Last week's news that MO Governor Matt Blunt would not seek a 2nd term caught a lot of observers by surprise. Many pundits were expecting Blunt to put up a tough fight with MO Attorney General Jay Nixon later this year - a debate that was sure to bring up life science issues related to entrepreneurship, stem cell research legality and public funding for research.

Although Blunt was the Republican governor of a generally conservative state, many of his policies were actually pretty favorable to the state life science sector. Kelly Gillespie of MOBIO, speaking in his January newsletter, had this to say regarding the news:

Governor Blunt has been accessible and supportive of MOBIO, at times setting the bar high for the life sciences community. The Governor has attended MOBIO board meetings, traveled out-of-state twice to attend the international BIO conference in Chicago and Boston, and keynoted the Life Sciences Summit in 2006. He has formed advisory councils focused on life sciences and plant biotechnology, and been recognized by BIO for his leadership. Blunt made an early commitment to preserving our researchers' ability to pursue the same stem cell advances being pursued at top biomedical research institutions across the country, endorsing Amendment 2 on the day it was announced. The governor has increased the pathways for higher education and economic development to be more fully integrated.

MOBIO will continue to work with the Governor and his administration during the final "fourth" of his term. We know Missouri will have a new governor in January 2009. The 2008 campaign season has been turned on its head, and we must recognize that open election cycles typically attract many more contenders than do election years when a challenger is taking on an incumbent.

As we prepare our to-do list for the year, MOBIO leadership must prepare, brief and empower the next administration to leverage and enhance our research climate and assets, improve our state's commitment to science education, and improve our business climate to continue to grow our own technology-based economic development successes.

It will be interesting to see who steps up to receive the Republican nomination, and if he or she displays the kind of attitude towards the MO life science sector as their predecessor. As the gubernatorial election draws closer, I'll try and work out the contrasts between each candidate's opinions towards biotechnology.

(...more from themaneater.com)