Rell, Show Horse; Malloy, Work Horse–A Study In Contrasts

When she was governor, Jodi Rell’s idea of economic development for the state’s largest city was a prison on the Upper East Side. Such vision. Angry city residents led by then State Rep. Chris Caruso defeated the measure with protests, vigils, news conferences and a reasoned declaration that Bridgeport already has enough of that sort of thing that serves the entire region with no meaningful financial benefit to the city. It was symbolic of Rell’s gubernatorial myopia. She didn’t work particularly hard, didn’t show up to a lot of things, had no real economic vision for the state in six years as governor yet her Fairy Godmother persona, following disgraced Governor John Rowland’s resignation and subsequent involuntary vacation on corruption charges, provided high voter approval numbers.

(Speaking of Rell’s proposed location for a girls’ prison, the property is now in the city’s hands and Mayor Bill Finch is weighing ideas for the park.)

Rell, as governor, was a classic Republican in name only. To her credit the RINO transcended politics, even if she couldn’t get much done with a Democratic legislature. Her personal appeal played well with voters. But Rell was about Rell; she cared little for her political party, campaigned for very few Republicans, kept score (with the aid of her Chief of Staff Lisa Moody) about everything, even threw Michael Fedele, her lieutenant governor, under the bus when he ran for the state’s top post. Rell, who had balked in previous years about raising revenues in a difficult economy, presented a budget with tax increases her final year, but still left behind a staggering multi-billion dollar deficit that forced Dannel Malloy to raise taxes his first year.

Now we have a Democratic Governor Malloy who works all day and all night: upset people in his own party with his audacity to demand accountability from public school teachers; negotiated dramatically improved labor deals than Rell in trying to close a multi-billion dollar budget gap left by his predecessor; consolidated state agencies for a net reduction of 1500 state employees; achieved progressive successes with the passage of a medical marijuana bill and abolition of the death penalty; promoted destination points in the state after Rell budgeted nothing for tourism; was front and center around the clock in response to Hurricane Sandy, keeping utilities’ feet to the fire to restore power; actively enticed companies to do business in the state such as the Jackson Lab deal that is expected to staff 600 scientists and technicians when it is completely developed as well as luring NBC Sports to Stamford and CIGNA to Bloomfield.

Yet Malloy’s latest polling numbers are painfully behind Rell’s. That can change, but may not if the economic recovery drags with election year 2014 on the horizon. Ultimately, however, elections are about matchups and the GOP nominee won’t be known until the summer of 2014. Malloy still has time. Many pundits bellowed Barack Obama had no shot for a second term two years into his presidency.

While Rell’s economic  vision for Bridgeport was another prison, Malloy in Bridgeport has funded affordable housing components to add more foot traffic downtown; maintained funding for city education and grants for key safety net programs that did not hurt the local city budget; a new Precision Manufacturing program is underway at Housatonic Community College similar to other community college programs around the country that has opened up job opportunities; a collaboration between state, federal and law enforcement officials is focusing attention on inner-city violent crime; he opened a disaster recovery office in Bridgeport following Hurricane Sandy.

It’s almost unfair to compare governors to Lowell Weicker, the benevolent dictator, on behalf of Bridgeport: new Housatonic Community College and State Police barracks downtown; gaming money that has translated into hundreds of millions for the city budget; incentive packages to keep public utilities in the city; millions more for the zoo and Beardsley Park. The majority of Weicker’s actions on behalf of Bridgeport materialized in years three and four of his one term as governor from January 1991-January 1995.

Shortly after Malloy was elected governor in 2010 he attended a Bridgeport thank-you rally at Murphy’s Law, downtown. He provided a sobering assessment of the state’s budget woes. We’re in tough times, he said, and that means we’ll not be able to do all that we want to in the first few years, but years three and four for Bridgeport will be better than the first two years of his administration.

Malloy is again trying to close a budget gap, courtesy of a sluggish economy. Come 2013, he’ll be entering year three as governor as the state’s largest city seeks an economic shot in the arm and prospects for renewal.