Gov. Jodi Rell wanted to make her intentions crystal clear as to her future in government.
Instead of acting like a political hack struggling to give up a 25-year media addiction of bright lights, photo-ops and sound bites, the governor last week decided to say she will be retiring at the end of her term in December 2010.
She said her decision came “after much soul-searching.” In her announcement she labeled herself a citizen-governor, citing her personal battles ”“ breast cancer ”“ to the dozens of state issues from mass transit to education to taxes; well OK, she didn”™t mention taxes.
The way she handles herself and the warring tribe in the General Assembly over these next 14 months will say a lot about how history views her work as the 87th governor of Connecticut.
Rell came in as governor as the cloud of corruption rained down on then-Gov. John Rowland. She is now calling it quits as suspicion grows concerning the hiring of a college professor as a consultant allegedly using government funds. She is also leaving in a troubling economic climate in which the state”™s budget deficit is growing larger.
It”™s ironic her announcement came just hours before a new poll found her approval rating on the rise.
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It”™s also ironic that had Rell not decided to retire, her opponent in the race for governor would have undoubtedly been Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz. In the Quinnipiac poll released last week, Bysiewicz was the strongest challenger and was trailing Rell by only 6 percentage points.
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An all-female bout would have been most welcome. Maybe Linda McMahon might want to rethink her candidacy for Chris Dodd”™s U.S. Senate seat.
With Rell”™s announcement, let the handicapping begin as to who has the best shot for the top office.
With Rell having cleared her deck of any worries about campaigning or raising money for a war chest, now is not the time to become a lame duck. Now is the time to take on the budget crisis head on.
Leverage your strengths and hold the Democrats accountable for their missteps in their so-called state budget, dear governor. Round them up and corral them back in Hartford for a special session.
Hold their feet to the fire and ask them to identify those $473 million in unidentified state agency savings that are contained in the budget. They came up with those savings, now have them explain their accounting principles.
Do the business community a favor and scale back, if not eliminate, a large portion of the new fees and taxes that have been imposed on them.
Businesses are being looked upon as Aesop”™s goose that laid the golden eggs and we all know what happened when the people got impatient and wanted all of the gold instead of having to wait ”“ a dead goose.
Keep tapping the businesses and more will move out of the state ”“ ultimately killing business in Connecticut.
In your retirement speech, governor, you said:
“At one open house, after standing for hours, I finally kicked off my heels and stood in my stocking feet greeting people. I”™ll never forget the woman who said, while looking at my feet, ”˜That”™s why we like you ”“ you”™re normal; you”™re like us.”™ That was the highest compliment she could have given me.”
You”™re still with us for 14 months and we urge you to keep on working. Leave a legacy that”™s memorable for its positive characteristics and can be pointed to as illustrative of good government. Don”™t let it just be another less-than-stellar legacy relegated to the dustbin of history.
