Governor M. Jodi Rell; State of the State Address; January 5, 2005
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Williams, ladies and gentlemen of the House and Senate, friends and guests.
Before I begin my formal remarks, let me take just a few moments to thank everyone for their well wishes and their prayers over the last 10 days. I have truly been overwhelmed - literally overwhelmed - by your generous spirit. And I have also been overwhelmed by the number of notes, calls and e-mails that all of you have sent.
Your outpouring of kindness has meant more to me than you will ever know.
It has given me strength and resolve. And it has truly touched my heart, and I thank you for it.
As I stand before you today, I cannot help but think of all the things that we have been through in our state in the last year. I also cannot help but think of the day about 20 years ago, when I stood in this very hall, in fact my seat was right back there somewhere, and I took the oath of office for the first time as a state representative. Twenty years ago. God, I was young. Anyway, 20 years ago. It hardly seems possible.
I was filled with awe and wonder as I looked around this chamber, thinking about its history - and my new place in that history. Me, a nervous state representative, a freshman, from Brookfield, preparing to come serve my first term, maybe a few more and then step down to let others find their way, to let others serve their role in our state.
I remember watching then-Gov. Bill O'Neill stride confidently into the chamber, right up to this dais to deliver his State of the State address. I was nervous for him. As I hid behind the shelter of my little desk, I kept thinking, "How can he do this? How can he address all of us so calmly and stand there and deliver his remarks?"
My imagination was never so vivid, my political ambitions never so grand, as to think that I would be standing before you 20 years later, almost to the day, as the 87th governor of the great state of Connecticut, delivering my first State of the State address.
But I do stand before you - and I firmly proclaim that the state of our state is strong and, like your governor, getting stronger every day.
We have been sorely tested over the last 12 months.
We witnessed countless revelations of corruption and breach of the public trust. We undertook an historic impeachment inquiry. We saw indictments handed out and plea bargains reached.
We saw the smooth transition of power from one administration to the next, devoid of pomp and circumstance, yet replete with the symbolism of renewal and with restoration of faith and integrity in government.
We sent our sons and daughters off to war, and welcomed far too many of them home with tears after they had paid the ultimate price for protecting our freedoms.
We saw too many needs go unmet, from children born into circumstances where they do not receive the most basic care to our seniors who had to stand in line, sometimes for hours, and sometimes in vain, just to receive a life-protecting flu shot.
We saw a hero, a husband and a father, Master Officer Peter Lavery, cruelly shot and killed in the line of duty.
Yes, it has been a very difficult year for Connecticut, in so many ways. We have been tested and we have been tried, but we have prevailed.
And we will continue to prevail, if we work together, with steadfastness of purpose and without the self-imposed shackles of convention and partisan politics. We can work together.
For this is our moment. This is our time.
We have been called to leadership at a special time in history and we cannot, we must not, turn away from our responsibilities.
As I said just six months ago when I took the oath of office on the north steps of the Capitol, we have been given a most unique occasion to govern.
And as I look around this chamber, this beautiful historic chamber, I am struck by all who are new - a new governor, a new speaker, a new House majority leader, a new lieutenant governor, a new Senate president pro tem, and so many new faces in the House and Senate.
Yes, this is our moment. This is our time.
We're new. Let's show them it is our time.
The people of Connecticut, and history, will judge us by whether we accepted our stewardship simply to preserve the comfortable status quo or whether we actually seized it with boldness of purpose.
I, for one, I'm emboldened.
I have been working too hard to clean up too many policy and ethical problems since becoming governor.
I have attended far too many funerals of our young brave soldiers.
I have struggled through a few sleepless nights and heard the anguish of shattered families as I considered the case of Michael Ross.
I have been unexpectedly confronted with my own mortality as I was told I had breast cancer.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am looking at things a little differently now, with different eyes. Eyes more focused on what is truly important, what is truly necessary.
Partisan posturing and political sniping are not necessary.
What is important and what is necessary is to try to solve the long-standing social, economic and educational problems.
We have the incredible privilege of serving in the highest offices in our state. We must prove ourselves worthy of our fellow citizens' faith. We must be trusted to always place the public's good above our own and to always choose fairness over favoritism.
We must accept the mantle of leadership with a new sense of inspiration.
We cannot put off the difficult decisions for another day, or another generation.
And trust me, there will be difficult decisions that confront us.
Our state budget for the next fiscal year exceeds the spending cap by over $800 million. And it is projected that we face a $1.3 billion gap.
We will need to address that - and we will need to address - once and for all - the issue of medical malpractice reform.
We need to fully debate and consider the issues of stem cell research, education funding, ethics reform, election reform, traffic congestion, affordability of health care and so much more.
The needs are almost limitless, but the resources of our taxpayers are not.
The budget that I will present to you in a month's time will contain very difficult choices. Choices that none of us wish to make, but which each of us has to consider and must make.
We wish we could fully fund every need, fully fund every program.
But we cannot.
In the month between now and when I return to this chamber to release my budget to you, I ask you to debate, vote upon and put on my desk for signature bills which will reform our ethics and elections systems.
I believe there exists, within all branches of government, both the consensus and the political will necessary for reform.
We've been talking about it now for months. Let's just do it!
To that end, I will deliver to you in a few short days, my proposals for reform. They are bold proposals - and they will address, I believe, what is right and what is necessary.
And I know that many of you have your own proposals for reform. I urge you to bring them forward for discussion and for action. The best result will come by all of us working together, by our sharing ideas and not being worried about who gets the credit.
That will be, of course, true no matter what the issue or what the challenge we face. The people of Connecticut expect much from us, and we should expect much from ourselves.
Join me in making Connecticut stronger. Join me in being bold. And join me in seeing things through different eyes. For this is our moment. Thank you all very much.