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Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Lame Duck Govs Offer Tips To Rookies
By Kathleen Murphy, Staff Writer
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A printed message will be waiting when New Mexico's Democratic Gov.-elect Bill Richardson sits down at the governor's desk for the first time in January.
"Become reality-driven. Don't kid yourself or others," is the advice that tops the list of tips that outgoing Gov. Gary Johnson will offer the new chief executive. The list is known as Johnson's seven principles of good government, which appear on his web site.
Johnson is one of the 20 state governors who will step down now that the Nov. 5 elections are history and a successor has been chosen. STATELINE.ORG asked some of the exiting leaders what words of wisdom they would pass on. The responses ranged from profound to facetious.
"Is it too late to tell them not to run?" quipped outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Graves of Kansas, (R), who will be replaced by Democratic insurance commissioner Kathleen Sebelius. Term-limited Graves will move to Washington DC in January to become president of American Trucking Association.
Next to maintaining a sense of humor, governors say that knowing when to keep your mouth shut is a key to successful leadership.
Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R), who in January will become president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, said his successor, Democrat Brad Henry, should focus on education, meet with legislators in their offices, and learn to weigh his words before he speaks.
"The biggest mistake I made was saying things I thought were cute or funny, and very few other people did," Keating said. "Keep it to your wife and children."
Outgoing governors describe the first few months in office as a whirlwind of post-election jubilation. On the heels of delivering an inauguration address, new governors will attend the National Governors' Association winter meeting, the social high point of which is a glittering White House state dinner hosted by the president.
"It's all very heady stuff," Graves said. He added that the glamour quickly gives way to the sobering reality of governing and preparing a budget. Graves advises new governors to consider building a freestanding team of economic advisers to work on the budget and "Don't hire your friends."
Reinforcing widespread predictions that fiscal difficulties will be the biggest headache for most state leaders, other departing governors also offered tips on how to deal with budget problems.
"A lot of the governors that are leaving office now came in '94, and we were having tough budget times then, so I know I went through it," said Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond (R). "It was somewhat overwhelming because we did have a major budget problem that we had to resolve."
Almond's advice for the next Rhode Island governor, Don Carcieri (R), is to "to select very strong staff and a very strong cabinet that you can depend on." But Almond, whose January plan includes taking a rest, cautioned that work isn't everything.
"One thing to be concerned about is your personal life," Almond said. "You can get so wrapped up with being governor and having the staff trying to control your schedule too much that you get too strung out. You've got to keep the balance."
Almond plans to meet with the governor-elect at his request, but said his advice can only get a new governor so far.
"It's something you have to doit's baptism by fire," Almond said.
However, not every governor is ready to offer parting advice.
"We govern until January 21st," said David LaTorre, press secretary to Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker (R). "On that day, he'll have advice for his successor. Until then, we have a lot of things we want to get done."
Other outgoing governors include those from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming.
One newly chosen state leader, New Hampshire Gov-elect Craig Benson, is soliciting advice from the general public. One section of Benson's Web site allows users to offer suggestions for making the Granite State better.
Contact Kathleen Murphy at kmurphy@stateline.org ![]()
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