Virtually every governor from around the nation – from California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger to New York’s David Paterson – gathered in Washington, D.C. over the weekend for key meetings with their colleagues and President Barack Obama.
In all, when Puerto Rico, Guam and others are included, 49 governors were present. But Connecticut’s M. Jodi Rell was not among them.
Rell has missed similar meetings before during her 5 ½ years as governor, but now is the time that governors are scrambling for money following the worst economic downturn in decades. The attendance at this year’s National Governors Association meeting was especially high among Republicans and Democrats.
Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, a Democrat who serves as the highest-ranking state senator, said he could not directly criticize Rell for failing to travel to Washington. The more important point, he said, is whether she is getting results – and the jury is still out.
“The ultimate question is whether Connecticut gets its fair share of federal funds,” Williams said in an interview. “So far, the track record is not good. So far, quite frankly, from the legislative perspective, we’re worried. Our fears have not been alleviated.”
Williams cited the state’s failure to receive any money at all when $1.5 billion was allocated last week in federal transportation money.
Rell, though, rejected the suggestion that she should have attended the meetings so that Connecticut does not miss getting its fair share in federal transportation and education money.
“We’re not losing out,” Rell told reporters Tuesday. “I want to correct that misnomer right there.”
Rather than going to Washington, Rell held a meeting with top legislative leaders Monday to discuss the state budget, which has a projected deficit of more than $500 million in the current fiscal year. On Tuesday, she visited a middle school in Middletown to thank students for raising $3,500 for Haiti.
“My priority is right here. We have a state budget that is out of balance,” Rell told reporters. “I’m working on a deficit mitigation plan. … Frankly, we have five U.S. Congressmen and women, two U.S. Senators – all Democrats – and a Democrat president, and they represent us very well in Washington right now.”
Last week, state officials complained after Connecticut received nothing from an allocation of $1.5 billion for transportation projects. That concern continued Tuesday when the state’s delegation to Washington held a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss why Connecticut failed to receive any money.
“The Connecticut delegation is clearly united in their frustration and has done a good job of explaining why Connecticut needs funding,” LaHood said in a statement released by the delegation. “I appreciate their bringing me their concerns. My department will meet with each and every Connecticut applicant to ensure that they are fully prepared to compete later this year.”
Among various projects, the state’s representatives are pushing for the completion of the long-stalled commuter line that would stretch from New Haven to Hartford to Springfield. Both state and federal officials have been talking about the rail line for years, but progress has been slow.
“As we told the Secretary, the fact that our state was passed over is extremely disappointing, and we won’t rest until Connecticut gets the resources it needs,” Dodd said in a statement. “He assured us that his department will meet with our applicants as they apply for more funding in the coming months, and I’m going to stay in close touch with him” and others involved in the process.
Rell, though, told reporters that it was difficult for Connecticut to receive money because the federal government received $60 billion in requests and had only $1.5 billion to allocate.
“There’s going to be another round,” she said, adding that the state might receive money in the future.
Rell clearly avoids the back-slapping, glad-handing, and schmoozing that is commonplace at the governors’ meetings. She has often cited the state’s travel ban as among the reasons for failing to travel to Washington and other venues for the meetings.
Rell’s style is sharply different from her predecessor, John G. Rowland, who attended the meetings on a regular basis before eventually serving as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Rell has avoided the meetings on a regular basis and came home early in 2005 as she avoided a big-ticket fundraiser being hosted in Boston by then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican Governors Association.
WNPR’s John Dankosky has been on the story at http://whereweblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/49-governors-meet-on-health-care-education-economy-rell-stays-home/