Governor Voinovich's Selected Speeches   

1991 Inaugural Address (14th January, 1991)
State Capitol, Columbus, Ohio

Text Version | Scanned Version: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Governor Celeste -- Lieutenant Governor Dewine -- Speaker Riffe -- President Aronoff -- Father Murphy and Reverend Moss -- students from the Indianola Alternative Elementary school -- fellow citizens, family, and friends -- thanks to each of you for joining us here this morning.

Before saying anything else, I want to acknowledge the brave men and women in our armed forces stationed in the Middle East as part of operation desert shield -- as well as some family members of those troops who are in attendance today. Please join me in a moment of silent prayer for a prompt and peaceful solution to the Gulf crisis.

It's hard to believe that I'm standing here this morning in front of the Capitol -- the grandson of immigrants -- a kid from the east side of Cleveland who dreamed that, one day, he might become Governor. Today, that dream comes true.

Earlier this morning, the Governor's office adopted Douglas elementary school, and I told the children that George Voinovich is living proof that, if you aim high and work hard, you can achieve your dreams. But I also told them you can't do it alone. First I acknowledged God's help and the help I had along the way from my family, teachers, friends, and so many others, without whom, I would not be Governor today.

As we stand here this morning before our historic Statehouse, I am reminded of a story that's often told about Ohio's early days. In 1802, when our founding fathers met in Chillicothe to organize Ohio's first government, their final working session lasted long into the night.

When they emerged outdoors after hammering out the final details, dawn was breaking over Mount Logan. They were so inspired by what appeared to be God's blessing of their work, that the sunrise they witnessed that morning is now enshrined on the great seal of the state of Ohio.

It is with the same spirit of inspiration that we gather today to observe this moment of passage -- a passage, not so much from one governor to the next or from one political party to another. It is, rather, the first step of a transition into an era of new realities for Ohio.

In the 189 years since that morning in 1802, Ohio has traversed its share of passages. Literally carved out of wilderness -- scratched from hostile territory -- and born in the midst of scarcity and isolation -- Ohio rose from a few rough frontier outposts to a leader among American states.

We could grow anything, build anything, dream anything -- and we did it better than anyone else. From apples to tires -- from corn to steel -- from soybeans to glass -- Ohio led the way for an emerging nation. At the turn of this century, Ohio was the touchstone of the industrial revolution and the cradle of American presidents. Ohioans were first in flight and, in our time, first on the moon.

Ours is a great state with a proud history. But recent years have not been as kind. Ohio today is a no-growth state. Our education system is lagging behind. And a one-and-a half to two billion dollar budget shortfall looms on the horizon. Clearly, Ohio is not working up to its capacity. These are the new realities that this generation of Ohioans must confront.

Our challenge is to regard these new realities as a golden opportunity to take a fresh look at ourselves and to make Ohio a leader once again. But just as the private sector is adjusting to the new realities of a more competitive world, so, too, must the public sector. We must be realistic about the limits to what government can accomplish and the limits to what government money can buy.

The budget crisis we face obligates me and our State Senators and representatives to reexamine the way Ohio spends taxpayer dollars. Gone are the days when public officials are measured by how much they spend on a problem. The new realities dictate that public officials are now judged on whether they can work harder and smarter, and do more with less.

A recent Wall Street journal editorial put it best when it said that we in government should quit finagling around the edges of the status quo. We must distinguish between what we are able to do well, and what we cannot do at all.

In fact, the notion of not having Government do something about everything is itself an extraordinary opportunity. We should and will propose new approaches to deal with the new realities and with some older, existing problems, as well.

Among the latter, we will place special emphasis on management, economic development, and education.

I'm well aware that talking about better management won't win any popularity contests, but I think some people miss the point. Better management of State resources -- of State services -- and of taxpayer dollars all add up to a better quality of life for the people of Ohio.

The Plain Dealer recently printed a series of letters from citizens who described in detail the drastic impact poor management has had on their lives. One lady wrote, "There's a form of child abuse called neglect from delinquent fathers. These are parents who willingly and deliberately abandon their own flesh and blood."

The writer described the lack of help she had received from the state's child support enforcement agency and from employees who did not seem to care about their jobs and had not bothered to learn the new laws governing child support.

Another citizen asked, "Is the worker's compensation system a good one? Ask the injured workers who have claims today how they feel. Ask them if they lost their family...their homes...their dignity" because the system isn't doing its job.

The lives of these two people have taken severe turns for the worse because of poor management. God only knows how many more there are, and I truly shudder at the thought of how much loss, suffering, and hardship we bring into people's lives everyday because we're just not doing the job. Those two people and thousands more like them will tell you that management does have a direct impact on their quality of life. We've got to do a better job, and we will.

Our second area of special emphasis will be economic development. The people of Ohio understand that a good job is at the heart of the American dream. But as I said earlier, we're still in the midst of some tough times. During the nation's longest peacetime economic recovery in the 1980's, Ohio lagged behind.

Our industrial and manufacturing sectors have lost thousands of jobs. One study rated Ohio 26th out of 29 industrial states in manufacturing environment. Under those circumstances, it was hardly surprising that Ohio lost population over the last decade. As a result, we are losing two United States congressmen.

The Ohio economy is truly at a crossroads. To make matters worse, we're one of 30 states with projected budget shortfalls. That's the bad news. The good news is, if we can deal with our budget deficit and define what we want Ohio to be, we can leap out ahead of our competitors.

We must create a business environment that allows us to retain, expand, and attract more and better jobs. We must emphasize science and technology, and the export of Ohio products into the global marketplace.

Above all else, we must recapture the innovative spirit that made Ohio a leader at the turn of this century so that, when the 21st century dawns, we will be a leader again.

And we all know that if we're going to accomplish this goal, Ohio must recommit itself to something very fundamental -- Education. I will be the Education Governor. Ohio will be the Education State. Education is everybody's business. If we really love our neighbors as the bible teaches, then we must do everything we can to develop their God-given talents.

If we can't reach people with that message, then we've got to tell them that education is also our most important economic development tool. It's not just the best, it's the only tool we've got to prepare our citizens for the jobs of the future.

If all else fails, we must convince Ohioans that education is their best investment. We've had enough crime -- enough drugs -- and enough welfare, but we haven't had enough education. It will be my responsibility to assure the people of Ohio that the dollars we spend on education are well spent.

Our vision for Ohio is a state whose leaders are as good and decent and honest as its people -- a leader in fighting the war against crime and drugs -- a leader in providing access to quality, affordable health care -- a leader in cleaning up our environment -- a leader in everything we do.

For us to be successful, State Government must lead the way. From this first day forward, my goal as governor will be to reinstill in every state employee a sense of the tremendous opportunity we have before us to serve our fellow Ohioans and to make a difference in their lives. If we're going to get Ohio working up to its capacity again, then we must work up to ours.

I'm going to spend a lot of time in the coming months with my fellow public servants in state government to get their ideas on how we can work harder and smarter, and do more with less. And I'm confident that most of the ideas on how to improve State Government will come from our own people.

But we cannot do it alone. We must have the help of others. Already, more than 400 Ohioans are serving as volunteers on committees to help us select our management team for the next four years. We're also putting together an operations improvement task force to help us find ways to streamline state government.

These are just the first steps in a larger plan to mobilize Ohioans from all walks of life -- young and old -- black and white -- in the most far-reaching volunteerism effort our state has ever seen.

It will even extend to Ohio's two million young people, whom we will encourage to get involved in a new Ohio youth corps, aimed at giving girls and boys the chance to do something for other people. A wise man once said that those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. I want to get our children feeling good about themselves.

Perhaps my greatest challenge as Governor will be to convince every Ohioan that they are truly needed and that they can really make a difference. One organization -- one group -- one person can make a difference in someone's life. That's why this morning, the Governor's office adopted an elementary school. We want to make a difference in the lives of those children and we will.

This is something I understand very well from my own personal experience. My father was urged to quit high school and take a laborer's job when he was 16 by an adopted uncle who was raising him. But two people -- his principal, Mr. Findlay, and his history teacher, Pop Shriver -- helped him find a job in an architect's office at night. Dad went on to graduate from high school, receive a Kroger's scholarship to Carnegie Tech, become an architect, president of the Architects Society of Ohio, and a member of the state board of examiners. Until the day he died in 1974, the pictures of those two men who made a difference in his life hung on his office wall.

Ohio's 200th birthday is right around the corner. It is up to us to decide what kind of celebration it will be. Will we be celebration our past or our future -- the good old days, or the good new days that lie ahead?

I believe with all my heart that our best days are still ahead. I believe the best chapters of Ohio history are yet to be written. And I believe that our proud past will be outshone by an even prouder future.

With God's help and together, we can do it.