Ye heavens, make me an instrument of good government:
where there is need, let me provide funding;
where there is fat, and only there, a budget cut;
where there is a budget gap, the taxing of those
most able to pay their share.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be re-elected as to act wisely;
to cater to donors as to serve all;
to eschew borrowing as to deal prudently;
for it is in governing well that I can give
a just present and a prosperous future
to my city, my county, my state, my country.
