Prominent Africans Endorse Roy Barnes for Governor

Press release from the Barnes Campaign:

Three prominent political and civic leaders will endorse former Governor Roy Barnes’ election efforts today in a 10 a.m. press conference on the Capitol steps.

Ambassador Andrew Young, former Mayor Shirley Franklin, and business leader Brooke Jackson-Edmond joined the efforts to elect Barnes in the July 20 primary election. Barnes, they said, has the ability to restore Georgia to its position of leadership in the South.

“Roy Barnes is the best qualified to tackle the problems of employment, education, transportation and restoring confidence in government. The people need a strong voice with unique talents to bring growth and prosperity back to Georgia,” Young said.

Former Mayor Franklin said that after conversations with Barnes she was confident he could begin to restore Georgia’s system of education. “He learned in his term of Governor that education works best when government and teachers work together for the good of children. In fact, I applaud his plan to put a classroom teacher in the Governor’s Office to advise on practical solutions to complex problems. The teacher’s voice will be heard. Unless we want to continue business as usual we should all unite behind Roy to restore Georgia.”

Jackson-Edmond, the daughter of former Mayor Maynard Jackson and a small business principal, said she was saddened by the number of people who have lost their jobs and families in distress. “We can’t take another four years of the same,” she said. “Roy cares about helping our children, senior citizens and the unemployed. Roy has the courage and intellect to tackle the tough problems. With Roy, there won’t be any on-the-job training. We can’t afford to wait to train a new governor for the job.”

Jackson-Edmond said Barnes’ greatest asset could be his political courage. “My father admired Roy’s courage to do the right thing, even when it cost him votes.”



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