This week Utah will host our nation’s governors for the annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association. It will be a productive event, where governors learn from each other and from experts on a wide variety of topics. It will also be a positive exercise in bi-partisanship.
For a nation fed a steady diet of partisan bickering, it may surprise some to learn that America’s governors work together, get along well and even enjoy spending time together.
When I became Utah’s governor 10 years ago, I found enormous value and camaraderie in working with my fellow governors. Many had years of experience and were happy to share lessons about policies that had worked well and others that hadn’t.
That’s why I’m so pleased to welcome NGA here this week. This marks the second time during my tenure that the association has chosen Utah to host the nation’s governors, and the eyes of many across the nation will be on us over the next few days.
As I often emphasize, states are where true policy innovation happens. In Utah, we’ve improved our air quality, invested more in education, made government smaller and more efficient, and we’re in the process of a fiscally responsible Medicaid expansion.
Over the next several days, we’ll be discussing and celebrating victories like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s success in addressing school safety, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s two-state family and medical paid leave program, and outgoing NGA Chair and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s Good Jobs for All Americans initiative, which successfully identifies ways to link workers to well-paid careers, now and in the future.
To be sure, not all of these policies would work in every state, and some may not work at all. The demographics, economies and politics are different in every state. But that’s the point. Governors, working with their legislatures, have the flexibility to adapt and customize policies to their populations. They can look at neighboring states and follow their lead or avoid their pitfalls.
Unlike the perpetual gridlock in Washington, D.C., when something doesn’t work well in a state, governors and legislatures can react quickly and fix it, or be shown the door by voters. Our country’s founders intended most of the policy-making to happen at the state and local level, where government is closest to the people and thus most accountable to voters.
Governors are always looking forward to the next challenge. This week we’ll discuss ways to combat human trafficking, how to spur economic development in rural areas and how to invest thoughtfully in infrastructure. Some of these might seem like mundane topics, but they are the bread and butter of governance at the state level, and there is enormous value in sharing ideas.
NGA also will launch an Outdoor Recreation Learning Network, with our beautiful state as a backdrop to an important project to enhance recreation and economic development.
On behalf of our state, I wish to extend a warm welcome to governors from across the country. These men and women head up America’s “laboratories of democracy” -- our states and territories. Together, we can advance creative solutions that work, and we can bridge political divides.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Gov. Gary Herbert spoke at a news conference in Salt Lake City on Wednesday July 10, 2019.
Gary Herbert is the 17th governor of Utah and currently the longest serving governor in the country, serving since 2009.
