Less than a week after his bid for Governor, Jon Huntsman Jr. spoke at USU
Less than a week after announcing his second gubernatorial bid, Jon Huntsman Jr. arrived at Utah State University on Monday to speak to USU students about his experiences abroad and his hopes for the future of the state.
“Having the ability to have candidates or their surrogates sit in front of you at an event, this is great. This should make you fall in love with our system,” Huntsman said.
Huntsman’s speech, which was titled Utah and the World, spoke to the global market that Utah now must compete with in addition to competing with other states.
“We think we are competing against Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, California. We are competing against Asian states today. Today we are competing against Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and beyond,” Huntsman said.
Huntsman also told students the world is a global marketplace, and they are going to find that out when they get into the job market.
Additionally, Huntsman said he applied what he learned as ambassador to Singapore during his first term as governor of Utah in 2005.
“What I learned in Singapore is that there was this little country, less than five million people with no natural resources, how did they survive in this world?” Huntsman said. “Well they decided in 1965 to throw their doors open.”
Huntsman said Singapore thrived by keeping their eye on what a country needs to stay relevant and competitive. As an ambassador, he was asked to serve on their economic development board and got a front row seat to how “a competitive nation makes it happen.”
“Back then, the big issue is that we were lacking economic vitality,” he added.
As a former board member for another country, he was able to take lessons from the Singapore economic development board and create the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which is still around today.
Huntsman said when you think of the economic success that Utah has, think of Singapore.
“Think about a governor who had been inspired by the best of the best in the world, and who was able to apply those competitive principles and make it happen.”
In addition to economic policies, Huntsman also hopes to address issues in education.
“What is going to be important to our future? Keeping good people here,” Huntsman said.
The only way to keep good people in Utah, according to Huntsman, is to have an outgrowth of strong communities, strong schools and an educational system that recognizes the competitive world we now live in while preparing kids for that reality. In order to succeed, Huntsman said we “must do something about our teachers.”
“Do you realize we have a 40-45 percent turnover after five year, two and a half times the national average?” Huntsman said.
Huntsman said he believes that compensation is a big part of that, and he wants to take action to ensure that Utah’s teachers want to stay and become part of the community.
Speaking with Sami Ahmed, USUSA student body president, Huntsman said that there is no opportunity without risk.
“The thing that is the heartbreak for me, is when someone hasn’t found their passion and thy are advanced in life and they are just kind of drifting,” Huntsman said. “Everyone of you is a genius in some way. Every one of you has something that is totally unique that only you can do.”
Jon Huntsman Jr. was the governor of Utah from 2005-2009. According to recent poll numbers from the Salt Lake Tribune, he is currently trailing Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox for the 2020 gubernatorial race.
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