Mark Anderson, left, and Ed Lazowska

University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska is known as a straight talking rabble-rouser who doesn't pull many punches. And he certainly lived up to that reputation today at the OVP Venture Partners Technology Summit, criticizing everything from the state's inability to adopt a broadband policy to a culture of mediocrity at the UW.

But Lazowska -- who appeared on stage with the equally opinionated Mark Anderson of the Strategic News Service --  reserved his toughest comments for a Lake Wobegon mentality in the state where everything appears to be above average.

"It seems to me that the issue with this state is that we are one big happy family in which everybody is doing extremely well. Everyone's college program is above average. And everyone's company is above average. And everyone's venture fund is above average. And if you go a little bit more above average than the next guy, then they get all Dirty Harry and whack you down. It is a state of Whack-a-Mole.... I worry that those who excel, and excel honestly, aren't celebrated in this state."

While the state's technology industry has a lot going for it, Lazowska, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair at the UW, doesn't think it has achieved a true leadership role by any means.

"We think of ourselves as being in the innovation big leagues, where in fact we are in the minors compared to those who are in the really big leagues like Boston and the Bay Area," said Lazowska, who cited the recent bizjournals report showing that Seattle ranks fifth as a technology hub.

That's OK, considering that it appeared on top of 95 other cities. But Lazowska said many in the state are "smug and self satisfied" when in fact "we are a million miles behind" San Francisco and Boston.

Those thoughts were echoed by Anderson, who said people talk a big game in Washington but just don't do enough. The political and business establishment need "more action and less talk" in order to catapult the region forward and establish worldwide leadership in certain segments.

The two technology pundits peppered the audience with questions on what needs to be done and asked for feedback on ways to push the needle, but overall the crowd of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and government officials were just soaking in the show.

"Do you think I am completely out of line here? Do you think the state is doing just great?" Lazowska asked the audience at one point before moving on to his next hot topic.

That topic happened to be Lazowska's complete frustration trying to implement a statewide broadband policy, noting that the Governor's office did "nothing" and that the state's Department of Information Services is an "empty suit."

"You would think that this state would at least have a broadband policy," said Lazowska, who said it was impossible to try to get movement on the issue.

Lazowska also leveled some criticism at his employer: The University of Washington. Asked by Anderson about the biggest challenges at the UW, Lazowska noted a culture of mediocrity and recommended the termination of under performers as a solution.

And while the professor noted that research at the UW is a $1 billion business, he said the state's largest research institution still has work to do when compared to other universities across the country.

The UW Medical School has retained its powerhouse status from the 1950s, but he said the rest of the campus "has a long way to go." And that includes Lazowska's own computer science and engineering department.

"We should be a lot better than we are," he said.

Lazowska concluded his remarks frustrated that no action items emerged from the talk, circling back to his arguments about leadership.

"We actually seem to be a region these days that doesn't even like leadership," he said. "You try to lead and you get victimized by Whack-a-Mole."