ELECTION 1992: SECRETARY OF STATE, JOHN HANCOCK VS. JUDI MORIARTY; DEVELOPING JOBS

In a Hancock administration, the Secretary of State's office will mean business: business opportunities and jobs. As Secretary of State, I will make job development my top priority.

Rolling up our sleeves

In the past few years, Missouri has lost tens of thousands of high-paying manufacturing jobs. Those jobs in aerospace, automobiles, and electronics, and their payrolls totaling millions of dollars have disappeared as former ideological enemies became friends and former trading partners became economic competitors. The exodus may have been predictable, but it is no less painful.

There are a variety of approaches to dealing with this fact. We can find some individual to blame in government, industry, labor or other special interest groups. We can decry the world economic conditions that have brought us to such a state. Or we can rely on our "Show-Me" pioneer heritage, roll up our sleeves and seek meaningful change in our approach to business development. The "Show-Me" spirit is at the core of my proposals for economic development.

The Secretary of State can be a "spark plug" on the state's business development "engine." The Secretary of State can determine whether corporations from other states and countries can do business in Missouri and regulate the market for the kind of long-term investments that result in high-paying jobs.

Improving the business climate

My plan focuses on improving the climate for small business in Missouri. In the next decade, three quarters of all new jobs will come from small business development. In order to improve the job market, we must improve the small business climate. My plan is designed to work in conjunction with existing government efforts to encourage existing businesses to expand and to develop new business opportunities.

I support reforming securities laws in Missouri to allow small businesses greater access to the capital they need for expansion and job creation. Several states have already taken advantage of Securities and Exchange Commission exemptions allowing for state regulation of intrastate securities issues. As Secretary of State, I would support allowing small businesses to issue a limited amount of securities without cumbersome SEC regulations.

Ideas and investors

I want to create a place where investors looking for ideas and ideas looking for investors can meet. Too often entrepreneurs with good ideas simply don't have the background or the contacts to find money to move a concept from the drawing board to the marketplace. If we can bring ideas and investors together, we can create businesses and create jobs.

I will work directly with the Department of Economic Development to attract new businesses to Missouri. As Missouri's "Business Ambassador," I will work to ensure that businesses have easy access to information that will help them relocate to Missouri.

Finally, I will work to keep the jobs we have here in Missouri. I will be a vocal public critic of agencies that write confusing, counterproductive rules which impose bureaucratic restrictions and stifle productivity. I plan to update government procedures which in many cases haven't changed in over a hundred years. I believe the Secretary of State's office can lead the way in adopting new procedures like electronic filing of Uniform Commercial Code and annual corporate reports. Laws will have to be amended and new processes developed, but I am committed to doing everything I can to see that changes are made.

As Secretary of State, I plan to be an advocate for job development in Missouri. Government must, whenever possible, remove the barriers that keep businesses from being successful. The barriers may be small, but it is their cumulative effect which stifles competition in the international marketplace. I am committed to ensuring that people who want to create their own businesses have every possibility of success and people who want to expand their business to provide jobs for others will not find government as an opponent.

Challenge and opportunity

Missouri is a state rich in its heritage. Her people possess a pioneering spirit and a willingness to take on new challenges. During the final decade of the twentieth century, we will be faced with tremendous challenges and tremendous opportunities. Missourians will best overcome those challenges and make the most of those opportunities if they are allowed and encouraged to use their initiative in new enterprises.

Government can never mandate the kind of initiative it will take to make Missouri a leader among states. As Secretary of State, my goal will be to ensure that government encourages initiative instead of stifling it. The proposals I have put forth here are steps toward that goal.