SUMMERVILLE, Ga. — Gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes told Chattooga County residents the state needed to focus on transportation and education so it could continue to compete with Charlotte and Tampa as well as Berlin and Beijing.
The former governor, a Democrat, hammered current leaders for “cheating the next generation” by cutting education.
“If we have to scrape the gold off the gold dome, you make sure that education comes first,” Mr. Barnes told the group.
Mr. Barnes spoke as part of the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Friday night. He singled out a 100 mph rail line from Chattanooga to Atlanta as well as improvements to technical colleges as keys to moving the state forward.
Georgia candidate for governorRepublicans* Nathan Deal, U.S. representative* Karen Handel, ex-state secretary of state* Eric Johnson, president pro tempore of the state Senate* Ray McBerry, candidate in the 2006 Republican primary* John Oxendine, state insurance commissioner* Austin Scott, state representative* Jeff Chapman, state senatorDemocrats* Thurbert Baker, state attorney general* Roy Barnes, former governor* Carl Camon, Ray City mayor* DuBose Porter, state House minority leader* David Poythress, former commander of the Georgia National Guard, state secretary of state and state commissioner of LaborLibertarian* John Monds, president of the Grady County NAACP and first Libertarian candidate to receive more than 1 million votesIndependent* Al Bartell