Gov. Bill Haslam gives his annual State of the State address to a joint convention of the Tennessee General Assembly as his wife, Crissy, listens Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)Nine years ago this month, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam stood up in Pete's Cafe in downtown Knoxville and told the assembled "Breakfast With Bill" event he would run to be Tennessee's governor in 2010.
"In these challenging economic times," he said, "Tennessee needs a leader who has experience managing a budget and prioritizing resources. We need a leader who can restrain spending while creating good jobs, making our schools stronger, and ensuring Tennesseans have access to affordable health care. I believe my executive experience in private business and as mayor has taught me how to be this leader."
On Monday night, now-Gov. Haslam stood before a joint convention of House, Senate and other top state government leaders to give his final State of the State address as governor.
Measured against his first speech as a candidate, he has accomplished most of his goals - and pushed beyond them in most areas to drive the state forward.
» Restrain spending: Check.
In fiscal 2012, the first year for which Haslam proposed the state budget, Tennessee spending was $31.5 billion. On Monday, for fiscal 2019, he proposed a budget of $37.5 billion. That works out to an increase of just 2.38 percent per year - pretty thrifty considering all that has been done.
Indeed, he said, the fiscal 2019 budget, "in total money, is basically flat to last year, so it will be almost even in total dollars. In state dollars, we are actually $200 million lower than we were last year."
Budgets in the previous four administrations, Haslam said, grew 7 percent annually.
"It has helped us be able to cut taxes, lower our debt and raise the amount of money in our savings account," he said.
» Create good jobs: Check.
When Haslam was inaugurated in January 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 9.4 percent. In December, it was 3.2 percent, two ticks up from record lows of 3.0 percent in September and October.
Non-farm employment grew by 0.8 percent annually over the last 10 years, according to the 2018 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee. That bettered the rate for the U.S. and represented an increase of 222,700 workers. Not only that, but the governor has laid the background for an expansion of 0.9 percent per year through 2027, the report says.
» Make our schools stronger: Check.
In his State of the State address, Haslam said his administration in his two four-year terms (including his proposal for fiscal 2019) will have added $1.5 billion toward K-12 education, including $500 million more in teacher salaries.
Over his term, according to the National Assessment for Educational Progress, the state has moved from 46th in the country in fourth-grade math in 2011 to 25th in 2016; from 41st in fourth-grade reading to 36th; from 45th in eighth-grade math to 37th and from 41st in eighth-grade reading to 30th. The state average ACT score has improved from 19.5 in 2011 to 20.1 in 2017, while community college freshmen requiring learning support have fallen from 76.8 percent in 2011 to 62.4 percent in 2016.
Haslam also implemented the nation's first program (Tennessee Promise) allowing all high school graduates to attend a community college or technical college tuition free, then expanded it to adults who don't already have an associate's or bachelor's degree.
All the education progress, he said in Monday's speech, will allow the state to reach his Drive to 55 (percentage of Tennesseans with some type of post-secondary degree) initiative two years earlier than his goal of 2025.
» Provide access to affordable health care: Check (for effort).
In 2014, Haslam offered a pilot program, Insure Tennessee, that would have accessed federal money to allow some 200,000 state residents who had little or no access to health care to receive coverage. Despite its promise and status as only a pilot program, it did not get through legislative committees.
Nevertheless, he has remained engaged in attempting to reform health care nationally and has pushed incremental improvements in the state. Among other programs, he launched the Tennessee Health Care Innovation Initiative in 2013 to improve the efficiency and quality of care for state residents, began the Governor's Foundation for Health and Wellness to encourage state residents to lead healthier lives and started the Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education to help end the opioid epidemic.
Haslam was able to tout his administration's accomplishments this week, but he also challenged the next governor to push the state even further in jobs, education and government efficiency.
"I don't just want us to compete," he said. "I want us to be the best."
It would be easy for the next governor to just be a maintainer. Haslam has made that possible. But the bigger job, the one to aspire to, is to improve on where this governor has taken the state.
The candidate who has that vision is the one we should elect in the fall.