Hartford Business
Vetoes Show Rell’s True Political Colors
Political Persuasion
By Dean Pagani
Hartford Business Journal
September 7, 2009
What conclusions can be reached as
a result of this year’s string of vetoes
from Governor Jodi Rell?
If the governor and legislature are
working well together there should
be little need for a governor to resort
to a veto. If all sides are talking, the
House and Senate waste little time
on bills they know will never become
law and there should be few surprises
for the governor as the final flood
of legislation crosses her desk in the
early weeks of summer.
The first conclusion that can be
reached about 2009 is that the
relationship is more confrontational
than normal. Beginning with the
budget, there’s been a general lack of
communication. For weeks, Governor
Rell taunted Democrats to send her
a budget, but refused – except in the
most general terms – to explain what
kind of budget she might be likely to
sign. Once that dance was over – the
communication began.
Similarly, on healthcare, Democrats
seemed set on using their super
majority power to see how far they
could get regardless of the governor’s
opposition. Although Democrats
technically have the votes to over-
ride a veto in both chambers, as
a practical matter, the Senate is a
different story. At least five to six
Democrats cannot be counted to vote
with their caucus. If just one sides
with Republicans the ability to over-
ride is lost.
With that knowledge, Democratic
leaders were reluctant to press hard
on their own agenda. There were
no Nancy Pelosi type calls for a
Democratic revolution as the session
got underway. Still, the higher
than normal veto count suggests
Democrats were eager to push a bit
more than usual.
We also learned a lot about Governor
Rell’s style of governing. She is a
strict constructionist as it turns out.
She believes in the legislative process
and the literal description of how
a bill becomes law. The governor
proposes and the legislature disposes.
Particularly on the budget, Rell’s
behavior suggests she believed her
job was done after she presented
her proposal during the first week
of February. After that, it was in
the legislature’s hands. She made no
special effort to reach a compromise
solution, despite the fact that
Democrats readily admitted the
spending plan produced by the usual
legislative committee process had no
chance of winning her approval.
No, she wanted the legislature to
vote, because the rules say that’s
how it works. At one point in late
February, the governor actually said
– with exasperation in her voice – “I
presented a budget – now it’s the
legislature’s turn.” It takes deep faith
in the process to adhere strictly to
procedure in the face of the financial
crisis the state finds itself in.
The approach of House Speaker
Chris Donovan and Senate leader
Don Williams is similar. When
the state entered the new fiscal
year without a budget they did not
protest at all when the governor
issued an executive order to keep
things running on her terms. The
legislature is supposed to approve all
appropriations. They too seemed to
rely on process to produce a solution.
None seem to understand a process is
nothing without someone driving it.
Finally, Governor Rell’s vetoes
say something about her vision of
government as a force for change.
Her reasons for vetoing legislation
fell into two general categories;
we don’t have the money, or if
it’s not broken don’t fix it. If you
assume those concepts reflect her
management principles, it means she
views her job only as maintaining
the status quo. She intends to leave
Connecticut government no different
than she found it – after adjusting for
inflation.
Dean Pagani is a former
gubernatorial advisor. He is vice
president of public affairs for
Cashman and Katz Integrated
Communications in Glastonbury.