Roy Barnes on abandoning Capitol Hill
Former Gov. Roy Barnes on Monday spoke to a group at the Atlantic Station headquarters of Carter, the commercial real estate firm.
The result was the YouTube video clip below, in which the Democrat suggests that _ if he’s returned to the Governor’s Mansion _ he would depopulate Capitol Hill, and take advantage of some tasty commercial real estate rates.
Here’s the gist:
Question: While you were governor, the Department of Revenue moved from Washington Street downtown to Century Center in DeKalb County. Would you advocate more of those kinds of moves?
Barnes: Yes. I think it’s too congested around Capitol Hill, and that we should move more and more [office workers] out. I think that what we should have around Capitol Hill is solely the judiciary and the legislative branches. But the other executive agencies need to move out, into commercial state.
This is not a quote off the cuff _ look for more to come. Barnes campaign manager Chris Carpenter said there’s been some discussion about moving larger chunks of state government outside metro Atlanta. “Why should someone have to drive three hours to see the governor,” Carpenter asked. “Why do u.s. senators have regional offices and the governor doesn’t.”
Many candidates for governor have been here before. Remember “Saturdays with Sonny”?
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
22 comments Add your comment
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
September 21st, 2009
4:37 pm
Q: How important, do you think, the commercial real estate industry is to the State of Georgia?
Barnes: It’s very important. It’s the backbone of what we do. Uh… There’s only two economic engines in the state. One of them’s residential real estate and the other’s commercial. They work very well in, uh…, conjunction with each other and we need to restart both.
“Only two economic engines?” Residential and commercial real estate?
The “backbone of what we do?” What you mean “we,” plush boy?
Every single able-bodied adult in Georgia is an “economic engine” by the ideals and principles upon which true American “Adam Smith” Capitalism was founded, not the “I’ll let the banking industry scratch my back making me rich” then as governor “I’ll scratch the back of the wealthy developers who backed George Bush’s treason to get us in this mess by giving them long-term leases on state offices, compliments of the taxpayers.”
Industry and Agriculture aren’t economic engines to Roy Barnes? Just money manipulation, tax shelters, and good deals for the connected?
What else could be expected from a Vietnam law school draft-dodger who prostituted his previous elected office to benefit Big Banking?
If Max Cleland can’t be drafted let’s plan on electing Jeff Chapman as governor if the Democrats can’t come up with a better candidate that Roy or some other sell-out.
Base
September 21st, 2009
4:41 pm
King Roy has a bailout for the real estate market.
Phil
September 21st, 2009
5:21 pm
I am SO disappointed in the Barnes response to question about moving state government out of downtown Atlanta. Why would he want to invest in mass transit then move state employees away from the one part of the city that is actually convenient to several MARTA stations (on both rail lines)? DOR, DCA, and other state agencies left downtown for suburban office parks that are not served by mass transit (unless you count a MARTA bus that comes by every half hour and then takes 45 minutes to get to a transfer point). 90% of those state employees are now forced to drive to work, and if they want to get out for lunch, they must get back in the car and drive again. MARTA trains, CCT, GRTA and Gwinnett express buses service downtown Atlanta, so there are transportation alternatives for downtown employees, and they can walk to lunch, meetings at other state bldgs, post office, etc., etc. The infrastructure is in place in downtown Atlanta and we all know that the capitol hill area could use the boost employees bring to the area. Moving employees away from downtown is totally counterproductive to all smart growth and green initiatives. And this comes at a time when Governors from other states are mandating that state departments be located in downtown districts. I would expect such comments from some of our gubernatorial candidates, but not Barnes. Oh well, Barnes just lost my vote!
Daedalus
September 21st, 2009
5:48 pm
Actually I think we should move the legislature out of Atlanta.
Since they want to take the state back to the 19th century maybe we should get a time portal and send them back to Milledgeville, circa 1845.
Kornfeld-1
September 21st, 2009
6:42 pm
Holy heyzeus! willy j! While it’s a big no on the stump man, I will vote for Chapman. God, to think I partially agreed……… must be full moon………..
Ron
September 21st, 2009
7:03 pm
Kornfeld and Willy are on to something. Dark horse candidatae Jeff Chapman is likely to garner a lot of votes b/c he is SO different, in a better sense, than the political stock out there in the public square these days. I can’t recall a senator who consistently votes his conscience the way Chapman does, irrespective of how his vote might p.o. the party’s leaders or the power brokers in the state. He said “no” to the Georgia Power giveaway; and he said no to carving up Jekyll Island State Park for the benefit of the Republican cash cow – Mercer Reynolds. His legislation against the state’s abuse of eminent domain for private development purposes irked some deep-pocketed developers, but it won him the admiration of lots of folks who don’t like big government infringing on their property rights. Chapman has my vote, plain and simple!
Barnes Beat
September 22nd, 2009
1:14 am
Barnes is in the pocket of the real estate industry, again, and will make sure to return the favors if he gets elected, which is doubtful. He wants to get millions in taxpayer money to his buddies in commercial real estate, by paying outrageous rents on these buildings that are vacant!!! Roy–he knows how to “return favors.”
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
September 22nd, 2009
6:42 am
Weak-eyed vanity Roy Barnes: selling hardware in Mableton wasn’t a draft exemption for Vietnam so he had to go to law school — to learn how to sell his soul.
Ed Alverson
September 22nd, 2009
7:25 am
This plan probably involves a huge migration of state government into the Cobb County commercial real estate market.
Road Scholar
September 22nd, 2009
8:15 am
GDOT moved their headquarters to North Avenue between Spring and W. Peachtree. Commissioner Linnenkohl (at the time) had one caveat (of many) which was the new location had to be in the immediate vicinity of a MARTA Station. The North Avenue Station is across the street. It can be done!
Road Scholar
September 22nd, 2009
8:19 am
Welcome back Jim. While you were fixing your computer, I had to go low tech and bail out my basement! Your ordeal was easier, but probably more frustrating!
Barnes is SMART!
September 22nd, 2009
11:11 am
If you think this is dumb, you people are idiots. The government is currently in a budget crisis and they have a lot of assets they could unload to help fill the holes. One of these assets is their prime location in downtown. If they moved, they could sell that VALUABLE land and pay less in rent/other costs elsewhere. He is trying to SAVE money and you people are criticizing him? Georgians are a crazy bunch. All they do is complain about everything anyone is trying to do. Why don’t you wait 5 minutes, think about the idea and actually weigh the pros and cons. He is trying to have a more responsive and cheaper government and that sounds GREAT!
BPJ
September 22nd, 2009
11:28 am
One reason it’s prime real estate is that it’s accessible by means other than automobile. Driving is not the only way to get there. Why should the state give that up? Also, there is a great deal of underused and undeveloped real estate Downtown; it will be at least a decade before developers would pay top dollar for any of the state’s properties.
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
September 22nd, 2009
1:44 pm
Roy Barnes: “There’s only two economic engines in the state.”[Emphasis added]
Shows what kind of “engineer” Barnes is.
Roy Barnes: “One of them’s residential real estate and the other’s commercial. They work very well in, uh…, conjunction with each other and we need to restart both.”
“Only two economic engines in the state”?????
Did Barnes “mispeak” or is he just a ignoramus pandering to fatcats?
Hey, “Bird of Barnes’ feather “”Barnes is [dumb]“: you’re touting Vietnam law school draft-dodger Barnes who got rich off a sweetheart deal with Big Banking while he prostituted his holy elected office overseeing banking in Georgia.
Get Roy to explain how residential and commercial real estate is the only economic engine in his world.
Then ask the full-fledged draft-dodging physical coward to make up for enriching himself through conflict-of-interest in the banking “business.”
mission man
September 22nd, 2009
2:10 pm
“Why should someone have to drive three hours to see the governor,” I’m sure Roy can travel around the state and keep office hours at different city halls and county government buildings. I bet the folks in Bainbridge would lend Roy a desk and phone, free of charge, anytime he wants to come down and meet with the people. There you go; problem solved, at no cost to state government during these trying economic times.
mission man
September 22nd, 2009
2:33 pm
Roy needs to make sure he locks up the Atlanta Democrat Primary vote before he starts putting all those state government employees out of work. Once he wins the primary, then he can shift into an Atlanta bashing, swing vote strategy.
Bobby Anthony
September 22nd, 2009
2:42 pm
Educators in the State of Georgia will turn out in droves to defeat Barnes just like the last time. We will never forget his arrogant dismissal of the profession.
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
September 22nd, 2009
4:27 pm
Barnes’ economic world view, in his own words on video tape, holds that flipping real estate and extracting rents is the “ONLY economic engine” in Georgia, making himself a Karl Marx poster boy for the evils of corporate fascism (misnamed Capitalism by Marx).
Cottage industry, Ma and Pa businesses, family farms, light industrial, arts and crafts, and high tech abound in Atlanta and Georgia, but Nooooooo, Draft-dodger Roy grew up in a hardware store and never learned the value of hardware for all us poor working stiffs. You suppose somehow someone “twisted” him into thinking he was somehow “better” than the poor fools who work with their own hands for a living?
“They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”
No wonder he had to cheat the People of Georgia to steal his millions. No way he could ever make an honest living. Has he ever even mowed his own yard, or shined his own shoes?
Pathetic…no man, no American, and particularly no Georgian.
Howard Sculthorpe
September 22nd, 2009
5:03 pm
Of all the candidates for Georgia’s governor, Jeff Chapman stands out as a “stand by your principles” man, no matter who inside or outside the party objects, and no matter how much moneyed interests oppose him. His principled approach to the Georgia Power and Jekyll Island issues are great examples of a man who votes his conscience. However dark a horse, he’s a man to be reckoned with.
Howard Sculthorpe
September 22nd, 2009
5:07 pm
Enter your comments here
Base
September 22nd, 2009
11:43 pm
King Roy sells out to the real estate developers for a donation.What a zero.
Hank
September 25th, 2009
4:12 pm
For those above who mentioned Chapman might be the only legislator who does not always toe the party line, by all means…you need to check out Austin Scott. Look at his record. Only Republican to support changing the flag, and he actually had the guts as a young legislator to sue Roy Barnes when he illegally reapportioned the State’s voting districts–Barnes’ first exercise in dealing with real estate.