State Legistlative Leaders Foundation

2009 Annual Meeting

Sea Island, Georgia

October 21 - 25, 2009
Hosted by Speaker Glenn Richardson

Speaker Glenn Richardson

Politics and Policy at the 18th NSC Annual Meeting In Georgia

More than 150 sitting Speakers, former Speakers, Chiefs of Staff and leaders from the corporate community gathered recently in Sea Island, Georgia for the eighteenth annual meeting of the National Speakers Conference. Along with the other participants, current Speakers from thirty states and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands met to share ideas, discuss issues and hear from some of the nation’s foremost experts on politics and policy. The program was hosted in Sea Island, Georgia by The Honorable Glenn Richardson, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives and 2009 President of the National Speakers Conference.

                           
Simon Rosenberg                       Charlie Cook

Following a Wednesday night (September 21) reception honoring previous NSC Presidents and those who founded the organization almost twenty years ago, participants began Thursday morning with an insightful discussion on the changing demographic, technological and political environment that is defining America at the beginning of the 21st Century. This discussion, entitled, “The Dawn of a New Politics,” was led by Simon Rosenberg, Founder and CEO of NDN, a left leaning Washington, DC think tank. Examining recent and predicted changes in technology and demography, Rosenberg painted an intriguing picture of the political future of America where Hispanic and young technology-savvy voters will take a much greater role.

Rosenberg was followed by Charlie Cook of the Cook Report, one of the nation’s most respected commentators on American electoral politics. In “Election 2010: A Reversal of Fortune?,” Cook offered some insight into the factors likely to influence the upcoming (at that time) gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and the upcoming 2010 congressional and gubernatorial elections, suggesting that just as 2006 and 2008 were favorable environments for Democrats, the current context suggests that 2010 may be a good Republican year.

                      
Bill Strickland                      Dr. Donald F. Kettl 

On Friday, our attention turned to two very significant public policy issues: education and the economy. Bill Strickland, President and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation offered a plan for dramatically altering the American education system based on his own experiences and successes. Using his own story to inspire, Strickland offered a very different picture of what education in America should be and look like, imploring participants to view all children as assets rather than liabilities and focusing as much on the educational environment as the curriculum.

Finally, as much as they might like to, program participants could not escape the political and economic reality of the national recession. Rather than ignore this challenge, we embraced it. Under the tutelage of Dr. Donald F. Kettl, Dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, participants learned about the impact of the recession and the federal government’s responses to it that will define the immediate (and perhaps long term) future of their states. He suggested that the economic crisis and its impact offered state leaders the unique opportunity to leave an historic and lasting impact on their states.

Apart from these informative sessions, Speakers and Chiefs of Staff met separately to discuss and share ideas about the various issues, opportunities and challenges they each face. To no one’s surprise, the faltering economy and declining revenues dominated both sessions, but other issues in the Speakers session included leadership challenges, partisanship, organizational concerns and various “hot” policy topics. The Chiefs of staff shared advice about the diverse opportunities and challenges of their position, membership relations and efforts to balance the institutional and political obligations. Dr. Kirk O. Hanson of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics led discussions in both sessions as well.

In the end, an educational and engaging time was had by all. Thank you Speaker Richardson and all of your fine staff!