Just before the Condition of the State speech this morning, Governor Culver sent out the following email to Iowans:
In just over an hour, I will deliver my third Condition of the State speech. Before I leave Terrace Hill, I wanted to write a quick email to let you know that I am going to set the record straight.
My administration has never run away from our challenges, and we have always invested in Iowa while at the same time balancing the budget.
The partisan critics are emboldened by their own rhetoric. But as this new session begins, their rhetoric won't cloud the choice we have to make:
Will we move forward or go backward?
I know that Iowans won't back down in the face of adversity - and I know that we can't either.
We will move our state forward by investing in the next generation, supporting funding for education and building on a record that has already extended health insurance coverage to 52,000 Iowa kids.
We will strengthen Iowa's economy and continue the I-JOBS initiative, which has funded 1,400 projects in all of the state's 99 counties.
And I will ask the legislature to join me in a bold reorganization effort that will save us potentially $1 billion over the next five years.
I hope you are able to tune in, and please encourage your friends and family to join you. You can watch the speech on Iowa Public Television. To find the local IPTV station near you, click here: http://www.iptv.org/series.cfm/20708/condition_state_2010
When I stand up to speak today, I will be proud to have your support. Together we will continue moving Iowa forward.
-- Chet
Hope that you get a chance to watch, if not we will be posting the text of the speech by tomorrow.