Insider Editorial:

We Are All 'A Little Bit Crazy' - DOT Should Keep Abraham

By Matt Towery
For InsiderAdvantage

(4/21/08) Let me start out by noting that I am writing this column so that none of my writers, editors, or employees have to in any way be associated with it. And while it might run a little long (it’s real long), I think you will at least be amused having read it. It is an equal opportunity offender. And it is the truth.

Many times my friend - and I do mean true friend - Zell Miller has told a story to folks about the time he warned the state DOT Board that he was “a little bit crazy.” Zell knows exactly what story I’m talking about and at this juncture in reading this piece he’s saying “that crazy Towery!” I miss his more constant presence and yes, Zell, I am going to end this thing with the true version of “I might be a little bit crazy.”

Meanwhile, let’s just admit that everybody is a little bit crazy (I know you are all saying, “Well you more than us, Matt”). Well sometimes knowing a lot of history and keeping up with things since you were a kid serving as Lester Maddox’s personal page gives you enough perspective to make you extra crazy. So I plead guilty.

But I also know what I’m talking about. So let’s get down to this whole DOT mess and the impending decision of whether Commissioner Gena Abraham should be terminated for having a personal relationship with recently-resigned Board Chairman Mike Evans.

First off, nobody in the know is buying the “spring fling” version of their relationship, but who cares. They are both single (that, in and of itself, qualifies for a merit badge under the Gold Dome) and Evans stepped aside.

Now, why do you think their relationship came to the attention of the media and caused such a furor? Well, if it follows the pattern of every other similar stunt I’ve seen in Georgia government since I was that 1970 Maddox protégé, it has to do with getting rid of a perceived troublemaker. After all, when someone comes in and discovers that nearly a billion dollars worth of committed contracts can’t be accounted for, that’s upsetting a really big and lucrative apple cart.

Many of you have read our reports of an on-going corruption investigation taking place in Georgia and spreading throughout the Southeast. I’ve always marveled at how we seem to nab, and rightly so, the petty thief who stupidly takes a wad of cash for a vote, but everyone just sits back while transportation dollars of incalculable amounts, land deals, bank deals, big money maters just seem to drift off the radar screen. But you can read more of that in the next James Magazine.

Now when it comes to being a little bit crazy, I’ve got nothing on Gov. Perdue, Speaker Richardson, and Lt. Governor Cagle. Each has their own version of craziness. But that’s the stuff of politics. I’m sure the three will start battling over the replacement for Evans on the DOT and give us another round of “good cop, bad cop.” All I ask is that they spare all these hardworking reporters from having to attend another contrived press conference where the governor tries to play “Father Knows Best.” Good heavens, guys, even Lester would have laughed at that one.

For whatever shortcomings and blind spots his critics notice all too well, Perdue has managed to “manage” state government. His decision to push for Abraham proved smart. She immediately went into the one area of government which, since childhood, I have feared like “Munster Mansion.” The nasty, putrid cobwebs of lies, deceit, and dirty filthy deals that have haunted that place for large portions of its existence would make anyone tremble.

But Abraham didn’t realize how many toes she would be stepping on, how many cobwebs she would disturb when she sought to shed a little light on the dingy and crusty world of Georgia’s DOT underbelly. It didn’t take long for those who want darkness to return to find a way to damage her. After all, isn’t that the way it works? Damage someone’s reputation so you can keep things status quo.

Now, I must admit that the disclosure that Ms. Abraham sent memos warning employees to stop certain dirty deeds did appear to be a bit hypocritical. But let me just fill you in, just a bit, as to a sample of the type of behavior she was trying to stop. You see, she wasn’t trying to stop an after hours off-campus love tryst. No, she was trying to warn certain DOT employees to quit having sex on the job, among many other matters. Can I make it any clearer? Now, unless someone produces a picture (and Lord knows in this state I can name a few individuals who always have one in their back pocket) of Abraham and Evans “doing the nasty” at work, then I think there is a certain moral authority remaining in her memo.

I understand the DOT has policies and Abraham appeared to be in violation of those policies. But do we really have to start naming every major elected official in the history of this state who had a thing going on with someone who worked directly for them? First of all, it’s low down dirty junk that no one cares about. Second, we don’t have enough space on the internet to tell all the stories!

Let the first one who is without sin…including those on the DOT Board … cast the first stone as to breaches of ethics or mistakes in judgment.

Finally, before I tell y’all the story of “A Little Bit Crazy,” let me address the overall issue or honesty in government.

I have said over and over again that this state must pass a comprehensive ethics law that spells everything out in black and white. While pocketing money for a vote is a no-brainer, I actually feel for many in the legislature, in appointed positions, and in other positions of power where they are forced to constantly figure out what constitutes a violation of the law. I fault those same officials, though, for not having already slapped into place bright-line rules for everything from dealings with lobbyists to involvement in business roles that force them to have to deal with various aspects of government.

I thought the Republican Party stood for open records, open government, and strong ethics reform. If they keep things as they are I promise you that they will find themselves staring down the barrel of an upset Democratic gubernatorial victory one day and that will start the long cold slide back into minority status.

And I really feel for the lobbyists. Ninety-nine percent of those who lobby are not only honest, but bend over backwards not to dare violate their own ethics, much less those of the state, or the laws of the land. While they are labeled the problem, the fact is they are in many ways, the victims, forced to attend endless fundraisers and entertain legislators and leaders like potentates. Do you really think anyone enjoys that? The answer is no.

After talking so much about ethics and the like, why am I advocating keeping a woman who violated a “non-fraternization” policy? Well, to be blunt, because I’ve been around state politics longer than most folks on the DOT Board could dream of and I know that to fire Abraham for a violation that more likely deserves a reprimand, would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

We don’t have time in this state to find another person to go back in to the DOT and try to pick up the efforts of Abraham where she would leave those efforts. It’s time to let someone clean up that dump.

And I might add, would the reaction to Abraham be the same were the tables turned and she a man rather than a successful female? Answer: no.

OK, so now I’ve proved I too am more than a little bit crazy. But in this state the crazier you are, the closer you get to being governor!

And that leads me to the real story of Zell Miller. I’ve known Zell since I was a kid and we have the sort of relationship that lets me kid with him (yes, he is very funny—if he knows you. It’s just he never let too many people really know him).

You see, after Zell trounced Johnny and yours truly in 1990 he wanted his own man, Wayne Shackelford to head up the DOT. The board, asserting independence, told Miller that they would be sticking with their own man. Now this is the part (and yes I’m getting to the end) where Miller’s “little bit crazy” story, which he used to love to tell, never quite made sense.

Whenever Zell wanted to do something off the wall he’d tell folks that when the DOT Board refused to name his man, he summoned them to the Mansion and told them to reconsider their choice because “I’m a little bit crazy.” He then went on to explain that he left them there to stew and about 15 minutes later they returned saying Wayne would be their new man.

Every time Zell told this story I knew two things. First that it lacked a punchline, so to speak. What made them think he was a little bit crazy? Did they think he was going upstairs to get his rifle to shoot a few of them? The other thing I knew was the true punchline.

I’ve never written any of my conversations with Miller but this one is too funny not to pass along - so Zell, my apologies.

When Zell was telling me this story one day as the two of us were eating in the Senate dining room, I listened again and I said, “Wait a minute, you left out the good part.”

“What’s that?” he said.

“You know, the part where you came into the room and told them you had the press on the other side of the mansion. The part where you had a bunch of papers in your hand and when you told them that they had certain land lot numbers that, if they got out to the press, might look pretty bad for some of the members.”

“I don’t remember that part” he said with a bit of a laugh.

“Don’t kid me,” I said back. True to Miller style, he just smiled and moved to the next topic!

And he probably never will “remember” either. But I knew it. That’s because my eyes and ears were in that room that day. And I still consider it the greatest bluff in the history of Georgia politics. The DOT members asked the most senior person in the room what to do. The individual replied, “I think the man’s a little bit crazy, I’d give him what he wants.” That’s when they returned to Zell and gave in.

Maybe Sonny should start Monday morning off by saying he’s a little bit crazy. Lord knows there are enough Democrats and some Republicans who would agree. Then again, the guy who said that he was a little bit crazy so often, Zell Miller, turned out to be the greatest governor in Georgia history.

Now, don’t be too crazy, DOT Board. Reprimand Ms. Abraham and move on. After all, my eyes and ears are working just fine (oh, no, I’ve just placed a cone of silence decree on anyone on the board who knows me!).

Now back to the real fun, polling the Democratic race for President. Wait a minute, that proves I’m not just crazy, I’m insane!