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More and more often, when you pick up the paper, there's
something peculiar in state government. Scandal
isn't the right word, because the peculiarity seldom
involves outright corruption, although there are instances,
such as the charges in Frémont County of
embezzlement from social services funds.
But generally it's like the recent announcement that the state has failed to collect unemployment insurance premiums. Or you note that Colorado has the highest gasoline tax in the United States, but that we certainly don't have the best highways in the nation. Or that we spend considerably more than the national average on primary and secondary education, while it would be hard to argue that the products of Colorado education reflect that.
What does it signify when you're spending what should be an adequate amount of money, and you're not getting adequate results?
The sensible answer is that we suffer from bad management in state government. Good management generally produces good results when it has the resources. We provide resources, but we don't get good results.
The executive branch manages the state government, and the head of the executive branch is the governor.
It would be convenient, although not entirely fair, to blame Roy Romer for the state government's inability to do things right. For one thing, the legislature holds a lot of power, and for another, the governor's powers of appointment are limited. It's difficult to run anything efficiently when you can't fire people and you report to a committee with 100 members.
But still, taking care that the laws be faithfully
executed
is more his responsibility than anyone else's.
And Romer had an excellent administrative record before he
became governor. So what's going on?
Successful enterprises generally have two dominant
personalities -- a prominent Mr. Outside
who
represents the enterprise to the community, and an obscure
Mr. Inside
who runs things inside the shop.
When you look at the governor's office for the past 22
years, you see three Mr. Outsides: John Love with his
Sell Colorado,
Dick Lamm gaining national repute as
Governor Gloom,
and Roy Romer jetting around the
world to attract business. That may be desirable and
necessary for Colorado to thrive, but where's Mr. Inside,
the master sergeant who makes sure the day-to-day work gets
done while the commanding officer is off winning friends
and influencing people?
People do what they're rewarded for doing. The rewards
of serving as governor aren't financial; they come from
publicity and consequent influence. A governor gets big
coverage when he visits Taiwan or when he can announce a
new Wal-Mart distribution center with 800 jobs. Efficient
management of existing state programs does not produce such
publicity. When was the last time you saw a story like
Governor's attention to nitty-gritty tedious details
results in decreased drop-out rate
or Romer spots
good deal, saves state $1.5 million on gravel
purchases
?
We don't glorify governors for administration, so it's little wonder that they spend their time on more rewarding activities.
Effective administration isn't even a good campaign
issue. Efficient management was the focus of Steve Schuck's
attempt for the Republican nomination in 1986, and he
didn't get past the primary. It's not glamorous, and
getting the most for your tax money pales against becoming
the Athens of America.
Every so often, somebody proposes revising our 113-year-old state constitution. So here's a suggestion: Let's have two governors. One would be Colorado's ambassador and chief salesman, and the other would be the guy you called the next time you had to stand in line for three hours to change the address on your driver's license. Then we could have an ebullient Roy Romer as Mr. Outside, and a bottom-line Steve Schuck as Mr. Inside. Certainly there would be occasional clashes, but it would have to be an improvement on the current system.
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