'Liberal Democrat' Eaves Says He Favors Gingrich for GOP Nomination

Fulton Commisssion Chairman John Eaves, who said he was an intern for Newt Gingrich when Gingrich was in Congress, endorsed the former House speaker Thursday.

In response to a question at the Buckhead Business Association's weekly breakfast meeting about whom he would like to see win the Republican presidential nomination, Eaves said "Newt Gingrich has a lot of wonderful ideas, and I hope he runs against Barack Obama. Of course, I'm a Democrat."

In an e-mail to Buckhead Patch from Eaves aide Emil Runge, Eaves said that he supports Obama's campaign and will vote for the president in the general election.

Gingrich, a Georgia who has campaign headquarters in Buckhead, is now campaigning in the South Carolina primary with hopes of turning the tide after fourth place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Eaves, in his talk to the BBA, called for business support of the regional 1-cent transportation sales tax that voters will decide upon July 31. He said passage of the tax, is vital for the area to reduce traffic and create a regional transportation system. Eaves was part of the 21-member group that decided upon the final metro project list. (See attached video of excerpts of Eaves' talk.)

In response to BBA board member Mark Shaver's question, "who's got control of the money?" Eaves said the tax money wll be divided among the different transportation players, from the Georgia Department of Transporation to MARTA to local municipalities. MARTA, he said, will receive $600 million for maintenance work.

Eaves also said an oversight committee of non-elected officials will be appointed. The committee, he said, "will hold each of these entities accountable."

Following up on Eaves' remarks, Garth Peters of the said that the money can only be spent for the transportation projects and not placed in the state of Georgia's general fund. "The funds can only be spent on the projects they've been earmarked for," Peters said.

In response to another question, Eaves said that local governments will not issue bonds for the projects. He said that "there will be a leveraging of the money to get federal dollars."

At the start of the talk, Eaves drew applause with the statement, "let me set the record straight; we are not going to raise taxes." Commissioner Tom Lowe previously raised the possibility of a county tax increase, but the idea was  quickly shot down by other commissioners, as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.