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Culver inauguration: 'Iowans, this is our time'

(Des Moines Register)Iowans should expect their state to lead an energy revolution, an effort that could unite rural and urban Iowa, Chet Culver said Friday after taking the oath of office as Iowa's governor.

Culver became the first Democrat governor with a Democrat-controlled Legislature since 1965, bringing along an agenda to spend millions to accelerate the state's burgeoning renewable fuel industry.

"With the eyes of the world upon us, we must prepare for the next-generation energy economy. And let's do it in Iowa," the former secretary of state told 4,000 supporters and state officials at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Although Culver asked state lawmakers to cooperate across political lines, he accepted the mandate handed to him in November, when voters in Iowa - as they did nationally - chose Democrats over Republicans.

"Together, we will continue to move this great state forward. However, to achieve this, we who serve must remember to respect the will of Iowans. They have spoken, and they expect results," he said.

Culver is the first Democrat elected to succeed a governor in his party in 70 years. Gov. Tom Vilsack did not seek a third term in November.

The former governor is seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Culver, who turns 41 in two weeks, is the first Iowa governor born in the 1960s.

The inaugural ceremony reflected the generational change Culver's election represents.

His wife, Mari, and young children, Clare and John, joined him onstage.

The 5-year-old girl fidgeted in her seat under the glaring lights, and her 4-year-old brother got help from his dad in putting his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Other youthful touches to the otherwise traditional ceremony included a choral performance by students from Hoover High School, where Culver taught history and government, and a poetry reading by some Waverly children.

Culver, who worked to cultivate support among young voters during his campaign, also sought to project a hopeful tone during his speech.

"That's why today I am asking for your help, especially the next generation of Iowans," Culver said. "Everyone has a role to play in our 21st century expedition."

The message of hope and unity appealed to 26-year-old Syeta Glanton of Des Moines.

"I like how he invoked Martin Luther King and referred to Iowa history," Glanton said. "I was extremely impressed with his talk of building one Iowa."

The list of proposals Culver outlined included helping reduce health insurance costs to small businesses, an idea supported by many Republicans.

Despite references to the future, Culver also proposed changes Democrats have sought unsuccessfully for years, including raising the minimum wage.

His proposals also reflected the stump speech he often gave during his winning campaign against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle last fall.

Short on many specifics, they included increasing early childhood education spending, raising the cigarette tax and repealing a five-year-old ban on a type of embryonic stem cell research.

Culver has staked his administration on a promise to aggressively promote and expand ethanol production and technology in the state, which now leads the nation in production of the corn-based fuel additive.

Culver has said the distinction, which he credited Vilsack with helping achieve, gives Iowa the standing to dominate the national push toward renewable fuel development. He plans to ask the Legislature in his budget address this month to appropriate $100 million over four years as incentives for the renewable energy industry in Iowa.

"It's time for Iowa to become the first state in the nation to declare independence from foreign oil, and we can do it in Iowa," he said.

The notion of reducing the nation's dependence on imported petroleum has gained in popularity as a political issue, especially since turmoil in the Middle East and the per-barrel price of oil has climbed in recent years.

Iowans generally support the notion that the ethanol industry is good for the state's economy, and that they can do their part. A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll last year showed 62 percent of Iowans supported requiring all gasoline sold in Iowa to contain ethanol.

They are less convinced that Culver's goal of making Iowa self-sufficient for all their energy needs is within reach.

A Register poll in September showed 55 percent of Iowans did not believe that expanding production of ethanol and other renewable sources, such as soy diesel and wind-generated electricity, will eventually make the state independent of imported oil.

Culver said pursuing the goal will usher in a period of prosperity whose benefits will come to all corners of Iowa.

"Whether you live in rural Iowa or urban Iowa ... what does matter is that we lock arms for the common good and tap our gold mine of potential," Culver said.

The unity theme stood out as the most meaningful for Charlotte Nelson.

"I think his emphasis on one Iowa was the overarching issue for me," said Nelson, director of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women. "We need to work together."