Governor Gregoire Addresses Seattle City Club Annual Meeting (As Written)
April 6, 2006
Governor Gregoire: Every town in our state would benefit from a City Club, I believe, and the caliber of your staff, board, and programs set the bar for peer city clubs nationwide. I�m also grateful for your commitment to civic engagement�even when that calls for �grilling the Governor!�
Anybody who works for me knows that I subscribe to the �Admiral Rickover School� of accountability.
To save $941 million, the first time ever, and still make smart investments in education, the economy, the environment, healthcare, energy, and transportation; with our landmark agreement on civil rights, with our breakthrough medical-liability agreement, with reform of our unemployment insurance system, and with finally cracking the generation-long stalemate over Columbia River water; and to wrap it all up and adjourn one day early�I�m sure Admiral Rickover would say, yeah, fine, that�s adequate for now...
Still, we done good in 2006 � real good.
Rattling off a laundry list of accomplishments doesn�t mean much if you need to �pretzel it� around an artificial vision.
But creating a meaningful legacy as Governor does mean starting out with a strong, unifying vision and going from there.
That�s exactly what we did and that�s exactly why we achieved so much, moving Washington forward.
My vision is threefold and it is about doing rather than saying. It�s about relentlessly improving the three big things that I believe government is obliged to do. My vision is to:
1) build our economy by investing in education
2) invest in infrastructure to accommodate new growth and
3) make sure we are globally competitive so our businesses and industries thrive.
First, education:
Since I took office, we have made Washington one of the few states that takes seriously the possibility of Early Learning � helping those young minds that are so ready to learn before kindergarten. We restored two voter-approved initiatives to improve classroom learning and pay teachers a fair wage. We acted quickly to protect our commitment to high academic standards while providing the tools to help our kids master them. We created new career pathways that lead to trades apprenticeships after graduation. We�re in the middle of a comprehensive study of our entire education system, from top to bottom. We need a seamless education system from early learning through K-12 and higher ed.
Companies, without exception, want to know that we have a well-trained, educated, modern workforce. And they also want good schools for their children and their employees' children. They know as well as I that their children must compete with the world�s children, not just with students in Idaho or Vermont.
Second, infrastructure:
I�ll be the first to admit that the word �infrastructure� rolls off your tongue like an anvil! But we need to think of it as the bones, muscle, and arteries that keep our state vital and alive.
That�s why we overcame what some called political folly and made our biggest investments ever in transportation. That�s why I created the Life Sciences Discovery Fund to put us at the forefront of biomedical research and application. That�s why we provided new legislation and funding to nurture a biofuels industry.
Third, competitiveness:
This isn't our parents' Washington. In a couple weeks, President Hu of China will be visiting the state, and I expect Mexican President Fox to accept my invitation soon as well.
This morning at the UW, the Deputy Premier of the State of Queensland, Australia, and I inaugurated a Queensland-Washington initiative to cooperate in the life sciences arena.
Our Australia agreement is an outgrowth of our Life Sciences Discovery Fund, which could be worth as much as $1 billion over the next 10-15 years.
Simply put, Washington is a major player. As I often say, we're like a small nation, rather than a state.
That�s why I created my Global Competitiveness Council, to ensure that the State of Washington is recognized throughout the world as a place for businesses to thrive. (Pause)
I hope that all of you take time to speak to members of my executive cabinet and senior staff who are out here in force this afternoon. Just look for anyone sitting quietly and sporting a button that reads, �Ask me about our awesome and historic 2006 session!�
In my State-of-the-State address in January, I said that each of us, irrespective of our political party, owes it to the families of our great state not to lose our way.
Each of us must see ourselves through history's lens, and create a legacy by building on our success.
The only way we can ensure that our vision translates into meaningful action is to stay the course and to think fifty years out. By doing so, history's lens will reflect kindly on the courage and vision of all of us working together for the greater good of the people of Washington.
Thank you.
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