Georgians have a simple choice before them when they go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a governor. They can vote for a candidate with character, a proven record of public service and a viable plan for the future, or they can vote for an ethically challenged, opportunistic candidate who champions policies that will be detrimental to the state and all who reside there. The choice is clear. Georgians should elect Roy Barnes, the Democratic nominee, to the state’s highest post.
Barnes in a sense is seeking re-election. He ably served as governor for one term from 1999-2003. His administration was progressive and he worked diligently to improve the state’s school system and to build a modern in-state transportation network that sensibly balanced road-building with construction and promotion of transit and commuter rail.
He delivered tax cuts to Georgians. He raised the homestead exemption, a move that experts say reduced Georgians’ property-tax burden by about $650 million annually. He championed Georgia’s first sales-tax holidays on back-to-school items. Cash-strapped parents understandably lauded the governor for that. Political courage is a Barnes hallmark, as well.
When self-serving teacher groups challenged his education reforms, he stood firm, arguing persuasively that his program served Georgia students rather than the parochial interests of educational organizations. Ditto when arguments about the Georgia flag erupted. His successful effort to minimize the divisive Confederate battle emblem on the flag was the right thing to do, even though the political cost was heavy.
Most knowledgeable observers of Georgia’s political scene agree that his support of education reform and his desire to change the flag propelled current Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, into office in the 2002 election.
Barnes remains a man of principle rather than a candidate who tailors his platform and promises to meet prevailing political winds. His current platform, to be sure, is a bit more conservative than it was almost a decade ago, but his carefully articulated economic and other programs will provide the state with a foundation on which it can build a more prosperous and equitable future.
By contrast, Nathan Deal, the Republican nominee, offers Georgians little other than the promise of tax cuts and vague rhetoric about the future of the state that, in truth, is little more than a promise to perpetuate Perdue’s tired, stale and failed policies.
Deal refuses to discuss the sorry state of his personal affairs, which include conveniently leaving Congress while being investigated for ethical lapses. He won’t talk about his failure to disclose a business loan, a violation of U.S. House ethics rules. Nor will he explain his involvement in a failed business enterprise owned by his daughter and son-in-law, or why he was forced to refile mandated disclosure of his personal wealth. Deal would have Georgians believe he is a prudent fiscal manager capable of leading the state out of its current economic morass. His record suggests the opposite.
Deal obviously hopes that voters will ignore his personal lapses and political failures and look at the Republican tag by his name. In a year when the GOP is widely expected to do well in one of the most Republican states in the nation, the former congressman hopes partisanship will trump experience, outlook and integrity. Georgians should prove him wrong on Tuesday by casting their ballots for Barnes.