It was the first time since Gov. Jay Nixon took office that all of Missouri’s living governors were at the same place at the same time.
On Friday, Kit Bond, John Ashcroft, Roger Wilson, Bob Holden and Matt Blunt joined Nixon in Kansas City for a panel discussion of the state’s economic victories.
Bond, who created the Hawthorn Foundation in 1982 to raise private funds for trade missions, says Missouri wasn’t open for business back when he was governor.
“Business development was handled through the Department of Consumer Affairs, Regulation and Licensing. You talk about a downer when you went in to tell someone you wanted to bring them to Missouri,” Bond joked. “Even worse, there was no statewide effort.”
That’s changed for the better in the last 30 years, Bond said.
But the issues the five former governors discussed are still at the forefront of Missouri’s economic development efforts, such as how to attract talent to the state.
“We need to get more women involved in what we’re doing. We need to get more Hispanics involved, African Americans involved,” Holden said. “We have to be reflective of a global world if we want to be successful.”
Ashcroft recounted raising the state’s gas tax to pay for much-needed infrastructure.
“That’s about a 140 percent increase in the tax, but we needed the roads. We need roads now,” he said.
Nixon listed funding for the Missouri Department of Transportation as among his chief legislative priorities for 2016. He also called for ethics reform, which he says will improve people’s perception of the state as a business partner.
He thinks the state’s top economic tool is the Missouri Technology Corporation, which vets and invests in start ups.
“One of the things I have learned that I didn’t really understand fully before I was elected is how important it is to have a state entity like that,” Nixon said. “It’s not so much how money put in there, it’s the fact that once the state does that, then you’re able to attract other capital.”
Nixon also highlighted a recent win for Missouri – according to the most recent census data, the state is creating businesses faster than any other.
Elle Moxley is a reporter for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
