As a trial lawyer, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes appreciates a good courtroom faceoff. He enjoys tackling complex cases that require skillful maneuvering and deep-dive research.
Those same qualities won the day when Barnes and his allies struck down a Georgia state flag that prominently featured the Confederate Battle Flag and replaced it with a new flag that included images of many flags that had flown over the state — an act many, including Barnes, feel played a large part in his defeat when seeking a second term as governor.
Barnes, who grew up in Cobb County, served as governor from 1999 to 2003 after more than 20 years in the state House of Representatives and state Senate. As governor, he took on education reform and changes in health care. Since Barnes’ defeat in 2002 by Gov. Sonny Perdue, no Democrat has held the governor’s office in Georgia. Now, long out of mainstream politics and its bruising battles, Barnes has gone back to his roots as a trial lawyer.
Atlanta Senior Life contributor Mark Woolsey caught up with Barnes recently.
Q. You have said you got interested in public discourse while working at your mom and dad’s general store in Mableton. Can you elaborate on that?
A. It had a bench and a heater, used to be an old stove, and folks would gather there particularly when it was cold and politicians would come by to meet and see everybody and talk to my daddy. I got interested in politics just hearing them talk.
Q. Can you talk about getting into public office?
A. I came home from law school in 1972 and I had a military commitment. I went off to officer’s basic [training] in ‘73. That was about the time they were winding down the Vietnam War. We finished officer’s basic, and they put us in a reserve unit. I worked in the Cobb County District Attorney’s office before I went down to basic and worked there when I came back. The D.A. retired and we went into practice together. The next election, in 1974, I ran for the state Senate and won. I was one of the youngest senators. You had to be 25 to run and I was 26 when elected.
Q. You served 16 years in the Senate and several more in the House. What motivated you to try for the governorship?
A. When I went to the Legislature, I thought I’d serve four or six years and then come back home and practice law. But I got down there, and I started working on a new state code of Georgia, a new Constitution. Then I became Gov. [Joe Frank] Harris’ floor leader. By that time, I saw that I could — you know, working with the governor every day — I said I believed I could do this job and there were a lot of things I was interested in doing. I was very interested in education and infrastructure. I became very interested in health care.
Q. You fought battles as governor over the possible elimination of teacher tenure and changing the Georgia flag. Did those issues figure into your defeat?
A. I think changing the Georgia flag had a lot to do with it. There was a backlash against taking the Confederate Battle Flag off the state flag, and I think that led to my defeat and to the defeat of several others in the General Assembly. It was the right thing to do, and I would do it again.
Q. You’ve said the Republican surge that had happened about the same time might have played a role. With the state now trending more Democratic, how would you assess the chances of Stacey Abrams capturing the governorship and the state Legislature returning to Democratic hands?
A. I think Stacey Abrams has a good shot. I think it’s going to be close, as it was before, and it’s impossible to predict. You know 24 hours is an eternity in politics. I think the General Assembly is going to be a slower process because reapportionment is still hands of the Republicans. I think it’s inevitable that Georgia becomes and moves over the next four years to a state either side can win.
Q. So you think Georgia has “turned purple,” meaning both Democrats and Republicans can be competitive?
A. Yes, I don’t think there’s any question about that. It’s light purple right now and I think it will turn deeper and deeper purple as time goes on. It will never be a state that will be in my view either heavily Democratic or Republican.
Q. What’s your take on the 2022 political environment?
A. That’s new to me. I always enjoyed good moderate Republican support and some of my best friends were Republican officeholders. I am shocked by the divide that exists in politics, and the vitriol I hear from both sides. There was a good-humored jousting in the past between Democrats and Republicans but now it’s become all-out war. I don’t know if I could exist in this modern politics.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. I was 74 this year. I recognize I can’t make time stand still, but I do intend to keep trying cases and to spend less time seeing clients. I am going to make that transition in the coming year. You know I have six grandchildren. Two of whom are graduating from high school this year. My grandchildren have really become the bright spot of my post-political life.