George Barton

    

George Barton
Barton at the Sierran Conservative Conference (2020)
Governor of the Inland Empire
In office November 3rd, 2002 – November 6th, 2014
Lieutenant	Adrian McGee
Preceded by	Phillip Martin
Succeeded by	Carlitos Pacheco
Kingdom of Sierra Senator for Inland Empire
In office April 5th, 1996 – November 3rd, 2002
Preceded by	Cory Johnson
Succeeded by	Antonio Suarez
Member of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly from the 3rd district
In office April 1st, 1988 – April 5th, 1996
Preceded by	Calvin Merrick
Succeeded by	Joshua Gonzales
Personal details
Born	(1955-11-18) November 18, 1955 San Bernardino, Inland Empire, Kingdom of Sierra
Nationality	Sierran
Political party	Royalist
Spouse(s)	Sara Barton (m. 1979)
Children	9
Relatives	See Barton family
Residence	Riverside
Alma mater	University of Sierra, Riverside

George Reginald Barton (born November 18th, 1955) is a Sierran politician who served as the TBD Governor of the Inland Empire from 2002 to 2014. Before becoming Governor, Barton served as the Kingdom of Sierra Senator for the Inland Empire from 1996 to 2002 and also served in the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly from 1988 to 1996. Barton is a member of the Barton family and is its current patriarch.

Born in San Bernardino in 1955, Barton would grow up at Barton's Prairie and later attend the University of Sierra, Riverside, earning a degree in political science. Before entering politics, Barton would serve as a political strategist for his father and other members of his family who were involved in politics. In 1988, Barton would be elected to the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly, representing the 3rd district. As a member of the Inland Empire Provincial Legislature, Barton supported conservative legislation, advocating for a smaller and more transparent provincial government. Barton would continue serving the provincial legislature until his election to the Senate. In 1996, Barton would be elected to the Senate of Sierra, succeeding longtime Senator Cory Johnson. While in the Senate, Barton was an outspoken critic of Melinda Peters and her government. He also continued supporting conservative legislation.

In 2002, Barton would announce his candidacy for Governor of the Inland Empire, winning the 2002 Inland Empire gubernatorial election in a landslide, largely due to his popularity from his time in the Senate. As governor, Barton oversaw the creation of the Anti-Narcotic Provincial Task Force, which helped end the majority of the drug abuse epidemic in the province. Despite being a small-government conservative, Barton oversaw increase funding for public schools, hoping to improve the infrastructure of schools located in the poorest parts of the province. He also increase government investment in the solar industry, playing a part in the creation of the Mohave Solar Farm near the border with Clark. In 2009, Barton was one of the many Royalist governors who pledge to oppose Steven Hong's proposed tax hike on wealthy citizens. However, he would break with his fellow Royalists in support Hong's benefits for middle class workers. In 2012, Barton supported and later signed off to one of the largest tax cuts in provincial history, eliminating many taxes instituted by his Democratic-Republican predecessor, including the gas tax and the alcohol tax. Barton would leave office in 2014 with a high approval rating of 65%, which was the highest approval rating for a governor at the time.

After leaving office, Barton would remain in the political scene, however he would abstain from running for office. During the 2014 Inland Empire gubernatorial election, Barton supported and campaigned for Inland Empire Attorney General Carlitos Pacheco, who would win the election with a high margin. Barton would also campaign for Daniel McComb in both 2013 and 2016. Barton was credited for flipping a few seats in the Inland Empire, which would help secure McComb's victory in 2016. Barton would also continue campaigning for many of his family members, including his oldest son Preston Barton, who was elected to the House of Commons representing the Inland Empire's 20th district. In 2017, Barton endorsed Kenneth O'Conner for the 2017 Royalist Party leadership election, but would go onto to endorse Nemesis Heartwell after O'Conner dropped out. Despite this, Barton would keep a healthy distance from Heartwell, with rumors alleging he was privately supportive of her removal. Nevertheless, he would campaign for her during the 2020 Sierran federal election. Barton appeared as a keynote speaker at the 2020 Royalist National Convention speaking about Sierra's status as a world power and its importance in such a position.

Politically, Barton identifies as a social conservative and a economic liberal. He previously identified as a "libertarian" during his run for the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly, but stopped using the label for his other campaigns. Barton is staunchly opposed to increasing the role of the federal government and supports provincial rights. Barton is against most forms of abortion, unless the mother's life is in danger. He is also against the legalization of recreational marijuana, calling it a "gateway drug". Barton is against gay marriage, instead preferring civil unions for homosexual couples. On foreign policy, Barton was a critic of Steven Hong's policies towards the United Commonwealth and China and has criticized Susan Kwon for the same reasons. He is against any further normalization of relations with the United Commonwealth, supporting the status quo of mutual recognition. Barton also supports a second referendum on the membership in the Conference of American States.

Early life, education, and career

George Reginald Barton was born on November 18th, 1955 to Prescott and Evangeline Barton in San Bernardino, Inland Empire. He was born into the influential Barton family, which would become one of Sierra's most prominent political families. He is a direct desecendent of Zedidiah Barton, who was his great-grandfather. Barton's father, Prescott Barton, served as the Deputy Prime Minister for Alfred von Schliefen from 1959 to 1965 and Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1969. . Barton's mother, Evangeline Barton, was the president of the National Federation of Royalist Women from 1966 to 1970 and is credited with the creation of the strong Royalist suburban women base, a political bloc that is still influential in the modern era. Barton was born the oldest of seven siblings, and as the oldest he was expected to eventually lead the family after his father's passing. All of his siblings would have a career in politics.

At the age of five, Barton would begin his educational career, attending Wilshire Preparatory School, one of Sierra's most elite private K-8 educational institutions. The school is a favorite with the Monarchy of Sierra and other high-government officials, who send their children to Wilshire during their tenure in government. Barton would attend the school up until his promotion in 1969. In the same year, his father would resign as Leader of the Opposition, with he and his family returning to Barton's Prairie in the Inland Empire. In late 1969, Barton would begin attending Alessandro Academy in Riverside. While in high school, Barton would become more politically involved, becoming a member of the Royalist Party. Barton would be apart of his school's baseball team, playing as a pitcher. During his senior year, Barton would be elected student body president. Barton would graduate from Alessandro Academy in 1973. He would begin attending the University of Sierra, Riverside, hoping to obtain a bachelor's degree in political science. Like his siblings, Barton's college major would be decided by his father, who wanted to expand the Barton political family.

Barton would begin attending the University of Sierra, Riverside in 1974. While at university, Barton would become more politically involved, taking a more active stance in the Royalist Party. In 1975, Barton would be elected Inland Empire Chapter President of the College Royalists of Sierra and would go onto to briefly serve in the organization's executive committee. Barton would continue playing sports in university, playing for the school's baseball team up until his final year, where he would suffer a leg injury that would put him out of commission for the remainder of the season. Also during his final year at university, Barton would become student body vice president. He would also serve on the student body legislature for the entirety of his time at the University of Sierra, Riverside. Barton would graduate from the University of Sierra, Riverside in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Immediately after graduating from university, Barton would become the chief political strategist for the Barton family. He would assist many of his family members by serving on their political campaigns and helping them getting elected to multiple positions.

Political career

Provincial Assemblyman

Elections

In 1987, Barton would finally make his entrance into politics, running for a seat in the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly, hoping to succeed retiring assemblyman Calvin Merrick, who was majority leader of the chamber at the time. Barton would run his campaign in the 3rd district, which at the time represented most of suburban Riverside and was considered a Royalist stronghold. Barton would be elected to the office in January of 1988, defeating his Democratic-Republican opponent in a landslide. Barton would run for re-election in 1992, and would again defeat his opponents in a lopsided election, winning more than 70% of the vote.

Tenure

As a provincial assemblyman, Barton would propose and support socially conservative and economically liberal legislation. Barton would identify as apart of the ideologically right wing caucus of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly and during his early years as a member, he would rarely vote in line with the moderate wing of his party and members of the opposition. During the latter years of his tenure as a provincial assemblyman, Barton would slowly begin to moderate his views, voting in favor of more moderate conservative and some opposition legislation. Despite this, he still remained a firm socially conservative figure within the assembly, and would become the leader of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly Royalist Conference in 1993. In 1994, Barton supported the Traditional Marriage Act, which would have created an amendment to the Inland Empire constitution that recognized marriage as between a man and woman. Although the bill would pass, it would later be struck down by the Supreme Court as it violated the court's ruling in Brooks v. Maricopa, which legalized gay marriage in Sierra.

Election

In 1995, longtime Democratic-Republican K.S senator Cory Johnson would announce his intentions not to run for a fifth term in 1996, leaving his seat as a battleground in the upcoming elections. Barton would declare his candidacy for the Senate in October of 1995 and would instantly emerge as a frontrunner for the Royalist nomination. Barton would easily win the Royalist nomination in a landslide, becoming the party's candidate in February of 1996, running against Democratic-Republican Mason Grimes. The race would be viewed as the most competitive during the 1996 electoral cycle, with polling suggesting a close race between Barton and Grimes. On election day, Barton would narrowly be elected with 51.3% of the vote, the second closest result during the 1996 elections.

Tenure

As a K.S senator, Barton would continue to support socially conservative and economically liberal legislation. Now in a federal office, Barton would become a vocal critic of the Conference of American States and the foreign policies of Prime Minister Melinda Peters. In general, Barton would become Peters' largest critic in the Senate, opposing 99% of the legislation proposed by her administration. During his tenure in the Senate, Barton would serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, becoming ranking member of the committee in 2000. In 1998, Barton would be a cosponsor of the Right to Bear Arms Act, which ended the Peters ministry's ban on assault riles and would be a major supporter of the vote in no confidence against Peters in 2000, which resulted in her removal from power in the 2000 federal election. Barton would be a supporter of the agenda of Prime Minister Matthew Braggs.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Barton would support measures to increase national security, being appointed to the Senate's 9/11 emergency committee. In the same year, Barton would support increasing the budget of the Sierran Armed Forces, and supported funding greater anti-terrorism measures. He would elect not to run for a second-term in early 2002.

Governorship

Elections

In 2002, Barton would announce his candidacy for the 2002 Inland Empire gubernatorial election. Due to his popularity, Barton would easily win the Royalist nomination and would go on to win in a landslide, securing 67% of the vote and defeating Democratic-Republican candidate Harlan McCreedy. He would run again in 2006, securing 69% of the vote and defeating D-R challenger Marcus Whitney, and again for a third term in 2010, securing 65% of the vote and defeating Melissa Horthy. During his 2006 re-election, Barton would secure the largest voting percentage in Inland Empire history.

Tenure

Immediately following his election and swearing in, Barton would recognize the rising methamphetamine addiction rate in the Inland Empire as a medical epidemic and would form the Anti-Narcotic Provincial Task Force to help curb rising drug use within the province. Despite criticism from political opponents, the task force would be largely successful in curbing continued meth use in the province. Aligned with the policies of Prime Minister Diana Jeong, Barton would begin to implement anti-terrorism measures within the Inland Empire, especially after a bombing attempt at the Inland Empire Capitol Building in 2003. In 2005, Barton would begin the Better Schools, Better Education program, which granted greater funding to public school districts in order to improve and modernize school infrastructure. The program saw the updating of many of the outdated technology used in Inland Empire schools. The program would also apply to a number of private schools, which political opponents heavily criticized.

Following his 2006 re-election, Barton would begin to invest provincial resources in the solar energy industry. In 2007, Barton would partner with Governor Jacqueline Ridge of Clark in the construction of the Mojave Solar Energy Farm. Construction of the farm would begin in the same year and would be completed after Barton's tenure as governor in 2015. Although Barton would be praised for his support of solar energy, he would be extensively criticized for the price and length of construction. Following Steven Hong's election as prime minister, Barton would emerge as Hong's chief political opposition among Sierra's governors. He would oppose a number of Hong's policies, especially his tax policies. In 2010, Barton, along with other Royalist and Libertarian governors, would pledge to oppose the Hong ministry's raising of taxes of wealthy Sierrans, calling the policy "inherently discriminatory and anti-competitive". He would also vocally oppose Hong's attempts to raise the federal alcohol and gasoline tax. Despite his opposition to many of Hong's taxation policies, he would support the Prime Minister's efforts to lower taxes for middle and lower class Sierrans.

Also in 2010, Barton would oppose the implementation of Common Core in Inland Empire public schools. In 2012, Barton would sign the largest tax cuts in Sierran history, eliminating a number of taxes implemented by his Democratic-Republican predecessor Philip Martin. The most notable of these taxes were the gasoline and alcohol taxes. The large tax cut would inspire other Royalist-led provincial governments in creating similar legislation and would draw the condemnation of the Hong ministry, who believed that the elimination of the gasoline tax throughout Sierra would lead to a decrease in quality of infrastructure and accelerating climate change. In 2013, Barton announced his intentions not to run for re-election. Barton would leave office in 2014 with an approval rating of 65%, the highest of any modern Inland Empire governor.

Post-Governorship political activities

Following the end of his tenure as governor, Barton would briefly withdrawal from public life before returning to aid in the campaigning season of the 2015 American Parliament election in Sierra where he campaigned for candidates running for the American Parliament for the American Conservative Coalition ticket first appearing at a rally to support Evan Hutchison, former Leader of the Royalist Party and MP, when running for the American Parliament in Kings. He would campaign with Daniel McComb and was his closest advisor during the season with news outlets and analysts calling him "McComb's right-hand man". While campaigning, Barton stated that one of the reasons for his involvement was to "showcase a well-deserved rebuke of Prime Minister Hong" and the Liberal Democrats of America, who he believed would continue a policy of "federalization and globalization". Despite this opposition to Hong, he would attend his funeral following his assassination, alongside other Royalist leaders.

During the 2016 Sierran federal election, Barton would campaign heavily for Royalists, pursuing a agenda of monarchism amid a wave of anti-Republicanism. Barton's endorsements would be considered high advantageous for Royalist candidates in the Inland Empire, with the former governor retaining his large popularity even outside of office. Barton would also assist in the campaign of his eldest son, Preston Barton, who would be elected to represent the constituency of Etiwanda. Following McComb's victory, Barton would be considered for a potential role in his ministry, though would decline any advances made, citing his personal support for members of the Cabinet to be appointed from Parliament. Barton would continue to support McComb until 2017, when McComb was accused of multiple instances of sexual assault. From requested Getty House memos and recordings, Barton privately and aggressively push for McComb to resign and "accept the consequences" of his "inappropriate and disgusting behavior". During the 2017 Royalist leadership race, Barton would endorse Kenneth O'Conner. After O'Conner dropped out of the race, Barton would endorse Minister of Finance Nemesis Heartwell near the end of the campaign season.

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of George Barton

See also

• Barton family