Got the BAD case of the Democrat blues this morning?  This may cheer the transit-Dems up.   From Atlanta Unfiltered…

Rep. Jill Chambers will be giving up her job as MARTA’s top watchdog, after losing her seat in the Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday by about 275 votes to Democrat Elena Parent.

Chambers, first elected in 2002, has scrutinized and occasionally tormented the rapid-transit agency as chair of the Legislature’s MARTA Oversight Committee, also known as MARTOC. She’d questioned MARTA spending on lobbyists, pay raises, consultants, fitness equipment for employees, intricate bond deals and much more. And that was all before lunchtime.

Chambers has been under harsh scrutiny of late after the MARTA fiscal watchdog filed for personal bankruptcy.

In other MARTA news, Maria Saporta points out that 70% of Clayton County residents voted in favor of a non-binding referendum to “become a full participant in MARTA by charging a sales tax in support of MARTA and the county’s public transportation needs.”

Jill Chambers arguments against MARTA seem to rely on the assumption that NO ONE is paying attention.

“Every year they say they’re going over a cliff and there’s going to be a crisis, and yet MARTA’s running just fine,” Chambers said. “You can almost cut and paste the press release from the year before.”

I guess she’s forgotten about MARTA’s $25 million federal stimulus bailout this past year.  Perhaps we should just let the fed continue to pick-up MARTA’s tab from here on out.

Please.

Can we just drop the guise that there’s an actual debate going on here about how to best manage MARTA and get down to brass tacks?  If the MARTA acronym makes your stomach turn and you wish it would just hurry up and die already then let’s have THAT debate.

Why does the AJC continue to quote Chambers without challenging these baseless statements?  In an effort to write an “objective” piece they seem to abandon common sense.

h/t: Terminal Station

The only problem with trying to make reality fit your perception of the world is that sometimes reality doesn’t cooperate.

Rep. Jill Chambers has made it her personal mission to discredit MARTA, calling on a full audit last year in hopes to find evidence of financial impropriety and an inevitable, glorious “Ah Ha!” moment.  However, things didn’t work out that way.  Instead of expected incompetence – like that at say…GDOT – the state audit gave MARTA a clean bill of health.

With this news, long-time Atlanta business columnist Maria Saport is asking, nay telling, Chambers, to get over it and move on.

MARTA is facing enough challenges with declining sales tax revenues and increasing operating expenses without having to defend itself at every turn from a Chambers’ attack.

In fact, for the life of me, I don’t even understand why MARTOC exists in this day and age. Remember, the state of Georgia does not have any money in the game.

But will Chambers consent?

Rep. Jill Chambers is still really worked up about MARTA’s attempt to allocate $400,000 to hire a lobbying firm to help the authority navigate those scummy, savage waters at the capitol.  According to her, any attempt by MARTA to get the state legislature to do anything about the still-failing transit system is a “waste of taxpayers money.”

And just in case any of her fellow MARTA board members disagree with her, she’s offering another option.  Getting the hell out!

Atlanta Unfiltered has Chambers’ email to her fellow board members…

I hope I have made it clear to the Authority that I feel this is a waste of taxpayers money – MARTA already has two staff lobbyists and the firm of Holland & Knight to represent them in government issues.

…Should either of these two issues come before the Board, those members who vote in agreement to these staff proposals may see their Board seats eliminated with any future restructuring of the MARTA Act.

Seriously, who needs subtlety when you can just make people do what you want?

Jump over to Atlanta Unfiltered to read responses from Board Chairman Michael Walls and MARTA CEO Beverley Scott.