Mike Leavitt has drawn from the wisdom of many great leaders during his 11 years as governor: the Founding Fathers, great presidents, inspiring leaders near and far.
But Monday, during an emotional farewell to Utahns before leaving for Washington to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the governor found inspiration in marshal Matt Dillon of the TV series "Gunsmoke," his favorite program as a child.
"It's a chancy job — and a little lonely," he quoted from the opening credits.
"Washington is a little like Dodge City. But it's about to get a taste of Cedar City," he said to cheers and applause from admirers and well-wishers who packed the Gold Room at the Capitol for the ceremonial send-off.
It was a group that included hundreds of former and current staffers, political allies, legislative leaders, family and even a couple of would-be successors.
Officially, Leavitt will resign as governor at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, and Lt. Gov. Olene Walker will be sworn in as Utah's 15th governor and the first woman head of state. Administering the oath will be Chief Justice Christine Durham.
"These two will be blazing the trail for more women in public service," Leavitt predicted.
On Wednesday afternoon, Leavitt gallops off to Washington, not on the stick horse he used to ride to the opening credits of "Gunsmoke," but to take the oath of office as EPA administrator on Thursday morning.
Monday's speech was a final opportunity for Leavitt to reflect publicly on his accomplishments and to challenge his successors to continue his legacy. To that end, he held up three keys he is leaving in the governor's desk, symbolic reminders to those who sit in the chair after he's gone.
One key symbolizes a quality workforce and the need to better educate the next generation of Utah workers.
"If we offer only numbers, we will falter," he said. "The next century is about innovation, it's about brainpower and it's about the skills of a state's workforce that will determine its ability to compete and succeed."
Leavitt predicted dire political consequences if Utah leaders don't act on the mounting education crisis but promised "the economic consequences will be felt much longer than the political fallout."
The second key, he said, is to embrace Utah's changing demographics. Utah's minority population was 9 percent when he entered office and 16 percent as he leaves. In the next 25 years, it will grow to 22 percent.
"Every Utahn has a stake in making certain that we remain a united community," he said. "We need to embrace this change and view it as a strength and an opportunity."
Part of that responsibility is to plan for Utah's growing population of elderly. "The state's obligation for long-term care should be placed on the planning horizon of those who lead this state for the next decade," he warned.
The third key is to move toward balance, he said, a reference to his highly touted and often maligned environmental doctrine of Enlibra. He made a pitch for preserving clean air and water, for teaching a conservation ethic to children and for wise water policy wherein ratepayers pay for the costs of water development. And he made a spirited plea for wilderness.
"Despite numerous attempts, I have not succeeded on this one," he said, acknowledging his most aggravating failure. "But the issue will ripen and a resolution will come. There are millions of acres of Utah wilderness that can be found in the productive middle. There are none at either extreme."
Ironically, former U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen, who is running for governor and was in the audience, has taken credit for killing Leavitt's wilderness proposals over the years.
Leavitt said Enlibra — a doctrine he intends to implement at the EPA — is not about splitting the difference.
"It is the collective wisdom that results when the best ideas compete fairly and there is a process for making decisions," he said. "Balance is the solution, and it is in our grasp."
Leavitt said his goals as governor were to leave Utah better than he found it, to plant seeds for future generations and to give it all he had. "I'm satisfied," he said, "that all three have been accomplished."
E-MAIL: spang@desnews.com