SECRETARY OF STATE CANDIDATE WANTS INCENTIVE TO SAVE, RATHER THAN SPEND

With a presidential election and a gubernatorial contest on the November ballot, John Hancock admits that it's tough to stir up voter interest in the election for Missouri secretary of state.

But the St. Louis Republican and secretary-of-state candidate said Wednesday he believes the office is an important one because it is "involved so much in the day-to-day operation of state government."

Hancock, a two-term member of the Missouri House, said he wants to build on the job done by the current secretary of state, Roy Blunt.

"You are not going to see a great deal of change over there," he predicted.

But Hancock, who is opposed by Democrat Judith Moriarty in November, said he wants to make some improvements in the office.

During a stop in Cape Girardeau Wednesday as part of a two-day campaign swing through southern Missouri, Hancock talked about the need for better government management, attracting businesses to the state, and voter education and participation. Hancock's wife, Georgann, accompanied him on the campaign swing.

Hancock said he believes the office of secretary of state should be involved more in economic development and serve as a "business ambassador" to help attract new businesses to the state.

"I really think Missouri is poised to be an economic leader in the next century," he said.

As a low-tax, low-regulation state, Missouri is a choice location for businesses, maintained Hancock.

He said government regulations need to be loosened to allow small businesses in Missouri an opportunity to issue securities, thus providing them with needed capital.

Hancock said the secretary of state's office should help market the state as a business address by providing information on taxes and other matters of interest to businesses.

It's also important, he said, to make good use of computers, which can eliminate some of the government paperwork. "We've got to move away from that paper intensive way of doing business."

Hancock said he wants to make the secretary of state's office a model for state agencies in terms of spending.

Instead of asking for more money to make improvements, such as buying new equipment, the office would reduce expenditures and use the savings to fund the improvements, he explained.

"I call it incentive budgeting," said Hancock. "It's the same incentive that has worked for over 200 years in the free enterprise system.

"I think there is a real problem today with a government whose incentives in the bureaucracy consistently tell us to spend, spend, spend," said Hancock.

Such a policy, he said, encourages wasteful spending.

Hancock said state lawmakers would have to approve budget changes in order for him to implement his plan.

"When we replace the incentive to spend with the incentive to save, we have fundamentally changed government," said Hancock.

On another matter, Hancock said he believes a "Voting Youth" program, patterned after one in Arizona, could help educate children about the election process and encourage their parents to vote.

The Arizona program, funded with corporate donations, features a specially designed curriculum for students in kindergarten through high school, and a mock election at actual polling places on election day.

The students learn about the election process. On election day, students go to the polls, accompanied by their parents or other registered voters. While the adults vote in the real election, the kids vote in the mock election, Hancock said.

The program, he said, has led to increased voter registration in Arizona.

"By involving both parents and children in civic education and participation, we can restore confidence in government for this generation and the next," Hancock said.