Vance Smith named GDOT commissioner - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Smith, R-Pine Mountain, a 17-year legislative veteran who rose in the ranksa to become chairman of the House Transportation wasthe board’s unanimous choice among from eighg applicants. “I’m very excited,” he said following the “I’m ready to go to Smith succeedsGena Evans, who was fireds by the board last February afte a rocky tenure. Board members elected her by one vote in October 2007 to becomethe agency’s first femald commissioner. Although Evans enjoyed the supportof Gov. Sonny she soon came under fire for slowing down the awardiny of highwayconstruction contracts.
In her effortds to overhaul the agency’s operations, she turned up a huge backlog of projectss far beyondthe DOT’s funding capabilities. It was Smitjh was lost out to Evans in and he quickly emerged as her likely successor to headthe DOT, with its $2.4 billionm annual budget and 5,400 employees. “Vance is the rightt man in the right place at the right said board member Larry Walkerof Perry, who headed the commissioner search team that recommende d Smith. Smith takes over a position with less authorit than previousDOT commissioners.
During this year’s Generalk Assembly session, lawmakers approved a bill backefd by Perdue creating the position of directof of planning withinthe agency. Hourse after Smith’s election, Perduwe appointed Todd Long, a former DOT to the planningdirectord post. Long, who workedr at the agency for 18 years before spendiny the last two years withthe , said he and Smit have worked well together in the past and will do so Smith said the new power-sharinv set-up didn’t diminish his desire for the commissioner’s job.
“If it was somethint I didn’t feel comfortables with, I wouldn’t have put my name in the hat,” he Smith, 57, will take officew on June 25 at a salaruof $175,000 a year. He said he will devote his full effortw tothe DOT, having sold his construction business last Gerald Ross, who has served as interim DOT commissioner since will return to his role as the agency’s chiefc engineer.