Longtime conservative leader, 2014 U.S. Senate candidate and 2017 candidate for Governor Ed Gillespie was honored Wednesday night with the Independent Women’s Forum annual “Gentleman of Distinction” award. Gillespie was awarded alongside Carly Fiorina, who was given the IWF’s annual “Woman of Valor” award, and Cheryl Bachelder, who was honored as an “Outstanding Woman in Business.” Last year’s IWF Gentleman of Distinction award was given to Forbes Magazine Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes.
Excerpts from Gillespie’s remarks to the Independent Women’s Forum, as prepared for delivery:
I want to thank Sabrina Schaeffer and Carrie Lukas for having me here tonight. I am extremely honored to accept the IWF’s Gentleman of Distinction Award.
IWF is an effective and strong voice in making clear that—in contrast to the liberal view—all issues are women’s issues. And the policies you promote, based on the principles of free markets and personal liberty, are good for our country.Because of our friendship, I know Carly’s story well, and I know that when she was CEO of HP, her experience as an office assistant in a real estate office was a formative one that, in addition to being a genuinely good person, contributed to her treating all HP’s employees with respect. And Carolyn Bachelder is famous for her care for not only Popeye’s franchisees, but for the fry cooks and counter servers at her restaurants.
Concern for the well-being of the lowest paid workers, rewarding hard work, providing skills training and opportunity for upward mobility, are hallmarks of successful businesses. They are also hallmarks of successful policies – policies that are desperately needed right now and important to women, who are more likely than men to work in hourly wage jobs, and are hit harder by wage stagnation.Our economic growth rate last year was an anemic 1.4% And yet, that was the first time in five years it was above 1% The year before last, we were 48th out of 50 states in economic growth. Virginia. In the bottom five.
With our vast natural resources, our fertile lands, our port, our people, our colleges and universities, our natural beauty and historic landmarks—and our location—Virginia should be in the top five states when it comes to economic growth.
And we can be, with the right policies. Policies based on our Constitutional principles of limited, effective government that create jobs, raise take-home pay and help people lift themselves out of poverty.Sadly, In Virginia, as in other states, we have thousands of children trapped in failing schools just because of where they were born. I intend to tackle the challenge of failing schools head on by giving parents greater control of our children’s education…
We have an addiction crisis in America today, and it is a significant women’s issue. In Virginia, there’s been a 30 percent increase since 2007 in female deaths due to heroin and opioid overdoses. In the ten years from 2004 to 2014, the last year for which data are available, the number of women in state and federal prisons increased nearly 8%–almost double the rate of increase for men in the same period.
I recently spent time with about two dozen women inmates in the Chesterfield County Jail. These women were in recovery from heroin addiction, confronting their disease and planning for a life after incarceration. I was inspired by their spirit, and am working on addiction, recovery and mental health policies that help them one day reintegrate into society as productive members of it, living the IWF ideal of personal liberty.My parents were two of the smartest people I’ve ever known, but they never went to college. They insisted that my brothers and sisters and I do. We were first generation on either side of our family to get college degrees. I took out student loans and worked my way through school at the Catholic University of America in a lot of different jobs, including as a senate parking lot attendant. I parked cars for the staff who worked in those big office buildings just a few blocks from here. That job led to an internship inside one of those buildings, which led to a job and a career that eventually serving as counselor to the President of the United States of America.
From immigrant janitor to West Wing of the White House in two generations’ time. What a country. My father left a country where if you were born poor you died poor, for something completely different. America. America—where where you start out in life does not determine where you end up in life.
The IWF and all here who support its good work promote policies that ensure we will always be a beacon of liberty and a land of opportunity. Thank you for that, and thank you for making me this year’s Gentleman of Distinction.