The message in Gov. John Hickenlooper’s inaugural speech couldn’t be more clear.
His administration will be about job creation and economic revival, and it will be accomplished through smart and lean government.
Those are welcome themes that will resonate with Coloradans, even if they are difficult missions in these tough economic times.
Colorado’s 42nd governor faces a daunting state budget deficit and an electorate pinched by lower wages and increasing safety-net needs.
Hickenlooper is right to realize that the engine that will fix these ills is employment, and we hope he is able to succeed in bringing good-paying jobs to the state. Standing in the bitter cold on the Capitol steps Tuesday, Hickenlooper announced two executive orders designed to encourage economic development. It was a response, he said, to what people had told him on the campaign trail.
His “leaner and less partisan” government also came in reaction to the desires of the electorate.
“We recruited people for our Cabinet, independent of political backgrounds, who will put our state first and bring the commitment needed to meet our fiscal challenges,” Hickenlooper said. “We chose them because they share our values of competence, integrity and compassion.”
Hickenlooper’s Cabinet is demographically and geographically diverse. And much like he did during his tenure as mayor, he appears to have surrounded himself with smart, able leaders.
And by naming Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia as the state’s higher education chief, Hickenlooper already has shown one small example of how it is possible to make state government more efficient and smarter.
Garcia, as president of Colorado State University-Pueblo, would have been a natural fit as the state’s higher education director even before he was asked to join Hickenlooper’s ticket. But having Garcia do both jobs will save the state a small amount of money and put an experienced hand at the helm of higher ed.
Even though Barbara O’Brien took on a greater role under Gov. Bill Ritter, the job of lieutenant governor has been largely ceremonial.
Hickenlooper also has reached out to Republicans, naming Gov. Bill Owens’ capable budget director Henry Sobanet to the same position and appointing Club 20’s Reeves Brown as Department of Local Affairs chief.
The times call for a strong, bipartisan leader. Hickenlooper’s appointments indicate he’s ready, but now he must step up and fill that role.
