DOT official holds power in transit referendum

AJC:

As the state hands over a $23 billion project list for the regional roundtable to sort through, it’s evidence of Todd Long’s power as metro Atlanta and 11 other regions in Georgia head toward a 2012 referendum.

Long, the state’s director of planning for transportation, is an unelected bureaucrat who reports to the governor, but the law that created his post gave Long the power to pare down (or beef up) the wish list of projects submitted by local governments — within guidelines set by regional officials. He has handled this for all 12 regions of the state.

Long’s position was created as a way to shift power from the state Transportation Board to the governor. Then-Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Long as the first person to the post, and Gov. Nathan Deal kept him on.