Prominent Republican Atlanta attorney Ray Smith and former GOP state legislator (and briefly state House speaker) Mark Burkhalter are feverishly soliciting votes from among 29 state legislators in Georgia’s 6th U.S. Congressional District for election to a vacant seat on the influential board that oversees the state Department of Transportation. The vacancy opened when former state lawmaker Dan Moody unexpectedly resigned. His successor must obtain a simple majority when the bipartisan group conducts a secret vote behind closed doors in mid-February.
Among influential supporters of Smith, an attorney who heads the litigation department of Thrasher Liss & Smith, are state Reps. Joe Wilkinson, R-Sandy Springs, and Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs. Burkhalter is part of the government relations team at the McKenna Long & Aldridge firm and counts among his leading backers state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta (the president/CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce).
One vendor who does contract work with the DOT says “ultimately it may be hard to beat a former Republican state legislator who has good relations with current Republican legislators.” However, that same source notes “Burkhalter may have made some political adversaries with the Democrat lawmakers who could be the swing votes. Smith hasn’t ruffled any feathers with them.”
The 14-member board names the department’s commissioner (it recently selected veteran DOT engineer Russell McMurry) and oversees everything from public road designations to authorizing lease agreements and approving long-range transportation plans and projects. The state agency’s annual budget exceeds $4.2 billion.
The secret board member selection process has also come under fire from critics on both the left and right in recent years. Organizations ranging from Common Cause Georgia to Tea Party groups have demanded more transparency including an open, public vote for board members.
