Barnes, Deal offer tourism suggestions

DALTON — Georgia’s gubernatorial hopefuls did separate interviews Wednesday after Nathan Deal balked at what was billed as a face-to-face forum.

While Democrat Roy Barnes gave WTOC-TV anchor Sonny Dixon specific answers, Republican Deal was sometimes vague and non-committal.

And, when asked about cruise ship lines proposed for Savannah, Deal talked about an unrelated issue — deepening Savannah’s harbor. Local government officials and state lawmakers have been pushing the proposed line as a potential economic boost to the region.

Even some GOP elected officials voiced disappointment about the former congressman’s performance and praised that of the former governor.

“I was impressed with Roy Barnes,” said Savannah Alderman Tony Thomas. “I think he came off as more knowledgeable on tourism. ... I think Nathan Deal was misinformed on some of the things he talked about.”

Marti Barrow, executive director of the local Tourism Leadership Council, a co-sponsor of the event, said a Deal representative agreed weeks ago to a face-to-face format. Barrow declined to name the representative.

She said the Deal campaign told her Wednesday afternoon that there would be no joint discussion of tourism issues with Barnes.

Dixon, too, confirmed Barrow’s account.

“My general understanding,” he said,” was that we would sit in chairs with me between the two of them and we would have a friendly discussion on tourism.”

“I think that’s a crying shame” that there was no such discussion, Dixon said during the forum.

Deal offered a different view.

“We had said that we did not want to do debates until October,” he said after the event. “Once you do one, everybody starts asking that they want to schedule a local debate in their community.

“I don’t have any problem discussing issues with Barnes, but we just didn’t feel tourism was a debate subject. It was a discussion subject.”

Deal said he didn’t know whether anyone on his staff committed to a specific format. But his campaign spokesman, Brian Robinson, said no one agreed to a “face to face.”

“We agreed to a discussion with a moderator,” Robinson said.

When he sat down with Dixon at the stage at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, Barnes signaled his willingness to go head to head with Deal.

“Let’s wait on him,” he told Dixon.

In their separate interviews, Deal and Barnes agreed on some things.

Each said the state should let citizens of local jurisdictions decide whether grocery and convenience stores may sell beer and wine on Sundays. Such sales are now illegal.

They also said Savannah’s harbor channel must be deepened in time to float the bigger ships due to begin using the Panama Canal in 2014.

Barnes said that’s more important than building a new port, in Jasper County, S.C., to be jointly operated with the Palmetto State. Georgia should push ahead with deepening before focusing on the Jasper port, he said.

Deal acknowledged that deepening the harbor is a higher priority, but said the two projects are separate issues.

While Georgia faces a deadline on deepening, “Jasper ... is down the road,” he said.

The candidates disagreed on how to maximize state sales tax revenue.

Barnes repeated his calls to eliminate most existing exemptions on that levy and cut the overall tax rate.

“If you had no exemptions, you could cut the rate in half and bring in more money than you have now,” said Barnes.

But, as in the past, he didn’t say which exemptions he’d repeal.

Instead, Deal said, the state should do a better job collecting sales taxes, adding that Hall County, where he lives, lost $25 million that should have been collected over just three years.

“I’m certainly willing to go back and look at the exemptions,” Deal said. “... But we should remember those exemptions were put into place for a reason.”

Deal also said he’d be willing to consider legalization of casino gambling, but Barnes said he was hesitant to encourage competition with the state lottery.

The lottery funds, among other things, the HOPE scholarship program.

“I think there are potentials,” Deal said. “We ... should not say 'no’ just because of any particular bias one way or the other.”

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