Dear Friend,
I’m happy to report that Oklahoma is moving in the right direction and thousands of new jobs have been created in the last 18 months alone!
Thanks to the pro-business, pro-growth policies we’ve been able to implement -- with your help and support -- Oklahoma’s economy has been on a roll!
I’ve been proud to share that story of success with men and women from all over the country. Next week, I’m excited to be able to bring that message to the Republican National Convention, where I have the honor of speaking on Tuesday night.
My message will be simple: the U.S. must focus on policies that allow hardworking families and businesses -- not government bureaucracies -- to thrive.
In Oklahoma, we’ve pursued policies that set the stage for success and job growth in the private sector. We’re not interested in more government handouts. The results of our pro-jobs agenda speak for themselves. We are currently experiencing:
- An unemployment rate of only 4.9%, the lowest in the country for any state with a population of 2 million people
- The addition of 47,000 new jobs, ranking Oklahoma #1 in the nation for manufacturing jobs created, and #3 overall
- The growth and restoration of our Rainy Day Savings Account that has increased from under $3.00 in 2011 to over $577 Million today
These are just a few of the great accomplishments and signs of progress we’ve seen in Oklahoma.
Working with the Legislature –both Republicans and Democrats – we’ve delivered a fiscally conservative, balanced budget that reduces government waste and pursues hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer savings. We’ve had major legislative accomplishments, including comprehensive tort reform, workers’ compensation reform, pension reform, and job creating tax incentives.
The legislative victories we’ve won show that working with both sides of the aisle makes a difference and deliver the kind of results that Oklahomans deserve and expect. It’s a lesson that our leaders in Washington, D.C. need to learn!
This spirit of cooperation and focus on job creating policies are what I will bring to the table in my new position as Vice Chairman of the National Governor’s Association (NGA). I’m honored to have been selected by my fellow governors to be their Vice Chairman, and I want to take the “Oklahoma model” nationwide with my work at the NGA.
Already, we are demonstrating how governors can work together to meet our nation’s challenges and solve national problems. Currently, I am working with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and other governors on a multistate, bipartisan compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle initiative. We’ve reached across state and political party lines on this exciting new project that will create jobs, improve our national energy security, save taxpayer dollars, and help increase the use of a cleaner and more affordable energy source. Read more about this exciting initiative here.
I am so proud of the accomplishments that Oklahoma has made the last couple of years. Working together, we’ve accomplished so much. And we have a bright future ahead of us. I will be excited to share some of Oklahoma’s success at the Republican National Convention next week, so I hope you can tune in and watch!
Thanks again for your support and hard work for our state.
Best regards,
Governor Mary Fallin
