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Washington • Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that governors across the country are urging presidential candidates to pay attention to state needs and that no matter who wins the White House next, the country must coalesce around the victor and leave the campaign rhetoric behind.
"Making people's lives better is not a partisan issue," Herbert, the chairman of the National Governors Association, said in his State of the States address. "I understand partisan politics and the need to campaign on our unique party platforms. But after the election, let's all join the 'Common Sense Party' and work together to find solutions and improve lives."
Herbert, a Republican, has yet to endorse a presidential candidate but says those running for the highest office in the land should look to the government's other 50 chief executives in the country as an example of breaking through the partisan gridlock.
"At a time when it's difficult to turn on the TV without seeing red versus blue, left versus right, states on both sides of the aisle are working together to better the lives of our citizens," Herbert said at the National Press Club as part of setting out NGA's agenda for the year. "That means joining together with the federal government as equal partners to find solutions to the challenges we face as Americans."
That's a theme Herbert has stressed while heading the group of governors who will meet this month in Washington for their annual conference. The Utah governor continued his mantra that states are the best incubators of ideas and that the federal government needs to become a better partner with states, rather than issue top-down mandates.
"It's the states that are leading this nation forward," Herbert said. "Some of our nation's leaders on Capitol Hill might be willing to allow inaction and partisan politics to stall real progress, but governors are choosing a different path."
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and the NGA's vice chairman, noted that the organization had several goals in the last year, including fixing the No Child Left Behind Act, passing a long-term transportation bill, fully funding efforts that governors wanted for workforce programs, providing flexibility in health care grants and passing the Marketplace Fairness Act to allow states to collect taxes from remote online sellers.
With the exception of the Internet sales tax issue, McAuliffe said, Congress came through.
"I'm happy to report that Congress listened, and with a noticeable exception, partnered with states to get it right," he said.
Herbert said the NGA wouldn't let up, and would continue to urge White House hopefuls to listen to the states.
"Rest assured," Herbert said, "governors are working to engage the presidential candidates in advance of the elections so they can hear from us about the important role states play as innovators and the need for a cooperative state-federal relationship."