Olene Walker's own words from a Deseret Morning News profile best sum up her brief term as Utah governor: "... I did what I thought was right, rather than what was political."
If Walker, Utah's first female governor, has a fault, it's that her nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic got in the way of her political aspirations. Walker entered the governor's race too late and was punished by GOP state convention delegates for vetoing a bill to establish a scholarship fund for children with special needs. Within months of being elevated to the state's top post after Gov. Mike Leavitt's appointment as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, the state's popular, bright and experienced CEO was considered a lame duck. If anything, the convention defeat prompted Walker to work even harder on behalf of Utahns.
After 13 months as governor, nearly three terms as lieutenant governor to Leavitt and long service in the Utah Legislature, Walker will retire on Monday. We thank her for her leadership and her determination to make her brief term as governor productive and meaningful. She, indeed, ran across the finish line.
Walker has said that she hopes her administration has left footprints for successors to follow. Before leaving office, Walker delivered an ambitious set of tax reform recommendations. She also, as required by state law, prepared and presented budget recommendations to state lawmakers. She acknowledged that Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. would put his own stamp on those issues, but she has unquestionably stimulated the budget and tax discussions.
One could argue that Walker had the liberty to propose a pie-in-the-sky financial plan because she didn't have to defend it in the upcoming legislative session. However, Walker's proposed 2006 budget was the capstone to her many years in public service, as well as her work in the private sector and in education circles. It's a financial plan that provides for ongoing needs such as education, Medicaid and economic development. It envisions the construction of buildings and roads and advises restoring the state's so-called Rainy Day Fund.
But more so, the budget represented Walker's thorough command of state issues. For instance, Walker proposed spending some $1.5 million in ongoing funds to draw down nearly $3.8 million in federal funds for child care. The passage of welfare reform in Utah forced many families off cash assistance and required homemakers — many of them single mothers — to return to the work force. Without some form of child-care assistance, some children have had substandard child care or, worse yet, have no supervision while their parents work. Kudos to Walker for understanding the dire need to protect children as their parents work their way off of public assistance.
There are myriad examples of Walker's mastery of government issues and her thoughtful stewardship. Her mark on state government will long transcend her time in public service. For that, we thank her.