Governor John Engler
2001 State of the State Address - Wednesday, January 31, 2001
By John Engler
Governor of the State of Michigan
Thank you, Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, for your introduction. Thank you,
Father George Shalhoub, for your inspiring prayer. Speaker Rick Johnson,
Majority Leader Dan DeGrow, members of the House and Senate, Chief Justice
Maura Corrigan, members of the judiciary, colleagues in government, fellow
citizens:
Thirty years ago this month, I took the oath of office in this chamber
for the very first time. Then, leadership mattered and so did civility.
They still do.
For their efforts to further mutual understanding and cooperation, I
commend the new leaders of the House, Speaker Rick Johnson and Leader
Kwame Kilpatrick.
We should never forget that the successes of the 90s - Proposal A,
safer streets, welfare reform, Build Michigan, Clean Michigan, 31 tax cuts
- all resulted from our willingness to work together. Michigan's
continuing success requires continuing to work together.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Henry Ford revolutionized
manufacturing. In the decades that followed, Michigan workers made
everything from Buicks to bombers - and changed the world. At beginning of the 21st century, scientists are gathering across Michigan
- from Detroit to Ann Arbor to East Lansing and to Grand Rapids - to
conduct pioneering research along America's first Life Sciences
Corridor. Their work is changing the world - again.
Everyone is seeking "the new, new thing." The quest is on.
The New Economy is transforming the old, and a new Michigan is emerging
- the Next Michigan. The Next Michigan is more than a place. It's an
attitude - smart and civil, confident yet compassionate, mindful of
tradition yet constantly changing.
The agenda I outline tonight remains true to our principles, builds on
our successes and is full of changes vital for the transformation to the
Next Michigan.
The Next Michigan educates her children for the challenges ahead.
The Next Michigan protects her unique natural treasures.
The Next Michigan reforms and limits government.
The Next Michigan harnesses technology to serve people and solve
problems.
The Next Michigan changes the world with new products and new ideas.
My friends, it is not the Michigan way to look for someone else to
follow or to wait for someone else to be bold. The Michigan way is to
lead.
Throughout the '90s, after a decade in which Michigan lagged the
nation, our goal was to "restore and renew our great state." We
did just that.
- Record cuts in property taxes were combined with record increases
in school funding - full funding for every child.
- More than 58,000 children are learning in 183 charter public
schools, while 26,000 are benefiting from schools of choice.
- Welfare caseloads are at the lowest levels since the 1960s -
down more than 70 percent.
- With the creation of nearly 900,000 new jobs, unemployment went
down from 9.3 percent in 1991 to 3.4 percent in 2000. Ladies and
gentlemen, that is the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded in
Michigan history!
- We are the number one state for new factories, expansion projects
and capital investment.
- And Michigan gained nearly 650,000 new residents, the fastest
growth since the 1960s and an increase almost 20 times the growth in
the previous decade.
Together, we turned Michigan's lights back on. You might say we went
from watching taillights to welcoming headlights.
Let's take a look at where we stand, for our strengths are many. More
than 6,000 information technology companies call Michigan home. Over 1,800
technology-focused firms are thriving along Oakland County's Automation
Alley. Our systems analysts, database administrators and computer
scientists earn the highest paychecks in the nation. Industry invests more
in research and development in Michigan than in virtually any other state.
From world-class research centers to the entrepreneurs and innovators
that line our Life Sciences Corridor, new ideas, new products and new ways
of thinking are integral to the Next Michigan.
Our goal is to see Michigan in the forefront of basic research for
life-saving and life-improving technologies and treatments. Last year, we
took an important step into the Next Michigan with a $1 billion commitment
to research. Your work has attracted attention across the nation.
We want to strengthen further our foothold in these emerging fields -
life sciences, micro-systems and information technology. With the proper
tax and regulatory climate and the right education and legal strategies,
investment and job creation potential in these sectors is enormous. So I
propose a Next Michigan action plan to encourage these new companies to
make our state their home.
Let's put out the welcome mat and exempt them from Michigan's state
business tax.
For inventors, entrepreneurs, small tech and IT firms, the protection
of intellectual property rights is a critical concern. In a world where we
can go from idea to IPO at warp speed, we need a connected court that can
keep up.
Tonight, I propose that Michigan boldly go where no state has gone
before by creating the Cybercourt. In the Next Michigan, the Cybercourt
will:
- feature e-filings, web-based conferencing and virtual courtrooms;
- significantly reduce travel time and cost;
- recognize that prompt dispute resolution means the difference
between success and failure for a new venture; and,
- use mediators and judges who have the skills and knowledge to render
prompt, competent decisions.
Done correctly, America's first Cybercourt will make the Next
Michigan uniquely attractive to the next generation of technology-driven
companies. The Next Michigan has the potential to be to technology
companies what Delaware has been to public corporations.
Clearly, in the economy of the Next Michigan, speed matters. Ensuring
unfettered access to the information economy is an urgent priority of
state government.
Whether it is copper or fiber, cable or wire - or even wireless -
the mode of transmission does not matter. What does matter - what is
vital - is that net services be low cost and high speed. Local
governments should not be allowed to erect stoplights and expensive
tollbooths on the information highway. We need an express lane to the
future.
Speed, competition, and connections to the world - these are
absolutely vital to the Next Michigan. Therefore, I am asking the Public
Service Commission, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the
e-Michigan Office to recommend immediate reforms. We need to eliminate
excessive access fees. We need to curb lengthy litigation. We need to
curtail costly delays. The public interest demands that we break the grip
of these broadband bandits.
Last year, America had a conversation over who invented the Internet.
Well, the fact is, talented researchers at our own University of Michigan
played a key role. Today, Ann Arbor is again the hub of development for
the next generation of the Internet. Internet 2 will be far faster, far
more secure and have far more functionality.
To capitalize on the huge potential of Internet 2, I have asked the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation to begin negotiations with the Internet 2 leadership team to make Ann Arbor their permanent home.
The most important pending location decision for the Next Michigan
concerns the company Covisint. The web-focused Covisint will revolutionize
business-to-business transactions among the auto companies and their
suppliers, including government. Successfully locating Covisint in
Michigan will establish us overnight as the world leader in
business-to-business e-commerce. We will not rest until they make Michigan
their permanent home!
Speed also matters when it comes to travel. I am pleased to announce
that starting in March, Express Airlines - a subsidiary of Northwest -
will begin deploying 22 new jets out of Metro Airport and creating nearly
400 new jobs to support this expansion of regional air service.
We have learned this winter that utility restructuring, done right, can
speed economic growth and benefit homeowners. Thanks to the work of the
PSC to encourage competition, Michigan families who use natural gas are
saving between $500 million and $1 billion this winter. In stark contrast,
consider California where sky-high prices and rolling blackouts have been
forced upon homeowners and businesses.
Given the national energy debate under way, the PSC faces an important
challenge to assure that Michigan is well prepared to meet both our
current and future energy needs. I am proud that the new U.S. Secretary of
Energy, former Senator Spencer Abraham, is from Michigan. Congratulations!
Our Next Michigan action plan also means to make Michigan the world
leader in web-based, government-to-citizen services. The first step toward
achieving that goal was creating the e-Michigan Office. Already,
e-Michigan partnerships are paying dividends, and today, customers are
going on the web to get fishing and hunting licenses or to reserve
campgrounds.
Web-based services will help students access financial aid, help
entrepreneurs start businesses, help taxpayers apply for professional and
occupational licenses and permits, help daycare providers get paid online,
and connect seniors to a variety of services.
Convenience will also be enhanced by a new, customer-friendly portal
that will allow users to enter their application information once and not
be forced to reenter it each time they deal with government. Reaching our
e-Michigan goal means permitting customers to conduct business at their
convenience - going online, not waiting in line.
In addition to improving the delivery of services, the Internet can
also strengthen accountability. Across state government, from the new
Center for Educational Performance and Information and their work with
Standard & Poor's to provide school spending data, to the Department
of Consumer and Industry Services and their data on nursing home quality,
citizens at home can learn in detail the answers to their questions.
A new project this year will be to implement recommendations made by
the Michigan Commission on Public Pension and Retiree Health Benefits,
chaired by Ambassador Peter Secchia. One essential recommendation is that
all local governments make public the financial status of their retirement
plans. We'll even put it on the Internet, so current and retired
employees are protected.
In April, more
new technology will be unveiled when we open the new State Police Forensic
Science Laboratory. Law enforcement all across Michigan will have access
to a state-of-the-art, automated, evidence-processing system, using the
latest techniques of DNA analysis.
To protect the public and aid law enforcement, Michigan must eliminate
profiling backlogs and collect DNA from a broader array of criminals. In
fact, we are already working with county sheriffs to make sure we have
their cooperation to collect samples from all felons at booking. At the
discretion of the court, a digital representation will then be kept
electronically for matching purposes to help in both identifying and
eliminating suspects.
Let me also me stress a very important point: While DNA and
psychological profiling are key tools in the hunt to catch criminals,
racial profiling has no place in law enforcement.
Finally, the planning authorized by the legislature for a joint
headquarters to house the departments of Michigan State Police and
Military and Veterans Affairs is nearing completion.
Soon, I will request from you construction authorization for a unique,
new facility that will improve the efficiency of both and provide cost
savings by sharing critical functions such as an emergency operations
center and telecommunications systems.
In all these ways, the Next Michigan means an economy even more
prosperous, a government even more responsive and a quality of life even
more inviting. Building the Next Michigan is a work in progress, and we
are making progress.
Undoubtedly, the single most important thing we do to ensure the
success of the Next Michigan is to ensure the success of the next
generation. The bottom line - we need good public schools.
In this regard, I would like to congratulate schools that are simply
the best.
Thanks to great teachers, involved parents, hardworking students and
dedicated communities, their high schools have produced the most Merit
Award winners in their class: the Ann Arbor Pioneers; the Mattawan
Wildcats; the Calumet Copper Kings; and the Western Michigan Christian
High Warriors.
These first-ever academic state champions are truly the best in their
class!
Tonight, I am pleased and proud to announce that 43,000 of our
daughters and sons performed so well on their science, math, reading and
writing exams that they earned a $2,500 Merit Award scholarship. That's
a $100 million investment in their future.
Our mission is to see every child earn a Merit Award scholarship.
But it is an impossible mission for any child who cannot read. How can
Michigan cross the "Digital Divide" when we have yet to close
the "Reading Divide"?
The very first education law in colonial America fined parents if their
children couldn't read. In frontier America, the Northwest Ordinance set
aside a section of every township for a school where children would learn
to read.
We don't need the wizardry of Harry Potter to transform our children
into readers. We know what it takes! Every child should have a reading
plan and the support of a trained teacher and an involved parent. Teach
every child to read. Make every child count.
The accountability framework is in place. The legislature worked hard
on the accreditation process, and I commend you. As a result, we know the
magnitude of the reading challenge: We have 208 elementary and middle
schools where more than three out of four students cannot read at grade
level. Children who cannot read are seriously at risk of failure - at
risk of welfare, of prison, and worse. This is unacceptable!
President Bush has challenged the states to strengthen school
accountability by assessing all children in reading and math skills
annually through the 8th grade. Last year, you enacted a plan to assess
our children's progress in core subjects every year through the end of
the 5th grade. To meet the President's challenge, we will have to extend
assessment of reading and math through the 8th grade. I ask you to work
with me to get this done. If we do this promptly, Michigan will be
eligible for a special financial bonus.
In the Information Age, one of the fundamentals for a teacher is
mastering technology. Across Michigan, classroom teachers are receiving
laptop computers, training and Internet access. This $110 million
investment in technology is enhancing the skills of our classroom teachers
and allowing Michigan to draw upon the collective knowledge of technology
innovators such as Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway and IBM.
More than 6,000 of these laptops are going to Detroit teachers, and I
commend Superintendent Ken Burnley and his team. We haven't seen this
kind of responsiveness in the Detroit schools in years and we're
counting on him to deliver even better news in the months ahead.
I also want to stress tonight, especially for the new members, that the
$110 million for teacher laptops is over and above operating funds
approved for Michigan schools.
Last year, this legislature passed a multiple-year spending measure for
schools that raised per-pupil revenues by $1,000. This means in the coming
year, funding every Michigan child, there will be at least $6,500.
This all comes on the heels of settling the Durant case - a
17-year-old lawsuit over special education funding. Nearly $1 billion was
distributed to school districts in 1997 and 1998, whether they sued or
not, with the clear expectation that litigation was over.
Regrettably, a second Durant suit was brought. No Headlee violations
were found. Now, a third Durant lawsuit has been filed.
Here are the facts. The state share of special education budgets has
been, and continues to be, fully funded. Special education funding in
Michigan is the most expansive in the country.
This latest lawsuit is unfounded and unwarranted. Motivated by greed
and furthered by gullibility, it is an assault on the informed decisions
of the legislature and on Michigan taxpayers who have been exceedingly
generous in funding public education, including special education.
I believe we need to put the focus back on the classroom, not on the
courtroom. These districts should stop litigating and start educating. Our
kids deserve better.
Parents understand the importance of good public schools. That's why
support for public schools, including charter schools, remains strong. In
fact, nine charter schools were among the most improved schools in
Michigan and won Golden Apple awards. The Manoogian School in Southfield
reached "top ten" status as one of the best public schools in
the entire state.
Neither nationally, nor in any other state, are charter schools viewed
as a partisan issue. And they should not be a partisan issue here. Our
kids deserve better.
It would be a shame - no, it would be a tragedy - if an artificial
cap blocked Michigan from sharing in the new $3 billion Charter School
Homestead Plan proposed by the President.
So tonight, I renew my call to lift the cap. The cap must go.
I also believe it is time to allow teachers' unions to operate
charter schools. The unions that represent classroom teachers are uniquely
qualified to run schools. Let's tear down the barriers and expand public
school choices.
With the MEAP tests, Michigan has long been a national leader in
student assessment. Tonight, I am also pleased to announce that we are
strengthening the administration of the MEAP tests and constantly
improving them to make sure they continue to be fair, unbiased and
up-to-date. A wide range of curricula and teaching supports are already
tied to high standards, and school officials have access to software to
analyze results. In addition, scores will be available sooner.
To put additional skilled teachers in classrooms, we are moving ahead
with plans to encourage more of our talented citizens to become teachers.
We will welcome recent college graduates with non-education majors who are
participating in wonderful programs like Teach for America, and we will
recruit skilled individuals with a lifetime of experience to embark on
their next career in the Next Michigan.
I should also note that even though we have taken dramatic steps to
reduce bureaucracy, streamline government and improve efficiency, we can
do more. I believe strongly that the next step in that effort should be a
plan to harmonize the boundaries of community colleges, intermediate
school districts and local workforce boards.
I will soon send you legislation proposing the creation of an education
boundary commission to recommend a plan that will either be voted up or
down in whole, without amendment. If we work together on this, I believe a
successful result will mean better service for students and employers and
maybe even the possibility of savings to taxpayers.
Education reform has long topped Michigan's agenda. Now, President
Bush has put education reform at the top of the nation's agenda.
The President wants accountability. So do we.
The President wants results. So do we.
The President wants every child to succeed. So do we.
Our vision: a Next Michigan where our schools are the best in the
world.
As we build the Next Michigan, it is important we remember and embrace
the virtues that have always made our state strong - hard work, personal
responsibility, community, faith and family. Learning the stories of the
courageous and confident pioneers who were responsible for building
Michigan's peninsulas of progress is one way to make sure those virtues
remain valued.
Ladies and gentlemen, learning about our world should begin with
learning about Michigan.
We must do a better job of learning Michigan history and preserving our
heritage. As we build the Next Michigan, history and cultural tourism will
grow in importance. Whether it is preserving historical artifacts,
creating a national shipwreck sanctuary, restoring Fort Mackinac,
rebuilding the Father Marquette Museum, celebrating the Detroit
tricentennial, or saving a lighthouse, our state is alive with the past.
To capture that spirit and to protect our legacy for future
generations, I will work with you to create a new Department of History,
Arts and Culture.
This new department will harness resources like the Library of
Michigan, the Bureau of History, the Mackinac Island State Park
Commission, the state archives, underwater preserves, and the Michigan
Film Office to create a needed focus and well-deserved stature.
Other states have done impressive things with history and cultural
tourism, but I believe that with your support, we can surpass them. Across
Michigan, dedicated individuals have been making a difference: Jeff
Daniels, making a movie in Escanaba; Michael Evans, keeping the memory of Sojourner Truth alive; Dick Moehl, preserving lighthouses; Kathy-Jo
Wargin, writing the Legend of Sleeping Bear; Fred Meijer, putting
the DaVinci Horse in the Meijer Gardens; Steve Hamp, energizing the Henry
Ford Museum and Greenfield Village; Francois Castaing, spearheading the
Detroit Science Center; and Dr. Charles Wright, realizing his dream of the
Museum of African American History.
In the Next Michigan, this new department will become a focal point to
preserve Michigan's heritage for the benefit of future generations. I
particularly want to thank Secretary of State Candice Miller for her input
and support for the new Department of History, Arts and Culture.
While I am on the topic of history, I am also pleased to announce that
this year, we will honor Detroit's founder when we name the state's
newly renovated office complex in the old General Motors Building. It will
be called Cadillac Place.
Also, in Lansing, on the site of the old Civic Center, we will
recognize the truly historic work of Michigan's last Constitutional
Convention. The new office building on that site will be called
Constitution Hall.
Both Cadillac Place and Constitution Hall will feature permanent
exhibits depicting key people and events in Michigan's history.
One project that will evoke our history and capture the imagination of
Michigan citizens in the coming year will be a statewide competition to
design the Michigan quarter. To oversee the process, there will be a
Quarter Commission that will consist, naturally, of 25 people. While the
Michigan quarter will be issued in January of 2004, we must submit our
design by next year.
Since 1991, our record of managing Michigan's quarters is strong.
And, we returned a lot of nickels to our taxpayers - $20 billion worth.
The 1990s will be remembered in Michigan as the Tax Cut Decade - 31
tax cuts that re-energized our economy with new jobs and higher incomes.
At the same time, our priorities can be seen clearly by record
investments in K-12 education, community colleges and universities, mental
health care, children's health, highways and the environment.
The 1990s were also a decade of sound fiscal management. Chronic
overspending by state agencies - reversed. Our Rainy Day Fund - a
healthy $1.2 billion. The Unemployment Trust Fund - over $3 billion -
a record. Even Wall Street applauded our reforms, and after 25 years,
restored our AAA credit rating.
Earlier this week, Michigan earned top honors from Governing
magazine as one of the three best-managed states in America. To every
state employee, I say thank you.
Our prudent fiscal policies have been good for Michigan . . . and even
better for Michigan families. Lately, slowing tax revenues and national
economic uncertainty remind us to exercise continued prudence to preserve
our progress and protect our priorities.
Those priorities start, as they always have, with education. Over the
past ten years, education has always been, and will continue to be,
Michigan's number one priority. Our investment in our children's
schools is greater than the entire General Fund budget - more than $14
billion a year!
Tax cuts are also a top priority. I am pleased to see growing
bipartisan support in Washington for federal tax cuts.
In Michigan, reductions in personal income taxes and business taxes
will take place as scheduled. And unemployment taxes are being cut again.
Make no mistake, we begin this decade as we ended the 1990s, by cutting
taxes.
When I took office, Michigan's personal income tax rate was 4.6
percent, while the Single Business Tax was 2.35 percent. By the time we
gather next January, multi-year tax cuts approved in 1998 and 1999 will
have dropped Michigan's flat rate income tax to 4.1 percent and our
business tax to 1.9 percent, saving families and job providers an
additional $350 million. By 2004, the personal income tax rate will be
down to 3.9 percent, the lowest rate since 1971. In addition, the SBT
continues its phased reduction at the rate of 0.1 percent per year.
Just as taxpayers have a right to keep more of their money, they have a
right to be treated fairly. Tonight, I urge you to strengthen our Taxpayer
Bill of Rights by assuring homestead exemptions are received by those
entitled to them, by requiring Boards of Review to provide residential
property taxpayers with written explanations of decisions, and by easing
electronic filing requirements.
All families benefit when taxes are cut and their incomes are
increased. But for some families, the most important way to increase their
income is to assure full and timely child support payments.
I am frustrated, and quite frankly, fed up that our child support
enforcement system has failed to serve so many children. Because a handful
of counties have not participated in a federally mandated, statewide
child-support system, Michigan will suffer a $38 million federal penalty.
We are fighting the penalty in Washington, and fixing the problem in
Michigan.
If any county fails to participate in the state system, I will work
with the legislature and the Chief Justice to terminate that county's
responsibility for child support enforcement.
One thing is certain. I will not ask this legislature to continue to
pay outrageous penalties because some counties wish to have it their way.
Our duty is to the children. It is time the Friend of the Court became the
Friend of the Child.
Michigan voters wisely rejected assisted suicide, but every Michigan
family still faces the difficult realities of death and dying. I
established the Commission on End of Life Care to help families receive
compassionate care for their loved ones confronting death.
Today, modern medicine can relieve even the most severe physical pain.
Tonight, I propose that we increase access to effective pain management
throughout Michigan. I will work with this legislature to remove barriers to pain relief so that the end of life can be
dignified, and the physical and emotional suffering can be eased.
I also urge all Michigan citizens to engage in a caring conversation
with their family and loved ones concerning their wants and wishes for end
of life care. Each and every one of us deserve to have our wishes known
and honored.
A political reality for the Next Michigan is the impending transfer of
congressional seats out of the Great Lakes basin to arid states in the
West and Southwest. This political tide threatens our most precious liquid
asset - water. In December, I opened the public comment period on Annex
2001 - a new basin-wide agreement that will fortify the legal defense of
our water resources.
When the Great Lakes states ratify a common conservation standard
governing all proposals for water diversion or withdrawal, we keep the
control of our lakes out of Washington D.C. and in our own hands. As I've
said before: Our Great Lakes water is not for sale!
As governor of the Great Lakes State, my mission is to ensure that my
fellow governors and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec complete work on
binding agreements to protect, conserve, and defend our Great Lakes.
In addition to our work protecting the Great Lakes, its harbors and
fisheries, and our inland lakes and streams, conserving Michigan's land
resources has also been a focus. In fact, during the past decade, more
than 46,000 acres of land were acquired by the Department of Natural
Resources and local governments for public use. Much of that land was paid
for by the Natural Resources Trust Fund (NRTF).
While the principal balance in the NRTF during the 1990s more than
doubled, growing to nearly $160 million, we will do even better if our
State Treasurer is allowed the investment options for the NRTF approved
for other state funds. I urge your support for this constitutional
amendment to increase the return on investment and allow for additional
conservation of unique resources for the public good.
Along with our strategy of protecting our lakes and public lands, we
care about conserving privately-owned farmland and open spaces. Keith
Charters, the Chairman of the Natural Resources Commission, has worked
hard to bring together an array of groups who all care deeply about our
resources. Chairman Charters - thank you!
Working together as advocates, not adversaries, these groups - the
Michigan Realtors Association, the Michigan Farm Bureau, the Michigan
Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Renaissance, the Michigan Environmental
Council, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Southeast Michigan
Council of Governments and the Michigan Association of Homebuilders -
have crafted a new Land Conservation Plat Act. Our conservation strategy
envisions development that would balance the desire for open space with
the need for more housing. How? By creating incentives to preserve open
space with existing natural features like wetlands and woods while more
intensively using less acreage to develop family-friendly neighborhoods.
Enacting this reform to improve land stewardship could be the most
significant breakthrough in decades.
The groups that worked on this proposal showed their respect for the
land, for the rights of those who own it and for the interests of future
generations who will enjoy it. Let's reward their hard work and pass
these reforms.
Reform is also needed in the way Michigan chooses Supreme Court
justices. In the past two elections, new highs in spending were reached as
well as new lows in attacks against candidates and even the institution
itself. And there is clear evidence that the attacks will be even nastier
and the spending even higher in the years ahead. I have long believed
there is a better way.
Tonight, I endorse a proposal called the Modified Federal Plan, which
is being promoted by Justice Elizabeth Weaver. This reform would afford
future governors, with advice and consent of the Michigan Senate, one
appointment to the Supreme Court every two years. The appointed Justice
would serve only one 14-year term.
I ask the legislature to study this issue, conduct hearings, and vote
to place this reform plan for Supreme Court selection on the 2002 ballot.
Certainly, the filling of judicial vacancies by appointment is already
one of the most important responsibilities of a governor. During my
tenure, I have made 171 appointments - more than one-quarter of the
Michigan judiciary. The history of gubernatorial appointment demonstrates
sensitivity to balance and diversity while providing ethical, competent,
diligent jurists. A reformed appointment process would attract persons
with outstanding professional credentials who otherwise would not subject
themselves to the rigors of politics and fundraising.
Just as the judicial branch could be strengthened by the adoption of a
constitutional amendment, so too could the governance of Wayne State,
Michigan and Michigan State - and the State Board of Education. Tonight,
I recommend a constitutional amendment to allow a governor, with advice
and consent of the Senate, to appoint seven additional members to each of
the elected eight-member boards. These appointments would be bipartisan
- no more than four from one party.
This reform, which would not take effect until after the next
gubernatorial election, rejects the idea of abolishing board elections.
Instead, this plan strengthens existing boards by vastly expanding the
pool of qualified candidates. Board service should not be limited only to
those willing to run on a party ticket. As with the Court, let's open
service to other highly qualified individuals who could make outstanding
contributions. The Next Michigan will be even more diverse than today, and
our institutions must be able to tap that talent for the Next Michigan to
be a stronger Michigan.
My fellow citizens, a new president has taken the oath of office. In
his stirring call for America to lead, he said:
". . . the stakes for America are never small. If our country does
not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the
hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their
gifts and undermine their idealism. If we permit our economy to drift and
decline, the vulnerable will suffer most. We must live up to the calling
we share."
President Bush, on behalf of the people of Michigan, we hear the call
to do well and to do good. We promise to work with you to bring power and
authority back from Washington to the states, to local communities and to
the people.
Democracy's challenge to each of us - as mothers and fathers, autoworkers and teachers, citizens and soldiers, neighbors and friends
- is to lead the cause of freedom, to inspire the hearts and minds of our
children, and to form a more perfect union. Everyone should have the
opportunity to live the American Dream.
As we seek the American Dream, as we build the Next Michigan, our
shared virtues and our civic responsibilities remain the rock upon which
we stand - together.
Thank you, good night, and God bless Michigan.
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