January saw the start of a new legislative cycle with a series of new governors installed in office, while others began new terms. C-SPAN covered several inauguration ceremonies and State of State addresses, in which the governor's laid forth their agenda and policy initiatives.
John Kitzhaber was inaugurated as the 37th governor of Oregon. After an 8-year hiatus from public life, Kitzhaber made Oregon history on Jan. 10th, by becoming the first governor to serve a 3rd term. In his inaugural address, Governor Kitzhaber focused on the economy, speaking on the state’s double-digit unemployment and a $3.5 billion budget shortfall.
Paul LePage was sworn in as the 74th governor of Maine at Augusta Civic Center. Lepage was sworn in at a ceremony before a joint session of the Maine Legislature on Jan. 5. LePage is the first Republican to be governor of Maine in sixteen years. He succeeds Democratic Governor John Baldacci.
Susana Martinez became New Mexico’s first female governor, as well as the first Latina governor in the United States, when she was sworn into office on January 1. She delivered the State of the State Address to the State Legislature on Jan. 18th. The former four-term District Attorney, spoke about crime, the economy and small business and education in her address. Martinez replaced Democratic Governor Bill Richardson, who served for eight years.