For Immediate Release: Saturday, January 2, 1999

Carole Keeton Rylander
Texas Comptroller Of Public Accounts
Inaugural Speech
January 2, 1999

Welcome. I want to thank each of you for being here and I want to thank the people of Texas for making it possible for us, and particularly me, to be here.

When I look into the faces of my baby granddaughters, I see the future. And the future I want for my baby granddaughters, Kathryn, Michelle, Ellie and Alex, is the future I want for all Texas children and grandchildren.

When you walk outside this historic Capitol today look to the horizon. You will almost see the 21st Century.

A century filled with promise and opportunity. A century filled with unlimited potential. A century poised to challenge our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to dream and accomplish goals we haven't even considered.

Our work must be centered on the proper preparation for future generations. I stand at this podium with a hands-on understanding of the vital importance of the challenges that lie ahead.

I stand here as a native Texan with the breadth of real life experience to help build that future.

I stand here as a working mom who raised five sons, and a working grandmom of four baby girls, who knows the importance of family. I couldn't be prouder than to have the tag line of "one tough grandma!"

I stand here as a school teacher who knows the power of education with firm fundamental beliefs that parents know what's best for their children and that local control of school districts is essential.

I stand here as a city mayor who understands that government closest to the people is most accountable and most responsive.

I stand here as a Texas railroad commissioner who understands the importance of Texas' energy to our state's economy and to our children's education. We must provide the incentives necessary to unlock the 120-billion barrels of oil still under the ground, in our state, worth four-to-seven trillion dollars.

And I stand here today as the first woman to be called Texas' state comptroller, with the energy, enthusiasm, know how and dedication required to move this great agency forward and help the people of Texas realize their full potential in the 21st Century.

And we stand together in this historic chamber of the Texas Senate surrounded with legendary accomplishments of Texas giants past and present, from Sam Houston to Bob Bullock.

In this hallowed place, an oath of office has been taken: a pledge of total commitment to our state and nation has been made.

And underlying it all is the recognition that this office can help make Texas a better place.

The Comptroller's office is the very heart of state government.

We provide the reforms to streamline government: to make services more efficient and less costly. We serve as the state's traffic cop for cutting waste. We estimate revenue for the biennial budget, project the rate of economic activity, and identify the fiscal impact of every piece of legislation that makes it to a hearing.

It's not a job for the fainthearted. I applaud the work of the men and women in the Comptroller's office. Theirs is a record of achievement that cannot be matched by any other agency in state government.

We will build on that record and make it even greater. I am honored to lead them as we move forward together.

We will perform our duty at the highest standard. We will chart a bold course to serve the people of Texas as never before. Bold and new, not timid, nor anchored to conventional wisdom.

Many times government strives to do better what it shouldn't be doing at all.

We will shake the rafters of status quo. Innovation will be our daily companion.

And, we will apply the "yellow pages test." Government should do no job if there is a business in the yellow pages that can do that job better and at a lower cost.

We will find common sense conservative solutions. The doors of government will be open and accessible to all.

Texas belongs to no special interest group, no special political credo, no special individual. It belongs to all Texans.

Our decisions will be based on enlightened public policy. There is no place for partisanship or special interest.

We must recognize the public environment in which government functions today. It is an environment ripe for improvement.

I believe a healthy dose of grassroots skepticism is good. It helps keep government alert. But something more profound and disturbing is occurring throughout our nation's political landscape that must be addressed.

The public distrusts government.

Representative government works when there is a bond of trust between elected officials and the public. When that bond weakens distrust will diminish and dissolve the effectiveness of government.

The public loses interest. Voters stay home. Our institutions of government become worn and weary. Reforms stall and opportunity is lost.

This downward spiral of political apathy that eats away at our representative democracy must be reversed.

Texans know that the geographic location of Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas is not the only, or most telling, difference between the two cities.

We live the Texas spirit. Doing what is right is the hallmark of our state government.

Texans want unlimited opportunity not unlimited government.

Texans don't like the one-size fits all Washington-beltway mentality.

We want our decisions made in Victoria and Vega, Bustamante and Borger, Harlingen and Houston, Tyler and Texarkana, San Antonio and San Angelo, Dallas and Del Rio, Abilene, Albany and Austin, Texas.

We begin with the proposition that state government exists for the good of the people of Texas. All authority of government derives from the people. We are here because of, and for them.

Once that is understood, our mission is clear: Let us make state government do what Texans want.

Texans want less not more: less mandates, less regulations, less government spending and less taxation.

The chief role of government in the economy is to create incentives for work, savings and investments.

And any program, regulatory, spending or tax, which interferes with that mission ought to be blasted off the bureaucratic books.

Make programs and projects meaningful and relevant, or get rid of them. Find ways to reduce spending. Eliminate waste. Cut taxes. Establish incentives that stimulate economic activity and create paychecks and jobs.

Our state employees will be the front line soldiers in the war against waste: working hand in hand with a citizens waste fighting commission from all across this great state.

And we will work in full and close cooperation with our state legislature and our state's leadership.

Texas is blessed to have such outstanding leaders as our exemplary Governor George W. Bush, Lt. Governor-elect Rick Perry and House Speaker Pete Laney.

Together we embark on the journey into the next century. Let the Comptroller's office join this bi-partisan leadership to set a high standard for the reaffirmation of Texas' spirit.

This standard must include policies that improve education: the key to unlocking the door to the next millennium, for all Texans.

Now, only 52-cents out of every education dollar is going into the classroom. The Comptroller's office must enhance and expand audits of school districts to ensure that more of every tax dollar goes directly into the classroom where it belongs.

I will be the education watchdog for the people of Texas. And let me assure you, my bite is as big as my bark!

And the Comptroller's office will have a policy of taxpayer fairness and accessibility.

Treating Texas' taxpayers as second class citizens is going to come to a screeching halt. If you overpay your taxes, you ought to be paid back with interest, just like you have to pay when you underpay your taxes.

Texas will have a Comptroller's office that reflects mainstream, main-street common-sense conservative views and values, that is non-partisan, that understands with every word and deed that the people of Texas must be heard, and that their will must be done.

I dedicate myself to this mission!

I am proud you have elected me the first woman Comptroller. But that is not enough. With your help, I want to be the best Comptroller the state of Texas has ever had. I recall the legend of General Sam Houston rallying the Texans to march on to the plains at San Jacinto.

Houston ordered his troops to make any escape route impassable for a retreat. When the order was carried out, Houston said, "today we make a Republic." In Houston's mind the mission would be straight ahead to victory, history and a better place for future generations.

One hundred and sixty-three years later, I say, "today we make a better state." Our mission will be to march straight ahead for the public good into the next millenium.

Look to the horizon, the 21st Century is fast approaching, and we are rolling up our sleeves and going to work for future generations of Texans. And my bottom line is the same as Sam Houston's: govern wisely and as little as possible.

Thank you. Godspeed.

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