Georgia senators hold issues dialogue with Mark Warner

Former Virginia governor shares ideas on education, health care, jobs, fiscal policy                  

February, 23, 2006 - Atlanta, GA – Three members of the Georgia State Senate recently traveled to Alexandria, Va., for an exchange of ideas on major issues with former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who won national acclaim for his leadership during the state’s recent period of extraordinary achievements.

Sen. Tim Golden (D-Valdosta), Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) and Sen. David Adelman (D-Decatur) engaged in a substantive discussion with Warner on the most important issues facing state government, including education, health care, economic development and fiscal responsibility.

“It was a most worthwhile experience,” said Golden, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “During his term in office, Gov. Warner implemented policies that moved Virginia forward in a number of areas. We should consider replicating many of his ideas here in Georgia.”

Warner inherited a $6 billion state budget deficit when he took office in 2002, and four years later, with a budget surplus, Virginia was named the best managed state in the nation by Governing Magazine. Working in a bipartisan spirit with the Republican-controlled legislature, Warner eliminated more than 70 duplicative or unnecessary state boards and commissions, along with eight state agencies. He implemented a new tax code that enabled Virginia to balance its budget and remain a low-tax state.

“Gov. Warner’s common-sense approach turned around Virginia’s red-ink budget policy,” Stoner said. “In Georgia, we are constitutionally required to have a balanced budget, but in the past four years our level of debt service has increased and the state’s reserve funds have decreased, which is a dangerous combination. We can use the Virginia success story as an example of fiscal efficiency so that we can borrow less and save more, while still meeting our obligations.”

While Warner was governor, Virginia made historic investments in public education that have paid dividends in higher test scores and dramatic progress in meeting new accountability standards. As chairman of the National Governors Association, Warner made “Redesigning the American High School” a national imperative.

“Gov. Warner reduced Virginia’s dropout rate dramatically. We should take a page from his playbook,” Adelman said.

Golden, Stoner and Adelman all said they would consider using some of Warner’s ideas as the basis for legislative proposals in Georgia. Although Virginia limits its governors to one four-year term, Warner left office with an 80 percent approval rating and is frequently mentioned in the media as a potential presidential candidate in 2008.

“He would be a strong candidate,” Golden said. “He’s a Democrat who was elected in a Republican state. His businesslike approach to government would receive a warm reception in the Southern states, which are essential to a Democrat winning the White House.”

For more information on Warner, visit www.forwardtogetherpac.com

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