Huntsman's maiden speech is a smooth effort

Webb: Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. gave a somewhat different speech than I expected last Tuesday in Fillmore. The setting, ambience and symbolic nature of the historic setting were terrific. The speech itself was fairly low-key, didn't propose any grandiose new initiatives and stuck to generally safe themes.

It was a good State of the State speech. Perhaps not a grand slam home run but a solid double. I thought it was a little understated, and it might be a clue to Huntsman's governing style. It wasn't a stirring call to action. It wasn't a challenge to the Legislature to act on the governor's priorities. It didn't contain a lot of Big Ideas that will transform government.

I have to admit I was expecting something a little different. I thought, for example, that Huntsman might make a case for some major economic development initiatives, given the high profile of that topic during the campaign.

Huntsman took dramatic action in his first few days in office, essentially dismantling the state economic development division.

So I thought he might present a sweeping vision of his economic development plan and how government will be reorganized to make it happen. But he didn't. He stayed with what he had been saying about economic development during the campaign.

His other main priorities are education, quality of life and governance. I know he has some Big Ideas in all of those areas, but he didn't really roll them out.

Keeping low-level B and C radioactive waste out of Utah is a popular idea and easy to do. It was worth the mention Huntsman gave it in the speech. The much bigger and scarier problem, however, is high-level nuclear waste in the form of spent fuel rods. That stuff is thousands of times more potent than B and C waste, and it could be coming to the Goshute Reservation. It will be a hollow victory to ban B and C waste but get stuck with spent nuclear fuel rods.

Huntsman also touched on tax reform and continued his support for school choice, which demonstrates he's not backing away from that controversial issue.

There was a certain wile in the speech in the vein of underpromising and overdelivering. Controlling expectations and exceeding them always makes sense.

What's more, I believe Huntsman genuinely wants a good relationship with lawmakers and is not interested in getting too far out ahead of them. He wants to work jointly on some Big Ideas and doesn't want to be seen as dictating to legislators.