2015 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Civil Rights


Greg Abbott: Wife is first Hispanic First Lady in Texas history

To the members of the House and Senate, our co-authors in the next chapter of the greatest state in America, to the members of the judiciary, where I once served, and to my fellow Texans.

Let me start by recognizing someone who represents the richness of our heritage, our culture, the strength of our values and the promise that is Texas--the first Hispanic First Lady in Texas--my wife, Cecilia.

I'm proud to report that the state of Texas is strong and together we're about to make it stronger.

Source: State of the State address to 2015 Texas Legislature Feb 17, 2015

Bruce Rauner: Create minority enterprise small business investment program

Too many people in our communities must overcome not only hurdles that state government has put in place, but also decades of hidden barriers that have caused their communities to suffer. Approximately 80% of individuals in Illinois apprenticeship programs are white even though Caucasians make up fewer than 63% of our population. Whatever the reason for this disparity, it has gone on for too long, and we must take specific, positive action to end this unfair situation.

We should require unions that contract with the state to have their apprenticeship programs reflect the demographics of Illinois communities, and to have their membership on public construction projects reflect the diversity in the surrounding area. And we should create a Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Program to assist minority entrepreneurs in startups throughout Illinois.

Source: State of the State address to 2015 Illinois Legislature Feb 4, 2015

David Ige: Follow the lessons offered by our host culture

We need to fulfill our obligations to our host culture whose sense of aloha influences everything we do. As we speak, the Hokule'a & its sister ship are sailing across the oceans to call for a more sustainable world.

Their voyage banner, Malama Honua, means "to care for our earth." Living on an island, we know better than most that the limited resources of this planet must be protected if we are to thrive as a species. That is the lesson offered by our host culture. It is their gift to all of us.

Source: State of the State address to 2015 Hawaii Legislature Jan 26, 2015

Andrew Cuomo: Pay equity for women; stop pregnancy discrimination

Proposal #64: Stand up for New York's women--pass the Women's Equality Act: The Governor remains deeply committed to advancing sweeping legislative reform to overcome discrimination against women. In years past, New York has served as a model for gender equality and fairness. Governor Cuomo's plan will return the State to its rightful place as a national leader on women's equality. The Women's Equality Act will:
  1. Achieve pay equity,
  2. Stop sexual harassment in all workplaces,
  3. Remove barriers to remedying discrimination,
  4. End Family Status Discrimination,
  5. Stop housing discrimination for victims of domestic violence,
  6. Stop source-of-income discrimination,
  7. Protect victims of domestic violence by strengthening order-of-protection laws
  8. Strengthen human trafficking laws
  9. Stop pregnancy discrimination once and for all, and
  10. Protect a woman's freedom of choice.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 New York Legislature Jan 21, 2015

  • The above quotations are from 2015 Governor's State of the State speeches.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Chris Christie on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for more quotes by Terry McAuliffe on Civil Rights.
Candidates and political leaders on Civil Rights:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018