Utah Gov. Cox to fellow governors: Please don’t ‘tear down’ bipartisan leadership group

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox looks toward the stage for the National Governors Association's summer meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City on July 11, 2024. (Courtesy of the Utah Governor's Office)

It’s been a year since Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was elected as chairman of the National Governors Association and launched his “Disagree Better” campaign.

At the time, Politico columnist Jonathan Martin pointed out that the NGA, which he described as a “once-vital forum for common ground,” had appeared to have “fallen prey to polarization,” noting that of the nation’s 26 Republican governors, only three showed up to that year’s summer meeting, including Cox.

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Cox, Martin reported, used his first speech as the NGA’s chairman to beg his fellow governors to turn the NGA into a model of civil debate, saying, “If we’re ever going to find our better angels again, it has to start with us setting the example of how to disagree better.”

“But it’s hard to do much disagreeing, or have a conversation at all, when nobody is listening: Fewer than a half-dozen governors were still in attendance for his remarks Friday, the session’s closing day, and they were all Democrats,” Martin wrote last year. “After more than a century of bringing together the nation’s governors, the NGA — long a wellspring of ideas, forum for best practices and platform for innovating policymaking — is at grave risk of falling victim to the silos plaguing most every other element of American politics.”

Though Martin also offered some hope, writing, “if any governor can reverse or at least slow this trend, it’s Cox.”

Now the year is over. Last week, at the NGA’s summer meeting in Salt Lake City — with big-name speakers including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey — Cox closed out his NGA chairmanship. He passed the baton to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who pledged to continue the “Disagree Better” work within the NGA while launching his own initiative as chair titled, “ Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success. ”

Governors who attended the National Governors Association’s 2024 summer meeting in person, July 11-12 in Salt Lake City

• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Republican (2023-2024 NGA chairman)
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Democrat (2024-2025 NGA chairman)
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Republican
• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Republican
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin, Republican
• Delaware Gov. John Carney, Democrat
• Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Democrat
• Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, Democrat
• Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Democrat
• Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Democrat
• Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Democrat
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Democrat
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democrat

So how did Cox do? Are enough governors listening to the “Disagree Better” message?

If governor attendance to the summer meeting is any indication, it appears Cox was able to bring along slightly more Republican governors — that is, one more than last year. Including himself, four GOP governors attended the conference in person: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The rest of the 13 total governors who attended, according to what Utah News Dispatch observed and a list verified by the Utah governor’s office, were Democrats.

Overall governor attendance to the summer meeting — which is usually not as robustly attended as the NGA’s winter meeting — was on par with what’s expected for summer meetings (roughly 10 to 20 governors out of a total of 55).

But impact goes beyond just the governors’ attendance. When considering total attendees, this summer gathering saw the most attendance in the last five years with over 1,100 registrations, including 60 members of the media, according to the Colorado governor’s office.

And that doesn’t include others who tuned in online or have participated in the “Disagree Better” campaign in some other form or another. When pressed by a reporter during a media scrum on Friday morning on whether enough governors are listening to his “Disagree Better” campaign, Cox said he’s been pleased with the number of governors that have participated in the effort.

“We’ve had over 20 governors that have participated in ‘Disagree Better,’ and it’s split about 50-50, Republicans and Democrats,” he said, adding that about 40 governors attended this year’s winter meeting that had “some similar presentations, including two members of the (U.S.) Supreme Court, a conservative member and a liberal member.”

“So we believe it’s been incredibly, incredibly positive,” Cox said, “and the feedback we’ve gotten from governors has also been positive.”

But during his speech on Friday — closing out the two-day event that served as a capstone to his “Disagree Better” campaign — Cox’s remarks hinted governor participation in NGA was on his mind and could be better. His comments also indicated NGA isn’t immune to the polarization he’s been trying to combat and could be threatened because of it.

Cox focused much of his speech on urging Americans to focus not so much on “tearing down,” whether it’s institutions or people or parties. “Building is hard,” he said, and it’s something the U.S. needs more of. “We need some architects. We need more builders. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”

After that speech, for which he was given a rowdy and drawn-out standing ovation, Cox said he had one more thing to say — and it was focused on the NGA itself.

“This institution, of the National Governors’ Association, please don’t tear it down,” he said, his voice straining with emotion. “It’s worth saving.”

He paused while gathering his composure.

“It’s one of the last organizations on earth, in this country, that brings people of both parties together to actually get stuff done,” he said. “And we need that more than ever.”

Cox acknowledged governors’ schedules are often already jam-packed with meetings.

“Look, I know it’s hard. I know it’s hard to go to all the meetings,” he said, listing off several other acronyms for government organizations. “There’s always a reason to make an excuse for the other things. But I’m just telling you, we need you. I know you guys are here, but there are a lot of us that aren’t here.”

He thanked the governors who did attend, while begging them, “Please, please, please, please … help me convince our colleagues how important (NGA) is.”

Cox also said he’s confident under the leadership of Polis, as the NGA’s new chair, “we will be strong.” He then announced the new lineup of NGA leadership, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt as vice chair. (Each year, the organization switches its chairmanship between Republicans and Democrats).

After Polis officially accepted the NGA gavel from Cox, the organization’s new vice chair Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said he and Polis “want to continue (‘Disagree Better’). I think it’s so important, a conversation that all of us need to have.”

Polis —  before presenting his new NGA chair’s initiative titled “ Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success ” — applauded Cox for taking a “new kind of initiative” with “Disagree Better.”

Instead of focusing on usual issues like perhaps infrastructure or mental health, he said “Cox really broke the mold and said what we need … is this kind of moral progress as a nation and about how we can disagree better, the way that governors can play a constructive role in helping to heal this national spirit, learning how to engage in meaningful conversations and disagreements with one another again.”

Polis said the “Disagree Better” effort is “even more important today than when we began this work, and I know it will live on.”

Bill McBride, executive director of the NGA, told attendees in an opening speech on July 11 that although NGA chair’s initiatives technically last a year, “their impact continues. That would certainly be the case with ‘Disagree Better.’”

“As a bipartisan organization representing our nation’s governors, finding common ground is essential to the work of the National Governors Association,” he said.

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In response to a request for further comment on the matter of governor participation and Cox’s plea to not “tear down” the NGA, Polis’ spokesperson Shelby Wieman said the Colorado governor “encourages all governors to participate in the open, meaningful and bipartisan discussions at the (NGA) about the challenges we face, and will continue to make NGA a welcoming space for everyone, no matter their political affiliation.”

Wieman said the summer meeting was “very productive with governors from both parties and across the country joining together to discuss issues facing our country.”

She noted that the governors met directly with Zelenskyy, spoke with McConaughey about improving discourse, and met with King Abdullah II of Jordan , along with other panel discussions.

“Hundreds of attendees and thousands more viewed these important conversations,” she said. The NGA’s public summer meeting discussions were taped and can be viewed on the NGA’s website .

“‘Disagree Better’ is more important now than ever for governors and all Americans,” Wieman said. “Many governors have been engaged in the initiative and it is having an impact on how Governors interact with one another and Americans. As chair of the NGA, Governor Polis will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats alike to advance good ideas, no matter where they come from.”

Contributing: Quentin Young, Colorado Newsline

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