Roy Barnes Quotations

Neither political party is clean when it comes to tactics that divide our people.

We are all one - or at least we should be - and it is our job, our duty, and our great challenge to fight the voices of division and seek the salve of reconciliation.

We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Traffic is only one of the side effects of growth

As the leaders and decision-makers of this great state, it is our responsibility to strive for perfection.

But the fact is, no matter how good the teacher, how small the class, how focused on quality education the school may be none of this matters if we ignore the individual needs of our students.

By creating a Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, we will give local governments a framework for working together on an issue that affects our whole state.

As the population of Georgia increased dramatically, so did development.

One thing I learned a long time ago as a prosecutor is that it's tough to get people to obey a law if there is not penalty for breaking it

No one in government should ever think that the citizens they work for can't or won't scrutinize their actions

The First Amendment rejects red tape, cover-up and double-speak.

Georgia is in an enviable position today, but we cant rest on our laurels.

Business and the state have a common interest; not an adversarial interest.

Repeating a grade needs to be the last resort, not an automatic response to a child who is struggling to learn.

So today I say, the outlook in Georgia has never been brighter.

We will never forget those like my great-grandfather who fought at Vicksburg.

Enhancing revenues will help us improve education and solve our infrastructure problems.

I am committed to making Georgia a model for open and honest government

I want business to prosper and make a profit caused by business expansion and prosperity

The time has come to end social promotion in our schools.

There is no country on earth with a stronger tradition of protecting the public's right to know.

We made a good start toward preserving recreational areas like the Chattahoochee River.

And one of the things I've tried to do in my first months in office is to give more Georgians - reporters and members of the general public alike - a closer look at how their government works.

After all, I have spent the better part of my adult life insisting that government be open... that government be accessible... and that government be held accountable to people who voted us into office.

And this week, I am proposing legislation to strengthen our Open Records laws to make public access to our public records surer, faster, and more comprehensive.

In my first year as governor, we solved some of the problems that had begun to undermine the Open Records Act. We gave the act teeth by providing criminal penalties for knowing violations.

What I am proposing this year are not lofty concepts far removed form the daily struggle so of ordinary Georgians. They are proposals that directly effect the lives of the people we serve.

Maynard Jackson was a bear of a man. But he had to have a body that's big to house the heart that beat within his soul.

My daddy used to say, 'Have you ever wondered why two stores sit side by side, and one makes money and the other doesn't?' And at 14 or 15 I didn't care, but he'd always tell me anyway. It was management. And what's true for a store is true for the governor.

Now, we are already in the process of developing tests that measure students' ability at different grade levels in reading, language arts and math.

He was a fair and honest judge. He will be missed by many.

Last, but certainly not least, we must continue to cut the taxes that Georgians pay, by increasing the homestead exemption on homes and family farms.

I think it was a great program, ... It was one of the things I'm proudest of.

People of the quality of Cory many times are attracted to business and other areas instead of public service. I was impressed by his interest, and I sent a contribution.

My whole life I've been an advocate for open records - transparency in government - because I think it brings with it greater accountability.

My very presence here, as governor of this great state... is testament to the power of an individual to fight for truth and clear his own good name.

We exchanged secrets, as friends always do, and I never worried,

We are one people forever woven together in a tapestry, ... And it is our job, our duty and our great challenge to fight the voices of division, and to seek the salve of reconciliation.

to rise above party and division to heal our people.

We must be willing to change the way we do business if we hope to live up to the responsibilities that go along with being public servants.

Finally, we all benefit from an economy that has been the envy of the Southeast, and in fact, the envy of most of the nation, for several decades.

Those people came onto my property like they just got pumped for a football game and they started calling my tenants names.

This one focused on instead of asking God for things to benefit just us as individuals, we should look around more and see what we can do for him.

empowered folks that had never been empowered before.

It was tremendously uplifting knowing how he had given his life and was then victorious. If he didn't give his all on Calvary, we wouldn't have anything to stand on.

It's been a long path. I've had a lot of good help. I'm ready for the general election.

It's not a question of slowing. It's a question of making sure that we can grow in an orderly fashion,

Education leaders in the nation agree that it's a good approach.

It was like driving a spike through our hearts.

I'm glad that this matter's put behind us,

I hope you all agree that we're moving in the right direction to protect Georgia as a great place. But we also need to protect Georgia as a people.

Improving education is the single greatest thing we can do for the people of Georgia, but there are other things we also need to do.

If you dislike the process, take it out on me. I am fair game. But don't put our people to anguish because of something that is not their fault.

Georgia was blessed with strong leaders who avoided the kind of divisive distractions that held back most other cities and states in the South.

This is not about destroying heritage, ... This is about being united as one people.

You can steal more with a briefcase than you can with a gun,

We changed the names of our technical schools to colleges, we expanded the eligibility for HOPE scholarships for technical training, and we added some formula funding.

Publications such as Forbes and Fortune continually rank Georgia cities as among the best places to live, work and run a business.

a quiet worker but a very productive one and a great one for the state of Georgia.

If the goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is to ensure that all children meet state standards, then allowing large numbers of the most disadvantaged children to fall between the cracks is unacceptable.

The law should be a shield for the weak and powerless, not a club for the