Education exposes young people to a broader world, a world full of opportunity and hope.

Vernon Reis opened the world to me through books. He taught me that while I was physically firmly planted in blue-collar Auburn, Washington in the 50s and early 60s, intellectually I could go anywhere, explore anything, and sample exciting new ideas simply by opening a book.

When nearly a third of our high school students do not graduate on time with their peers, we have work to do. We must design our middle and high schools so that no student gets lost in the crowd and disconnected from his or her own potential.

We can leave our legacy only if we are willing to change - to go beyond partisan labels, and to solve the problems facing Washingtonians.

I'm free. I'm free to say what I feel.

It's our responsibility to pass on what we inherited, not to squander it, but to build on it.

We are thinking ahead to long-term care, aware that many folks don't plan ahead and won't be ready. We want to see to it that people will have choices.