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Chapter 8. The Governor
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145 Chapter 8 The Governor In the states the executive power is vested in the hands of a magistrate, who is apparently placed upon a level with the legislature, but who is in reality nothing more than the blind agent and the passive instrument of its decisions. —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1830 Gov. Chris Christie said back in January, as governorelect , that the state would see “any number of times over the next four years” the . . . vast powers afforded a New Jersey governor, and he hasn’t shied from using the tools at his disposal. —A journalist, 2010 After reviewing the development of gubernatorial powers and profiling the people New Jerseyans have chosen to lead them, this chapter will consider how recent governors have attended to their fundamental tasks—achieving support for policy priorities and organizing their offices to seek those priorities effectively. Because the governor is so central to almost every aspect of the state’s politics and policy, there is discussion of the chief executive’s role in virtually every chapter of this book. Most extensively,chapters 4 and 5 analyze gubernatorial campaigns and elections; chapter 7 describes the constitutional development of the office and governors ’ roles in constitutional revision; chapter 10 addresses management of the executive branch; chapter 12 considers the chief executive’s growing participation in the federal system; and chapters 14, 15, and 16 all deal with gubernatorial policy formulation. 1 4 6 N e w J e r s e y P o l i t i c s a n d G ov e r n m e n t The Powers of the New Jersey Governor When JohnAdams described the U.S.vice presidency as the most insigni ficant office ever conceived, he might have included the state governors of his time. In the postcolonial era, memories of the British sovereign and the colonial governor were a powerful argument for a dominant legislature. New Jersey’s 1776 charter devoted five articles to the qualifications, election , and duties of legislators. Only one article dealt solely with the governor . As to the chief executive’s qualifications, the constitution specified only that the legislature should “elect some fit Person within the colony to be a Governor for one year.”1 The governor was given the “supreme executive power,” but that power was nowhere defined. New Jersey’s governor was apparently better placed than his contemporaries , however.“It is a notable circumstance,” wrote one commentator, “that the powers of the governor of New Jersey under the constitution of 1776 exceeded those of any officer of the same rank in the United States.” The legislature often chose distinguished citizens to fill the post.William Livingston, the state’s first governor, was reelected fourteen times and suf- ficiently respected that he “even elevated to a position of influence the impotent office he held.”2 The constitution of 1844 provided for popular election of the governor to a three-year term, a weak veto, and some appointment powers. Still, some delegates at the constitutional convention feared that removing the governor from the judiciary would make the position so unattractive that distinguished citizens would shun it. One worried,“I don’t think the Governor ever will be a lawyer again. I mean a practicing Lawyer, for the office will not be worth the acceptance of a man with a good practice.”3 The 1844 constitution did, however, contain the provision that Coleman Ransone suggests opened the way to gubernatorial participation in policy making:“He shall communicate by message to the legislature at the opening of each session, and at such other times as he may deem necessary, the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he may deem expedient.” Eventually the governor’s annual message became the vehicle to lay out a legislative program. Governor Woodrow Wilson (1910–1912) was the first chief executive of an American state to do so.4 Under the 1844 constitution, governors were, for a century, subservient to the legislature.This meant first subservience to the railroads and later to county party organizations. Nevertheless, a few chief executives, such as Wilson, were able to affect the course of the state dramatically.What is true [3.237.44.242] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 16:54 GMT) The Governor 147 of presidents is also true of governors; force of personality, political skills, and the “power to persuade” often count as much as of...