My take on Governor Huntsman.

It was annouced Saturday that Utah's Governor Jon M Hunstman Jr. has been nominated by President Barack Obama for the position of Ambassador to China for the United States of America. See link here for more information.

Here is my take on the latest in Utah Politics.

1) It is a bit irritating when you vote for someone only to have them bail on the job 5 months later.

BUT...
2) I think he is VERY qualified for the Job of Ambassador to China.

3) When he ran for Governor I was NOT a fan of Gov. H. As a County Delegate to the Republican convention, my first impression of the man was 'plastic', 'entitlement', 'kingish'. I was very upset that he refused to come to Ogden to debate Nolan Karras (and others) during the primary. HOWEVER, I have found him to be a REALLY GOOD Governor. This is a man who just days (maybe hours into his term) had to deal with a natural flooding disaster near St. George. Has had to deal with a legislature that slants FAR right of his moderate views, and has fortified Utah for the hard times.

Some things I have liked about him:

*He has fortified education spending like no other governor in (Utah) history.

*He lowered the corporate sales tax significantly to be more in line with surrounding states. The consequence has been HUGE growth in businesses in Utah. Some I can think of off hand are Amer Sports, Hershey, Proctor & Gamble. All of have opened either corporate headquarters, manufacturing plants or distribution points in the last few years.

*He has taken on tough issues like the environment. I know he has done some crazy (stupid?) things there too, like the whole cap and trade agreement. Please someone explain in terms I can understand why that makes sense because I can't grasp it. BUT, on the other hand FAR too many republican members act like the environment is a democrat issue and they are not to be bothered with it. Well guess what the environment is a people issue. It is what we breathe, what we see, and what we are. We MUST pay attention to it so our kids are not strapped with health care costs like asthma and so we can continue to entice businesses to come here. I drove through California a couple of years ago and saw first hand the pollution around L.A., Utah because of its mountain setting is headed for that ugliness if we are not careful. We definitely need to preserve and keep clean our environment.

*Gov. Huntsman has taken on the Nuclear Waste lobby head on. He even once said he'd chain himself to the trucks /tracks if they tried to bring spent nuclear fuel rods into the state. He has stayed firm and unmovable on that important point.

*He has been proactive throughout the downturn in the economy. Calling special legislative sessions to stay on top of budget concerns rather than making drastic cuts because he waited too long.

*He has been fearless in implementing his ideas. Going to a 4 day work week was not too popular, and he did it just before an election. That takes courage.

*He pulled out the stops to get Real Salt Lake a major League Soccer Stadium built in Utah. There was a HUGE uproar about that, but I think he did exactly the right thing. The tax funds contributed to the stadium came directly from a tax set aside for tourism. It did not come of school funding or health care or anything else it was from a tax that could ONLY be used for supporting tourism. I think this is a wise use of the money as the stadium in only a short while is repaying the benefits by booking concerts, and international soccer matches. When they hosted Real Madrid and they didn't even have their stadium they had people from all over the world flying in to see the game. Controversial? Yes, but he stood firm.

In short I DID change my view of him and I think he has been an excellent governor. Does that mean I agree 100% with everything he has done? NO, but if I did don't you think there would be a problem with one or the other of us? Disagreement is central to a working society, its how we work out the differences that matter.

4) That said, I would have liked to see him stay on the job and work on some other pressing issues like health care and immigration.

5)Like I said before he is VERY qualified to be the Ambassador and that job will be of GREAT importance in a time that our economy is so closely connected to the world's largest population. It makes me feel better to have a person that appears to have high morals, high standards and a great work ethic tackling the issues.

6) For the future--I think if like speculation suggests that he might run for president someday, I think the move could only help him.

7) I'm not sure about Gary Herbert. There are a few things that bother me, but I had doubts about Gov. Huntsman too so I'll let things play out before I pass judgement.