Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Prepared remarks from inaugural address of Gov. Brian Sandoval

My fellow Nevadans:

Today, we make history. Together, we are fulfilling the promise of opportunity made in the very battle that carried Nevada into the union. Nearly 150 years ago, statehood came to Nevada in the midst of civil war – a war to preserve the union and forever break the yoke of slavery in our nation. And today we rejoice in the proof that visionary promises can be kept.

Mr. chief justice, i am honored to have shared in this historic moment. Thank you for your service and the example you set for us all.

If one promise has been kept today, new promises are being made…promises of optimism and continued opportunity. We gather as a people to reflect on the future before us. But as i begin my term of office, i cannot help but look back as well.

I am reminded of the struggles and triumphs that have shaped our state. I am reminded of opportunities realized through the courage of our forbearers.

From the hard-scrabble life of the early prospectors and miners, to the innovative spirit of farmers who dared to irrigate the desert…from the countless workers who raised a wonder of the world in the hoover dam, to the thousands who flocked here to find promise in the hospitality and construction industries…Nevadans believe in opportunity. We are not afraid of hard work. In fact, we embrace it. And that’s the very spirit and drive that will write the next chapter of Nevada’s story.

We live in a time when the odds seem to be against us. The earth has shifted beneath our feet. The old rules no longer apply in a new global economy. And for some, the results have been disastrous. Nevadans from all walks of life are faced with unemployment, foreclosures, and bankruptcy – hardships forged in the crucible of three long years of economic crisis. But character is measured in times of crisis.

People say Nevada is at the top of all the bad lists, and the bottom of all the good lists. This perception cannot – and will not – be our reality. These are our times, and we must live them to the fullest extent of our ability. We must not shrink from the challenges before us. We must confront them, together.

Some would have us believe that Nevada’s best days are behind us – that we must resign ourselves to what we have momentarily become.

We dare not go down that road. We must have the optimism to remind each other that Nevada’s long history is one of opportunities realized. Of succeeding even when others said we couldn’t. If we make the tough choices – the right choices – we will be rewarded with a dramatically different future. I believe this. I believe it can be done. And i am optimistic that Nevada’s best days are yet to come.

My fellow Nevadans, it has been said that optimism is the foundation of courage.

And rarely has our state been so in need of courage. Perhaps never has optimism been so necessary to bolster the courage of our fellow citizens who hunger for a Nevada filled with promise, progress, and prosperity.

I take my oath proudly optimistic. My optimism is rooted in the spirit of Nevada. Because i have faith in the leadership gathered here with me, in the team we have assembled to lead state government, and especially in the people who look to us for leadership.

Together, we will not fail. Together we must craft a new promise of opportunity for tomorrow – even if it means sharing in sacrifice today.

I am calling on all Nevadans to come to the table ready to tackle our problems without regard to political party, geography, or personal agenda.

I am calling on state agencies to re-examine their missions with an eye toward fostering job growth and improving the quality of life for all Nevadans.

I am calling on all branches of government to achieve efficiencies at every turn so that we might spend less and serve more.

I am calling on educators to preserve the best possible future for our children and our workforce.

This will not be easy. I find no satisfaction in the difficult decisions we must soon make.

But just as Abraham Lincoln made the decision to bring Nevada into the union before some believed it was ready, our generation must commit to bringing Nevada’s economy, workforce, and schools safely into this new reality in which we find ourselves.

In less than four years, Nevada will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its statehood. I say to you on this day, in the spirit of those who have sworn this oath before me, that when the clock strikes on that 150th anniversary, Nevada will be Nevada again.

The Nevada of my youth was a place of pride, activity, optimism, and opportunity. This has long been our state’s heritage. And it must be our future as well. By 2014, we will emerge with a smaller, more efficient state government, an education system we can be proud of, and a supply of good jobs transformed by a forever-changed economy.

Whether we are descended from several generations of native Nevada pioneers – or we moved here in the beginning of the 21st century – each and every one of us has at our core the desire to fulfill Nevada’s original promise of opportunity. The uncrossed borders of our future beckon us forward – just as countless Nevadans were called to live, work, learn, and play here for nearly 150 years.

Kathleen and i are proud to call Nevada our home. We are proud to raise our children here. And we are proud to serve the people of the silver state. My journey to this time and place is itself proof that opportunity’s promise can be kept and that optimism is a solid foundation for growth.

My family has lived in the southwest for generations. My father was one of 10 children. My mother and her sister lived with their family in a tiny, two-bedroom house.

When i was a boy, my parents brought us to Nevada in search of opportunity. From a little house in Fallon to my job cleaning sheep pens in Sparks, I learned the value of a day’s work. I learned that service above self is a way of life.

And so, i am humbled to find myself here, serving you. I think of all those who have taken this oath and embarked on the journey of serving as Nevada’s governor. Three of these men are here with me today, and i thank them for their support. Governors List, Bryan, and Miller, i will turn to you in the years ahead for your counsel. Governor gibbons could not be here, but i thank him for his years of public service.

I think of my friend and mentor, Paul Laxalt, the first Nevada political figure with whom i worked. Senator Laxalt could not join us, but he remains for me the essence of statesmanship.

I remember another friend and mentor, the late Kenny Guinn, whose place in history we must now consider because god saw fit to take him home sooner than we would have liked. I wish that Dema could have been here today, but she was unable to make the journey. In her absence, an empty chair behind me marks Kenny Guinn’s place on this stage, and in our hearts. I hope you will remember Governor Guinn with me, and pray that he watch over us.

My friends, we have been given the gift of an opportunity to make history. To my fellow constitutional officers, legislative leadership here represented, and the justices of our supreme court…this is our time. History unfolds around us. We must choose between indecision and action, between complacency and courage, between the status quo and what might be.

The Nevada i know will choose action, courage, and opportunity. We will choose optimism. I know this in my heart. And i ask that you pledge with me the promise of opportunity as we build a new foundation for what lies ahead.

Thank you, god bless you, and god bless the great state of Nevada.

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