Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by The Hon. Jane Edmonds, Former Secretary, Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following are remarks as prepared for delivery by the Hon. Jane Edmonds, Former Secretary, Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, at the 2012 Republican National Convention:

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Thank you for the warm welcome.

I am honored to be here with you tonight to share my feelings about Mitt Romney.

By way of background, my politics is as a liberal Democrat.  My passion is about education, workforce training, and leadership.

When I first met Governor Romney, I was struck by his humanity, his grace, his kind manner.

It was just the two of us, in his office when I met him, as a finalist for a cabinet position in his Administration.

I could tell immediately, just by our interaction, that he is the real thing — authentic. He struck me then — and now — as honest, transparent and inclusive.

I somehow knew, during that meeting, that he is demanding of himself and that he would be demanding of anyone who is a part of his Administration.

I wanted to be around him, and in that kind of environment, where my energy, skills, and talent could be channeled – along with others – toward the public good.

I could tell by our conversation that the Governor was in office not for himself or to promote himself, but for the people.

My initial size-up of the man held true. During the 4 years I served in his cabinet, I saw him up close and personal many times, and he always drove us in his Administration to make government better for the people.

One area where he made a positive difference is in improving the representation of women in senior positions in Massachusetts State Government.

Before Governor Romney took office in 2003, women were significantly underrepresented among top roles in government, with 52% of the population but just 30% of the jobs.

Over the next two and a half years, 42% of the new appointments made by Governor Romney were women.

In fact, based on a survey by the State University of New York, Massachusetts was ranked first in percentage of women holding top state positions.

This led the Boston Globe to note, "Women fill 10 of 20 top positions in Governor Mitt Romney's administration, making the Commonwealth one of five states that come close to matching the percentage of top women appointees to the proportion of women in the overall population.

This achievement happened because Mitt Romney cared about the issue, he took action to fix it and he delivered results!

He is unquestionably an amazing steward and leader, a servant leader and someone whom I respect very much. That's the kind of leadership that has always inspired me.

Unselfish leadership!

The late Stephen Covey writes about 2 kinds of people: one type is all about themselves and their success. The other type works as hard as they can – and certainly succeeds, but their success is motivated by doing good for others.

That's how I see Governor Romney.  He is authentic.

He is open to good ideas wherever they come from.  It doesn't matter if they are from a liberal Democrat like me. He'll listen and he's inclusive. As a great leader, he brought out the best in me and I know, as President, he will bring out the best in our country!

Thank you.

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SOURCE 2012 Republican National Convention