Declarations
More than one first
“I’m elated to begin my first full four-year term during Oklahoma’s centennial year. It is indeed an honor. Having restored integrity and public confidence to the office, I am committed to creating an environment where nearly 700,000 uninsured Oklahoman’s can have access to affordable health insurance. I will also continue to improve the operational efficiency and accountability of the Oklahoma Insurance Department.”
— Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, commenting on her Jan. 8, 2007, inauguration as the first woman in Oklahoma to be elected to the insurance commissioner post. She was appointed to the position in 2005 by Gov. Brad Henry after the resignation of former Commissioner Carroll Fisher.
A tapestry of diversity
“My vision for Texas is a tremendous tapestry of diversity woven together by common threads. We are of many faiths, traditions, heritages but we are all Texans. And in Texas, it is not your identity that matters most, but your ideals. … And even when we disagree, we can engage our differences in a discussion that unifies rather than divides and that lifts up the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all people without casting a single soul aside.”
—Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in his inaugural address, said a free society has a responsibility to those in poverty, the young and the aged and to those who are sick and live with disabilities. Perry also stressed the added responsibility to future generations to leave them a world that is safe, a healthy environment, a strong economy and an honest government.
Not a visionary plan
“This is not meant to be a visionary plan. It’s focused on recovery.”
—Steven Bingler, coordinator of a multibillion-dollar plan to rebuild New Orleans, La., proposed by the federal government. According to The Associated Press, the Unified New Orleans Plan would keep no parts of the city, swamped by floodwaters after the 2005 storm, off-limits. But it would encourage government incentives for people to rebuild in safer ways — by elevating homes and, in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, living in clusters instead of sprawled out. The plan — by one estimate, the fifth planning effort since Hurricane Katrina — will allow hard-hit areas like the Lower Ninth Ward to be redeveloped, Bingler said.
Gratitude owed
“Thankfully, Oklahoma has quality men and women on the ground, as we speak, getting things back in order. We owe our emergency teams and our utility workers a great deal of gratitude for their hard work in this trying situation.”
—Oklahoma State Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee), stating he wants at least $10 million in “Rainy Day” spillover funds from last year set aside to help pay recovery costs from the January ice storm that blanketed much of the state. As of Jan. 19, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) reported that about 64,000 Oklahomans electric customers were still without power as a result of the ice storms.