2013 Leadership Summit
Lt. Gov. Little: Buckle down, work hard, move forward
Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little and transportation board chairman Jerry Whitehead set the stage for last week’s 2013 ITD Leadership Summit by reminding the 200 attendees that we live and work in a fast-paced, ever changing world.
How we respond to that change will dictate our level of success.
“… Change is evitable; adaptation and survival are optional,” the lieutenant governor said, referring to rapidly evolving technology, business and agriculture. This department is living proof. To go forward, you have to change.”
He listens with special attention to discussions about federal spending and the debate over transportation funding. Little chaired a recent governor’s task force on transportation funding that concluded Idaho’s system needs $543 million to keep up with change, or at least $262 just to maintain the existing system.
One of the first things we agreed on in the task force is that we probably can’t rely on federal funding at the level it has been in the past. “I’m always amazed when they resolve these issues at well we have come out. I’m just not optimistic that will continue.
“So what do we have to do in Idaho? What we’ve dong for the past 150 years – buckle down, do the hard work and drive forward. And we have to drive the economy.
“We have to have enough velocity in our economy going forward, and you, the people in this room are the leaders of the department that make things work on the ground and are an integral part of that velocity for Idaho to grow our economy.”
Little, who recently announced plans to seek re-election, said he spends a lot of time traveling Idaho’s highways. During those trips he is discovering a new level of confidence in ITD by the public.
“The confidence I see, especially in this department, is higher than it’s ever been in my political career. Brian, the board, your teams in the districts, and particularly you on the ground, are part of that system.”
Published 10-11-13