This is my last column for the Hartford Business Journal. For the last three years, I’ve had the privilege to share my opinions on state and national politics 600 words at a time.
I want to begin by thanking the publisher and editors of the Business Journal for giving me the space and all the running room I wanted. I should also thank my former employer, Cashman + Katz, because it was not always easy for them to have one of their employees spouting off on controversial issues in a way that, from time to time, upset people in power. They fielded some angry phone calls and while they did suggest other topics for me to write about — like gardening and home repair — they never asked me to stop.
In short, my wife and I are moving to Washington, D.C. for new job opportunities. Although the Internet would allow me to keep up on things and write a column once a week — I don’t think that’s the way to do it. Distance from your subject diminishes the quality of the effort. So while it is difficult for me to stop writing in what will be one of the most interesting political years of my lifetime — it’s the prudent thing to do.
The race for governor and U.S. Senate will get a lot of the attention over the next 12 months. The Democratic Party effort to save Chris Dodd and the Republican effort to remove him from office will be a national story even if Dodd recovers halfway to Election Day. But the biggest political issue facing the state remains the on-going fiscal crisis and the opportunity it presents to re-order state government.
A few weeks ago, I took part in a forum on tax law at the University of Connecticut School Of Law. On the panel with me were the House chair and ranking member of the legislature’s finance committee and former gubernatorial candidate Bill Curry. The newsworthy portion of the dialogue was the overall sense that the politics and lobbying around state budget issues makes it almost impossible to get big things done.
By politics, I don’t mean the partisan battle between the two major parties. I mean the electoral politics of individual members of the legislature, or regional delegations, which place a higher value on personal survival than what is best for the state. By lobbying, I mean the ability to carve out a piece of new law so narrow it benefits a special interest as small as one company.
Parochial interest is so powerful that any movement toward a solution to the current budget morass can only be made in small increments. So small that lawmakers of both parties can look at the result of this year’s legislative session and argue, with all sincerity, “it’s the best we could do.”
The possibility of major reform between now and the next election is unlikely, but major reform is what is needed. It needs to begin with bi-partisan agreement on what state government ought to do, how much it should cost and how we pay for it. No one with the power to make change is publicly asking or answering those questions right now. The consensus plan is to hobble through the next year in the hope that an economic rebound will save everyone from making fundamental shifts.
I’ll be watching closely from my new vantage point. I hope someone sees this continuing crisis as an opportunity to lead. Until we meet again — and we will — thank you.
Dean Pagani is the former communications director and chief of staff to Governor John Rowland. He and his wife are moving to Washington D.C. to continue their careers in government and public relations.
