April 22, 2008 - As The DOT Turns

Tim Darnell

April 22, 2008

I've never really understood the appeal of a TV soap opera (even though I used to watch some when I was a kid with my grandparents during summer. OK, it was just something to do ...)

Anyway, why watch The Guiding Light, All My Children, et al, when you can tune in for the latest episode of As The DOT Turns?

Now, it goes without saying the Georgia's Department of Transportation is the state's most powerful and influential governmental agency, able to dole out millions upon multi-millions of dollars for highway contracts and all kinds of affiliated pork.

But you have to wonder how all of this latest drama and sexual intrigue is going to affect the DOT down the road (never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd use the words "sexual intrigue" and "DOT" in the same sentence).

First, now-ex DOT board chair Mike Evans goes public with a romantic relationship with board member Gena Abraham, and resigns. Then, Abraham herself is reprimanded by the board for not making their relationship public much sooner. Then, on the same day, longtime and influential member Garland Pinholster resigns as temporary DOT chairman, but still remains on the board, as it becomes public that he's the subject of a sexual harassment claim.

Now, you're going to hear in some bedrock GOP circles that all of this is being completely overblown by the media (you know, that nasty, left-leaning, Democrat-loving press). Don't believe it. This has the potential to rock the DOT's world for years to come, and it could affect each and every Atlantan and Georgian who depends on this insulated, closed-to-the-public, monolithic bureaucratic agency to provide transportation solutions for everyone.