that conducted a general poll for Channel 2 Action News last week.
Rosetta Stone Communications, a GOP-oriented political service firm, last night polled 656 randomly selected early voters in the 10-county TSPLOST district. Support was measured at 32 percent.
As of last Thursday, 123,870 early votes had been cast – we should have updated numbers that include Friday’s ballots by sometime this morning.
Last week, Kevin Ross and Paul Benacke, Strategists for the Untie Atlanta campaign said that, while discouraging, recent polls don’t measure the new voters their campaign has driven to the polls. Wrote the pair:
The campaign sampled 5,991 out of the 33,551 absentee voters and we are winning 57 percent to 43 percent; furthermore, the campaign sampled 5,681 out of the 71,298 early voters and we are winning 53 percent to 47 percent.
The Rosetta Stone findings would appear to contradict that.
“The math is simple, and the results are clear” said John Garst of Rosetta Stone. “The TSPLOST was badly defeated in the early voting period.”
Margin of error for the automated Rosetta Stone poll was placed at +/- 3.8 percentage points.
In an AJC survey released Sunday, 51 percent of likely voters said they would reject the 1 percent sales tax.
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No doubt the timing of this piece of news below is aimed at Tuesday balloting. From Jim Burress and WABE (90.1FM):
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder, Ga NAACP chapter president Edward DuBose says the Georgia Department of Transportation engages in “willful” acts of discrimination against African-American and other minority-owned businesses.
DuBose says G-DOT’s own internal audit confirms the charges, and asks for the Department of Justice to investigate.
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Then again, the Newnan Times-Herald brings word of an opposing position: The group 100 Black Men of Atlanta has endorsed the TSPLOST.
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You know that this is a “have-to” – not a “want to” for the White House. From the New York Times:
Former President Bill Clinton is set to play a central part in the Democratic convention, aides said, and will formally place President Obama’s name into nomination by delivering a prime-time speech designed to present a forceful economic argument for why Mr. Obama deserves to win a second term.
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In additional excerpts released by ABC News from its overseas interview with Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential candidate was unable to say whether he ever paid a lower tax rate than the 13.9 percent he paid in 2010. Via the Los Angeles Times:
“I haven’t calculated that. I’m happy to go back and look, but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law,” Romney [said].
Romney’s 13.9% rate falls far below rates typically applied to those with incomes approaching the $20.1 million he made in 2010.
“I know that I pay a very substantial amount of taxes, and every year since the beginning of my career so far as I can recall,” he later added.
***
Voters in northeast Georgia today will find this message from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on their home answering machines:
”If you agree that it’s time our elected officials stop talking at us and start listening to us, then I hope you’ll join me in supporting Martha Zoller for Congress. Martha’s running against the establishment, but with all of our support, she can win. Martha has been fighting for conservative causes for years. In addition to being pro-life and a firm defender of our Constitution, including our second amendment rights, Martha is a strong fiscal conservative…..”
Now, maybe it’s not a big deal, but in her message, Palin mispronounces the 9th District candidate’s name. The former radio talk show host’s name rhymes with “collar.” Palin pronounced it “Z-owe-ller.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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234 comments Add your comment
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
10:47 am
“If people moved closer to their jobs, there would not be a traffic problem.”
Or if jobs moved closer to where people want to live.
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:47 am
While you all strive for the perfect utopia state government, businesses will continue to leave this city or not come at all. Maybe in 15 years when you finally get what you want there will be enough of a voting public left to actually vote for it.
Hmmmmmm
July 30th, 2012
10:48 am
@kramer
Thanks for being honest…. It’s refreshing! Hopefully, those will be the only votes of yes this bill gets….
Marlboro Man
July 30th, 2012
10:49 am
There will be folks fired if they don’t vote Yes.
Just say NO to the TSPLOST and the Tea Party
July 30th, 2012
10:50 am
hiram
July 30th, 2012
9:46 am
Thank you for that video. This is one of the “main” reasons that the citizens of Georgia do trust our elected officials with any more of our resources. As a tax paying citizen, I find the video very offensive!! When the dust is settled on August 1st, we will be able to see how well connected the contractors are with our politicians and government officials. Damn, this is just plain robbery!! Shame on Gwinnett County!!
Auntie Christ
July 30th, 2012
10:51 am
VOTE YES!!! July 30th, 2012 9:55 am “If you vote ‘no’ you are guaranteeing an increased fuel tax and more tolls. All of which will cost you more than 1% AND will not be monitored….”
True, but the people paying it are the ones who decided to buy houses 30 miles from their work place, who drive to work all by themselves in their 20 mi/gal SUV, and who wouldn’t dream of walking their obese kids the two blocks to their school or friend’s house.
Just say NO to the TSPLOST and the Tea Party
July 30th, 2012
10:51 am
Georgia do trust our elected officials
should be Georgia DO NOT trust our elected officials
td
July 30th, 2012
10:51 am
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:47 am
Besides housing industry companies, what businesses have left the city? Which ones are planning on leaving in the future if this bill is rejected? Coke? Home depot?
Deal and Sonny have brought in a few big businesses to the outer areas of the state.
Dirty Dawg
July 30th, 2012
10:51 am
I hope you folks appreciate that the TPM (Tea Party Mindset) has now crossed Party lines and is infecting even the most optimistic among us. You guys have succeeded in generating a level of cynicism that pretty much will stifle growth and prosperity for Atlanta, the region and the State for years, if not decades,to come. I used to think that selfishness and prejudice were the ‘exclusive’ motivators of the most conservative of us…now it appears that the disease has ‘gone viral’ and probably can’t be stopped even when they (Republican Pols) try to. Hope you all are satisfied. Can you imagine what Atlanta, and because of it Georgia, would have been like if William Hartsfield, Ivan Allen, and even Sam Massell had had to deal with this kind of ‘just say no’ approach to anything that could be deemed ‘progressive’?
Shar
July 30th, 2012
10:52 am
No, the fuel tax will not be raised. If T-SPLOST fails, the politicians will be (finally) just a bit frightened of the voters whose money they slide to “contributors” in the arrogant expectation that there is always more to squeeze. The pols put T-SPLOST up for a vote and let their corporate masters try to shove it through (something they have NEVER before failed to do) so they could imitate Pontius Pilate and claim that voters decided to tax themselves and that politicians had nothing to do with raising taxes. They are far too afraid of being held accountable to actually vote for a tax increase themselves.
If T-SPLOST goes down, maybe – just maybe -there will be better planning for the fewer resources we have. The developers who make huge profits by building ever farther from town, overwhelming the tax-supported infrastructure while pocketing the big bucks, might actually have to pay for the new roads, sewers etc. they now shift to the taxpayers. Perhaps the GDOT planners will be forced to think of accountability before they approve a 4-lane to Sonny’s Place instead of new roads where everyone except former governors have to drive.
Mike, as far as taxpayer support for MARTA, your car costs lots more than just gas and maintenance. Your commute is completely dependent upon taxpayer funding for roads. MARTA doesn’t need roads, but it does need line extensions, new stations, more trains and up to date maintenance. We can never build enough roads to get rid of congestion, as the more roads we build the more houses developers will build and the more cars will be using the roads. We can build enough transit to make a huge difference. You ask about any public transit systems that are not state subsidized; can you name any road systems that operate without tax support?
Kramer
July 30th, 2012
10:53 am
To be honest Hmmm, I sort of hope it fails. I do not trust the state or federal government to spend our money the way they say they will. No government ran project gets done on time or on budget. What really burns me and it can be taken care of now, is in South Carolina they are paying .25-.30 per gallon cheaper on their gas. Are you kidding me? Our gas taxes are that much higher the SC’s? No excuse for a Republican ran state for this to happen.
Dirty Dawg
July 30th, 2012
10:53 am
Enter your comments here
findog
July 30th, 2012
10:53 am
The claim that the fuel tax will be increased is totally false
The GOP cannot vote for a tax increase. That is why everything is a form of SPLOST; gutless politicians that fear Grover Norquist more than stagnating the state by refusing to invest in infrastructure.
Vote no and make the GOP eat crow – either raise taxes like you are voted into office to meet the states needs or kill the economy to be right on taxes
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 30th, 2012
10:55 am
I early voted NO..have you? T-SPLOST is going down tommorrow..Obama is going down in November..
Say what
July 30th, 2012
10:55 am
finddog, you realize that the Democratic’s are pushing this too don’t you?
Vote No.
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:55 am
Dirty Dawg, well said.
td
July 30th, 2012
10:55 am
VOTE YES,
Still waiting on an answer about how much this tax increase will reduce the commute time from Acworth and Sugar Hill to Atlanta?
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:56 am
@Kramer, SC also has some of the worst roads and absolutely no budget to fix them.
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:57 am
@td, go look it up. I don’t have time to do your research for you. Try the Untie Atlanta website.
Kramer
July 30th, 2012
10:57 am
Dirty Dawg, thank God for the TPM crossing party lines. It is about damn time! We have to be in control of our finances at home and we should expect our Government to do the same. Or are you for the tax and spend crowd?
td
July 30th, 2012
10:57 am
findog
July 30th, 2012
10:53 am
I vote for killing the economy and forcing all the Yankee’s to more back up north.
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:58 am
@td, Turner Broadcasting has moved business to Tampa. Richmond, VA currently uses an aerial picture of the downtown connector to market new businesses.
Lt Col
July 30th, 2012
10:58 am
Being a staunch Conservative and Republican, I am normally opposed to new taxes on income, purchases, property, or for any other reason. Simply put, “I hate taxes”. However, if the Metropolitan Atlanta region ever hopes to get a handle on our gridlocked transportation system, it is going to take money…lots of money, and the only way a government can generate revenue is by taxation. Therefore, the TSPLOST is of great importance to the future of Atlanta. Without it gridlocked traffic will continue as far as the eye can see.
So, if you have not yet voted, vote Yes for TSPLOST whenever you vote!!
Kramer
July 30th, 2012
10:59 am
Vote Yes, have you seen some of our roads? Please, I don’t buy that for one second. Paying that much more then SC our roads should be the best in the country. They are not.
td
July 30th, 2012
10:59 am
VOTE YES!!!
July 30th, 2012
10:57 am
@td, go look it up. I don’t have time to do your research for you. Try the Untie Atlanta website.
I know the answer. It is not one dang minute. So tell me again why we should vote for a tax increase?
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 30th, 2012
11:00 am
Businesses won;t leave due to killing T-SPLOST..they might leave because of lack of water resources and job killing high cost clean air regulations, either way, they just move to the periphery..think KIA..they didn’t move to the metro area and it’s myriad air pollution regulations now did they..west GA…less regulation.
ank
July 30th, 2012
11:00 am
Funny, i wonder how many “no voters” i drove past this AM while going 75 miles an hour reverse commute on I-85. At least, i’ll have job protection if this fails. Its clear that actually having somewhat of an active lifestyle vs sitting your &$* in traffic 2 hrs a gday will always keep a cardiologist in business. Thanks to the anti-TSPOLST campaign for your continued support of me!
iheartsarah
July 30th, 2012
11:02 am
Vote Yes…….STFU!
TS
July 30th, 2012
11:05 am
LOL @ people who think Atlanta traffic is “bad”….try driving on Los Angeles freeways where the slow lane is considered 75 mph and then see if you still think Atlanta traffic is bad!
Shar
July 30th, 2012
11:05 am
@Vote Yes and Marlboro Man: You have not offered up any concrete transportation improvements that this T-SPLOST will deliver across the metro area that justify the massive investment that every person in the metro will have to make.
The reason is simple: there are no substantial improvements in transportation. There are lots of hundred million dollar “studies” on roads that might indeed make a difference, but there is no funding for those roads – a clear indication that the T-SPLOST backers are planning a thirty year tax, not a ten year one. Perhaps if they were honest and admitted that nothing will improve until after thirty years or so, they might be able to offer up the transportation value that would justify the tax, but everyone knows that the tax would be DOA if the real tax period was admitted.
This is not a jobs bill or a very expensive PR campaign to convince corporate relocation specialists that Atlantans “believe in Atlanta”.. It is a TRANSPORTATION bill, and as such it DOES NOT WORK. Your failure to offer any proof to the contrary shows that you are aware of this basic, irredeemable flaw.
Overtaxation, distrust of politicians, politicization and corruption of GaDOT, fiscal irrresponsibility, failure of previous ‘citizen review boards’ to address graft, cronyism and overspending – all these factors play into the resistance to the T-SPLOST. The elephant in the living room that you supporters want so desperately to avoid discussing is the fact that the current project list will do almost nothing for the vast majority of Atlantans, and therefore does not deserve to be funded by them.
Laughing so hard it hurts
July 30th, 2012
11:05 am
I am upset at all the business signs posted in and around the 124 area that no comission or chairman that sits on any board has just gladly at their own will posted on the sidewalks like the business supports it with that impression without talking to the owners or individuals of the business.. Flat out wrong….and disgusting politics. Both sides of the aisle.
Bob
July 30th, 2012
11:06 am
Vote No!
The proponents are lying! For example they state without TSPLOST the region will die as companies vacate Atanta and no one will move here. Yet they then say traffic will get worse and worse as the population and regions grows! You can’t have both!
Now TSPLOST is about “JOBS.” They gave up in lying about travel benefits as they are extremely minor. Why should anyone pay more tax for unsustainable const jobs?
They are NO FUNDS to sustain the expanded transit operating costs without TSPLOST II and TSPLOST III. The Beltline [WasteLine] and Emory Connector will not be completed and in full operation until TSPLOST ends.
Bob Smith
July 30th, 2012
11:07 am
Well, can’t speak for other voters but my wife and I voted early and both voted NO. I know of several others who have voted NO. I only know one person who has said they are voting yes.
Ga Values VOTE NO FOR WASTE, GRAFT & CORRUPTION
July 30th, 2012
11:08 am
@vote yes…I assume you are being paid by the post..good if you are paid in cash but I doubt that your check will cash tomorrow.
Bob Smith
July 30th, 2012
11:09 am
Anyone know where I can get a VOTE No sign for my yard. I live on a busy state hwy and would love to sway maybe a few others to the nay side if possible.
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
11:10 am
“businesses will continue to leave this city or not come at all. ”
We can only hope – Caterpillar, Kia, Budweiser, Toyo Tires – all made the RIGHT decision not to locate in Atlanta. The old GM facility sits empty because it is STUPID to locate a business where people DON’T WANT TO LIVE.
The enemy within
July 30th, 2012
11:11 am
Dirty Dog – This country was MOST successful when the vast majority of citizens were skeptical of their government’s ability to do anything. We must return to a circumstance when government solutions are seen for what they are – the wrong way to handle things. Thankfully the “Tea Party Mentality” as you call it is catching fire on both sides of the aisle. Frankly the libertarian movement has gained so much ground lately because everyone who is paying any attention at all can see that government is an abject failure while the free market, while not perfect, at least offers competition and an opportunity for voluntary exchange and even voluntary rejection of a failed business without the need for political intervention. Hooray for the freedom movement. Great job Ron Paul and your R3VOLUTION.
TS
July 30th, 2012
11:16 am
Thats why I would never start a road construction company….waaaayyyy to much competition fighting over to few jobs.
The road construction companies are feeling the pinch…they can give a rats azz about improving people’s commute. They are desperately trying to survive in a business where 90% of your revenues comes from public money! High overhead (heavy equipment that rapidly depreciates and storage cost for that equipment) + too much competition + bad economy and angry voters = FAIL!!!
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
11:17 am
If Atlanta wants a TSPLOST, let the Atlanta counties (Fulton and Dekalb) vote it in. Quit trying to make us suburbs your “donor counties”.
Mr Vote Yes – the reason you don’t want the legislature to increase the gasoline tax rather than use a TSPLOST is that gas taxes can ONLY be used for roadways, – NOT for MARTA or the Beltline.
And to think
July 30th, 2012
11:19 am
When I moved to Atlanta it was seen as a forward-thinking and rapidly globalizing city. I see the local populace prefers being cheap and small-minded. To each their own but I think your grandkids will be disappointed you “prefer Birmingham” to what Atlanta and Georgia could be. SMH. Wonders never cease. Other cities will gladly take your economic development, I have firsthand experience with it and I assure you, it actually IS the traffic.
allen981
July 30th, 2012
11:19 am
Here’s the lunacy of this plan: improvement to the I-20/I-285 interchange, one of the worst, most poorly designed anywhere in the world, is not on the schedule for work until 2020.
That is ludicrous, and alone, is worth a no vote. This is the worst interchange in Atlanta, creates constant backups in both directions at all hours, and is a huge impediment to traffic around and through the city.
So, “Vote Yes” explain that one to us.
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
11:20 am
The AJC got it right when they said most of us who have voted NO or intend to vote NO did so at least in part because of the lying politicians who kept the Ga 400 tolls in place after they expired. Do you really believe there won’t be a TSPLOST II and TSPLOST III? I have a bridge I would like to sell you…
td
July 30th, 2012
11:20 am
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
11:17 am
Was not aware of that little tidbit of information. Good catch.
Just say NO to the TSPLOST and the Tea Party
July 30th, 2012
11:21 am
I am a Democrat and I am voting NO because I do not trust a state government that has little or no flexibility. (All Republican) My decision is NOT based on what is going on within the “Tea Party”. You Tea Party members and Republicans said in 2010 that you all were sending a message and voted to turn Georgia into a bright RED state. Well the message is being sent back to Governor Deal and the rest of the administration. Maybe they should not have let the ink dry too fast for the contracts to their families and friends!!
Build public trust by using taxes for transportation, not stadium | Kyle Wingfield
July 30th, 2012
11:21 am
[...] write it’s what “most people” would expect. But, given that we still are getting vastly divergent reports of the decisions of even those voters who have already cast their ballots, I’m not sure there [...]
ComradeAnon
July 30th, 2012
11:23 am
Roads in Georgia have ALWAYS been about economic development. They are what got us in this situation in the first place. Think “Inner Perimeter”. Just on a much larger scale. This state is incapable of doing what is needed to get cars off the road. Build a world class transit system. And why can’t they finance improvements the traditional way? Because that would likely require higher taxes. Which can’t be done. Unless it’s a very regressive sales tax. What a bunch of hypocrites.
Middle of the Road
July 30th, 2012
11:24 am
“Other cities will gladly take your economic development,”
Other cities in Georgia. There ARE other cities in Georgia besides Atlanta, you know. Let Atlanta pay for Atlanta’s issues. Next you will see a SSPLOST – where Atlanta will want the suburbs to pay for their sewage problems because “we commute in and sh*t in-town”.
Mike
July 30th, 2012
11:24 am
JB; so why are you turning this discussion into a “Nanny State” rage; can’t come up with a rational argument otherwise?
Bob
July 30th, 2012
11:25 am
TSPLOST does not adequately fund the “perfect” transportation system which is:
1. Available where I live regionwide
2. Goes where I want to go
3. Guarantees me a seat, no standing
4. Is available when I need it {24/7]
5. Affordable for almost all
Answer – Cars driving on decent roads!
The answer is not $$$ wasteful transit like the Atl Trolley, WasteLine, and Emory connector.
td
July 30th, 2012
11:26 am
And to think
July 30th, 2012
11:19 am
“When I moved to Atlanta it was seen as a forward-thinking and rapidly globalizing city.”
You must have been one of the people that bought into the Olympics propaganda. Most life long residents of Georgia did not want to see this rapid growth. We were for slow steady growth where you build the infrastructure as you go along. It is high time we get back to the correct thinking and slow this down.