Ch 7 Todays Governors are Today however governors are powerful members of the political system Governors are high profile political actors and serve as symbolic representatives of their states Today s governors much better equipped to handle the position than governors of the past Most have previous experience in state legislatures are well educated and have a great deal of political knowledge One does not rise to the top state executive position without some know how An increasing number of governors are also minorities Gubernational Campaigns Chief Legislator Just like state legislature campaigns gubernatorial campaigns have become very expensive Candidates must solicit great sumsof money from donors cost per vote can range from 41 cents MO to 34 WV Incumbency advantage is quite large when term limits are not a factor Governors first make policy pronouncements as candidates and continue to play the role until their final days in office Most major policies are initiated by the governor and their success largely depends on the competence of the governor Many of these policies are responses to perennial problems education taxation economic development Marshaling Legislative Action Governors cannot actually introduce legislation so they need to maintain a relationship with governor varies as a legislators This relationship can cause tension especially when the preferences of the conflict with those of the legislators The conflict between governors and legislators function of a few factors The size of the majority and minority parties the personalities of the governor and legislative leaders and the nearness of an election year When the opposition party is strong the governor needs bipartisan support to pass legislation Otherwise the governor only has the veto Even strong party factions can pose problems Influencing The Legislative Agenda The governor s influence begins with the State of the State address and continues with budget messages The governor can threaten with a veto can engage in patronage and can offer pork barrel rewards Patronage is the informal power to make appointments on the basis of party membership and to dispense contracts to political supporters Pork barrel favoritism in distributing government monies to a particular program individual Governors influence they don t dominate is jurisdiction or Governors As Managers Most governors are also sensitive to their administrative responsibilities These responsibilities can be time and energy consuming Governors will often appoint people to such administrative posts freeing them up to focus on other leadership activities Governors essentially act as CEOs and engage in many of the same activities Marginal Restraints Separation of powers dictates that governors share some responsibility and authority with legislatures and courts Legislative approval is often necessary for changes in state agency programs Regulations also limit the governor s ability to hire fire and punish employees These restraints are unlikely to dissipate forcing governors to adapt and operate efficiently Coordinating Intergovernmental Relations Governors act as points of contact between states and federal institutions Things like emergency response and cross boundary water pollution issues are handled through the governor s office Governors also manage municipal level relations by allocating grants in aid and by promoting cooperation and coordination in economic development activities The Governors Association NGA aids governors at the national level The NGA meets twice to adopt policy positions discuss governors problems and develops policy solutions However because of perceived biases in the NGA s agenda governors are increasingly turning to the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations for solutions National a year Promoting Economic Development Governors want their states to be good for business and attract tourists To that end governors will promote policies and economic environments conducive to attracting tax revenue Governors arrange tax incentives improve infrastructure and engage in other strategies to entice out of state firms into relocating to the state Because of this role governors claim a large part of the credit for improving economic conditions Leading The Political Party Governors also serve as the highest ranking member of their political party While modern governors do not directly operate the state party apparatus they still find party activity useful Governors enjoy more support from members of their party so they are incentivized to aid those members in elections and political parties are still necessary for nomination and election Are those directly derived from the state constitution or a statute These include the tenure of the office the power of appointment the veto power and budget preparation These role these powers play in moving policy varies by state Formal Powers Veto Players Structure Induced Equilibrium Solve the dilemma by allowing an agenda setter to force a choice between the policy alternative and the status quo Tenure Tenure power varies as a function of the duration of a term and the number of terms available Ten of the first thirteen governors had single one year terms today s standard is two or more four year terms Thirty nine states hold gubernatorial elections in non presidential election years This should encourage voters and politicians to focus on state issues rather than on national issues Four year terms strike a balance between allowing governors to escape constant reelection seeking while still holding them accountable to voters Two four year terms give a governor time to implement programs acquire legislative support for an agenda and reform the bureaucracy Two term limits also reduces the potential for abuse of office and political machines and prevents stagnation Appointment Power Governors appoint allies to top executive posts Governors policies might be more successful if top bureaucrats are loyal to and ideologically proximate to the governor However the plural executive can make this challenging This is when multiple members of the executive are popularly elected When multiple executive officials are popularly elected they can possess differing preferences This can increase democratic accountability but can reduce the governor s effectiveness Some level of elected accountability is probably good Officials that are supposed to be independent like attorneys general or auditors should