Governor Paul Patton, front, today kicks off the National Governor’s Associations Summer Meeting in Indianapolis during a press conference at the Blackford Street Bridge located behind the Indiana State Museum.  NGA Chairman Patton was joined by incoming chair Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Boise, left, and Gov. Frank O’Bannon, D-Indianapolis, right, said: “I am looking forward to a very busy and productive meeting.  This is always a special time for the Governors who are here because we get the rare opportunity to reflect together on the issues that are common to us all.  At the NGA meetings we leave our partisan hats at the door. We sit down to work out solutions to our problems. Governors don’t have the luxury of engaging in endless political debate like our friends in Congress.  Instead, we gather here as state leaders, set on finding solutions to the problems that are familiar to us all, and hopefully come to bipartisan solutions that move us forward. “
August 18, 2003