Speakers and events

Governor Christine Whitman

Guest Speaker on Regional Growth and Urban Design - Governor Whitman

July 2004

Governor Whitman

Christine Todd Whitman has spent a distinguished career in public service while serving as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and as the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey. Whitman served in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush as EPA Administrator from January 2001 - June 2003.

Among the noteworthy achievements of her time in office were the introduction of President Bush's Clear Skies Initiative to ensure clean air for all Americans to breathe; the establishment of a watershed based approach to protecting the US's lakes, streams, and rivers; and the passage of landmark brownfields legislation that is bringing economic and environmental vitality back to neighbourhoods marred by abandoned industrial sites.

Whitman believes strongly that economic success and environmental protection must go hand in hand, which is why she actively promoted partnerships and market incentives such as the Energy Star and Climate Leaders programs. Also under Administrator Whitman's leadership, the EPA also entered an historic agreement to clean up the Hudson River, issued the first-ever State of the Environment Report, and for the first time required cleaner burning diesel engines for non-road vehicles such as tractors and bulldozers. Prior to leading the EPA, Administrator Whitman served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey, the first female ever to be elected to that State's highest office. She spent seven years as Governor, from 1993 - 2000. During her first term, she began delivering on a campaign promise to cut state income taxes by 30 percent for most taxpayers and eliminate them all together for 380,000 low-income families. While cutting taxes more than 50 times during her tenure, Whitman coupled increased state funding for education with higher academic standards for public schools, won approval for a stable funding source to preserve 1 million acres of farmland and open space in the nation's most densely populated state, saw the creation of 375,000 new jobs, and saw crime reduced to its lowest level in 25 years.

Governor Whitman currently sits on the Board of Directors of S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated, United Technologies Corporation, and the Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. Governor Whitman is also a member of the Steering Committee of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Leadership Council; Co-chair of the National Smart Growth Council, an initiative of Smart Growth America; a member of the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. She is also a member of the newly formed Centre for Civic Engagement and Volunteerism Advisory Board at Raritan Community College.

She is currently writing a book entitled: "It's My Party, Too," which is due out in early 2005 about the place of moderates in American politics. Prior to becoming governor, she was President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and served on the Somerset County Board of Freeholders. She grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and earned a bachelor's degree in government from Wheaton College in Massachusetts in 1968. She is married to John R. Whitman. They have two children.

Details of Visit

1. Profile for the issues of urban development, environmental management, and political/organisational leadership
2. Promotion of the importance of good urban development policies
3. A contribution towards regional management, through her experience as Governor - particularly balancing competing interests for good (especially urban and environmental) outcomes
4. A contribution towards the theme of 'leadership'

Governor Whitman's visit included: Media interviews; Tour of Auckland with Auckland Regional Council representatives; Press Conference; Seminar speaking to a broad audience on ‘Leadership'; Dinner with partners of seminar; Met with opposition MPs; Attended lunch and networking with Minister for the Environment, government MPs, senior government officers; Dinner hosted by US Ambassador; Addressed Mayoral Forum; Lunch with US Consul General and Growth Forum councillors; Informal talking with politicians and business leaders; Dinner with ARC management & other invitees.

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