ATLANTA - Three leading Democrats running for governor said Tuesday that Georgia's ruling Republican Party has hurt the state's ability to attract jobs by veering too far to the right and approving trivial legislation.
Former Gov. Roy Barnes said he would work to change the state's image and keep it "off the front page of The New York Times" for passing bills like one allowing motorists to collect and keep road kill.
Barnes said that if Georgia wants to jump start its struggling economy it needs to demonstrate that we're "not just a bunch of folks that are radical and extreme and off the reservation but we're open for business."
He called legislation that would have restricted stem cell research in the state "the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life."
Attorney General Thurbert Baker also said state officials need to stay away from the "crazy stuff."
"I think in some cases we're sending the wrong message," Baker said.
"If we're going to be a great international city we have to be sending the right message on things like stem (cell) research," Baker said.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter agreed and added that GOP-backed legislation forcing Georgians to take drivers license tests in English "sends the wrong message" at a time the state is working to attract foreign investment.
Porter said that as governor he would have the courage to use the bully pulpit to talk about the need for sensible immigration measures that will keep business coming to the state.
The three candidates also said that improving the state's schools is necessary to luring job-creating businesses to the state. Georgia's unemployment rate is current 10.2 percent, above the national average of 9.7 percent.
Baker, Barnes and Porter each spoke at a forum Tuesday sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. They are three of seven Democrats running in Georgia's July 20 primary.
The chamber hosted a similar forum for the four leading Republicans June 15.
Thursday
October 10th, 2024
12:23AM
