Posted on 12/29/2002 6:25:52 AM PST by GailA
Bredesen says he plans no big changes But he declines any efforts to box himself in a corner
By TOM HUMPHREY, tomhumphrey3@aol.com December 29, 2002
NASHVILLE - After taking over as mayor of Nashville from a highly unpopular predecessor, Phil Bredesen began his reign in a basically benign mode and shifted to extraordinary activism.
As he prepares to take over Jan. 18 as governor of Tennessee from a highly unpopular predecessor, the stage appears set for something of a repeat performance.
"If you want to know what kind of governor I'll be, look at my terms as mayor," Bredesen said in a recent wide-ranging interview.
His eight years as mayor included three property tax increases, recruitment of a professional football team, controversial deals for business expansion and a huge building program - an arena, stadium, state-of-the-art public library and 32 new schools - that prompted critics to label him "Pharaoh Phil."
The governor-elect acknowledges some challenges to achieving his goal of a quiet, noncontroversial beginning that he sees as necessary to restoring public confidence in state government after years of tax and budget turmoil.
But a "sensible budget" and methodical management remain the short-term objective of a man whose pre-political life progressed from computer programmer to multimillionaire baron of the health-care business.
In the longer term, he leaves the door open to all sorts of activism - including tax reform.
Since his election victory on Nov. 5, Bredesen, 59, has spent considerable time looking into the operations of state government with the help of officials from the departing administration of an "extremely cooperative" Gov. Don Sundquist. In some cases, he did not like what he saw.
"I have come to have a new appreciation for what a total mess Tenn-Care is," he said. "It exceeded my wildest imaginings."
That assessment was made before a federal court two weeks ago ordered TennCare to reinstate roughly 200,000 people who have lost their coverage since July 1, a ruling that Sundquist said could cost the state an extra $300 million in TennCare spending. Bredesen said the ruling, which the state is appealing, "escalates the stakes" in the decision-making of the health-care program.
"It's not manageable in a way that everybody is going to like," Bredesen said, adding that he plans "a lot of consultations with legislators" and various other interested parties and "maybe looking at a fresh start."
Bredesen cited two other areas of state government that he views as especially in need of change - the Department of Children's Services, "a good idea, maybe deficient in its execution" - and the "arrogant" Department of Transportation.
In his campaign, Democrat Bredesen declared himself opposed to a state income tax in his first term, but declined to rule it out if elected to a second term despite considerable criticism on the subject from his Republican opponent, Van Hilleary.
He says, incidentally, that it is "roughly my intention" to seek a second term "if I'm successful at the job."
In the interview, Bredesen compared the push for tax reform to his efforts as mayor to win approval for bringing the Houston Oilers professional football team - now the Tennessee Titans - in a deal that called for city-backed bonds to pay for construction of the new stadium.
Bredesen, who said at the time he had "never attended a football game in my life, except, I guess, a couple at Harvard" in his college days, ardently pushed the idea despite intense initial opposition.
Opponents succeeded in having the matter put to a voter referendum over the mayor's objections.
"I was disappointed at the time," he said. "In retrospect, it was the best thing that ever happened to me."
He and others launched a campaign to sell the idea to the voting public. Though initial polls indicated the referendum would fail, it wound up passing by a solid margin after "an educational process" that involved "using the bully pulpit of the mayor's office to convince people it was a good thing to do."
"(The vote) put the controversy to rest as well as anything could," he said. "It gave legitimacy to the decision to do it.
"I think this whole income tax fiasco was the perfect example of just the opposite," Bredesen said. Sundquist and some key legislative leaders pushed for tax reform - including a state income tax - without selling citizens on the idea first and without a public vote.
So would he consider pushing for a statewide vote on tax reform by state constitutional amendment at some point? "I am committed to going forward with the current structure, basically, for this term," he said, though concerned about the present high sales tax rate and interested in the recommendations of a state tax study commission "as long as it isn't just a shill for an income tax."
At the same time, however, he declined to rule out taking the first steps during this term toward setting up a constitutional vote on Tennessee's tax structure in 2006, the year he will be up for re-election.
While stressing that he has "no plan, no thought to going down that road at this point," Bredesen also said "that's probably the vehicle to use."
A constitutional amendment setting out a specific tax reform plan would have to be approved by two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being put to a statewide vote. That means it would have to be approved first by the Legislature in 2004, and again by the subsequent legislative session before going on the ballot in 2006.
Support for such a step, he said, would not be covered by his commitment to stick with the current tax structure in his first term.
Also not covered, he said, would be changes in laws governing distribution of state taxes now collected.
Some have suggested that all revenue from the Hall income tax on interest and dividends from stock and bonds should be kept by the state and given to education - perhaps to equalize teacher pay in accord with a recent state Supreme Court ruling. Three-eighths of such revenue now goes to the local government having jurisdiction over the taxpayer who owns the stocks and bonds - in many cases wealthy communities that do not operate public schools.
Asked specifically about such a proposal, Bredesen said "anything is on the table" and "politics is all about allocation of resources." But, as with a prospective constitutional amendment referendum, he stressed that he has no plan for such a move at present.
Bredesen said that he feels personally well prepared for governing the state, including working with legislators that have sometimes been at odds with him politically. He compares the situation to working with Nashville's City Council.
At the outset of his mayoral term, he said, there were "predictions that the whole relationship would be a disaster" but he wound up getting "virtually everything we needed" by working with the council effectively.
"We took some of the politics out of it in the sense that most council members became convinced they were not being played for advantage," he said.
Bredesen said he plans to be specific in his proposals to the Legislature, avoiding what he sees as a past tendency by the governor to say, "We've got this problem, so we're going to throw it over here and let you guys thrash it out."
He said he has had productive discussions with House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, with whom he has clashed in the past, and Lt. Gov. John Wilder, a fellow who refused to publicly endorse him over Hilleary in the campaign.
"I think everybody is cutting me some slack in this time," he said. "They're ready for a new administration."
As for legislators generally, he said, "It's not true for everybody, but a lot of them were just washed out over the last few years" of a "very, tense pressure-cooker time."
While referring on several occasions to shortcomings in the Sundquist administration, he also praised the outgoing governor in the transition process. He said problems of his predecessor as Nashville mayor, Bill Boner, "were a lot deeper" than those of Sundquist. Boner was beset with allegations of everything from marital misconduct to patronage and self-benefiting deals.
"People were saying the mayor is a jerk. Everybody in city government is a crook," he said.
So he started slow, trying to re-build confidence and it worked, he said.
"Somebody once told me I was the only politician they know that tended to wear better with people as time goes on," he said.
His personal style, Bredesen said, requires him to "be in harness" working on some project at all times - except for recreational exploits such as hunting.
Former Gov. Ned McWherter, he says, is something of a role model despite obvious differences in background and style - McWherter was deemed something of a benevolent dictator as governor - and the two have a growing friendship.
"I tend to be more someone who listens to a lot of different people, then closes the door and tries to make sense of it," he said.
Occasionally labeled an introvert, Bredesen denies that is the case.
"I don't think I'm an introvert," he said. "I am soft-spoken."
He and McWherter went together on a deer hunting trip to Texas after the election, he said. Bredesen, who roamed the countryside with rifle in hand rather than sitting still in the traditional stand, displayed a picture of the 10-point buck that resulted. McWherter bagged nothing.
Tom Humphrey, chief of the News-Sentinel's Nashville bureau, may be reached a 615-242-7782.
Bredesen stiff-arming usual special interests In his cabinet selections thus far, Governor-elect Phil Bredesen appears to be going his own way -- and not pandering to the interest groups that normally "help" a new governor get off to a good start.
As has been noted, Bredesen by-passed road builders to pick as his transportation commissioner Gerald Nicely, a former head of the Nashville urban renewal agency. His background is planning, public hearings, public input and putting together deals like the Nashville hockey arena and the football stadium for the Titans.
Bredesen made a reform of TDOT one of his campaign promises and it appears that he is deterimined to have his "own man" running the place.
But it goes further than that. He appointed a former East Tennessee legislator to be his Commissioner of Agriculture. Ken Givens is from Hawkins County, not known to be a seat of extensive farming operations and a long way from Farm Bureau headquarters in Columbia. He is obviously not the first choice of the Farm Bureau to head the agency, the farmer organization usually suggesting someone from the middle or western part of the state, where most large scale farming operations are located. Givens is not a problem for the Farm Bureau, he was long-time chair of the House Ag committee. But they didn't pick him.
In-coming governors usually listen to the insurance industry in selecting a commissioner of Commerce and Insurance. Bredesen picked a women attorney from Nashville, who has experience as a litigator.
(Sundquist had former insurance agency guy Doug Sizemore for much of his term and we saw messes with AccessMedPlus and the Martin Frankel embezzlement case. He has had Ann Pope in the last few years trying to sort through the mess. Pope has a law degree, but had been in private business before joining the Sundquist administration. She moved to Commerce from her job with the state Film Commission.)
But the point here is that Bredesen picked a lawyer as a regulator rather than someone from the insurance industry.
If the trend continues it will be interesting to watch. Bredesen has picked people who are loyal to him rather than to the regulated industries they are to govern.
The road builders, the Farm Bureau and the insurance industry have lobbyists on Capitol Hill and they are not without influence (major influence) on legislators and the outcomes of elections.
Bredesen seems to be saying he got elected without these special interests and will pick his commissioners as a result.
The interesting part will be seeing how he can govern without them. Or whether he has made some very powerful enemies come next legislative session.
Our General Assembly looks for the easy way out of all difficult matters. Maybe we need to work at cleaning oot the entire General Assembly at every opportunity and make it a duty for the common citizen and not a career postion as some have made it.
"I was disappointed at the time," he said. "In retrospect, it was the best thing that ever happened to me."
He and others launched a campaign to sell the idea to the voting public. Though initial polls indicated the referendum would fail, it wound up passing by a solid margin after "an educational process" that involved "using the bully pulpit of the mayor's office to convince people it was a good thing to do."
"(The vote) put the controversy to rest as well as anything could," he said. "It gave legitimacy to the decision to do it.
This guy went to Harvard? He must have been on one of those "iced tea pit stops" Democrats need when the discussion about that niggling little anachronism known as the consent of the governed happened.
He was "disappointed" when the NFL franchise question went to referendum? He prefers to just ramrod his programs through?
Boner was beset with allegations of ... marital misconduct
That is just priceless.
Another prediction: Bredesen will suggest or simply direct the transfer of the existing funds in the Transportation Department to the General Fund and an issuance of State-backed bonds to fund road construction in his first term.
I even see a major-league baseball team and field in Tennessee's future.
Also, given B's dislike of Mayor Purcell in Nashville, I wouldn't be surprised to see a call for elimination of much of the revenue-sharing from sales taxes, especially for Nashville.
It should be an interesting year.
WHAT court ruling?
Did the makeup of the legislature change significantly in the last election?
Did pro-IT people get knocked out and replaced with anti-IT folks?
Did the political makeup of the House and Senate change much with regard to Dems v. Pubs?
Thanks.
In a word. YES
LOL, so they will obviously have to lower some teacher salaries and raise others in order to "equalize" them. And this is despite the fact that cost-of-living can be significantly different in various rural and urban parts of Tennessee? Hahahahaaa...! Who are the ridiculous scumbags who figured this was a smart idea? And the scumbag judges went along with this?
Funny. That is the same thing we were all saying when Bredesen was in office. I'll take Bill Boner. At least he did not rob from the commoners to give to the rich.
You will see a campaign for an income tax just like Bredesen's "NFL YES" campaign. He brought in all these slick PR types and cast those of us who opposed the deal as anti-Nashville and standing in the way of progress. He muddled the issue so much that some people thought the referendum was simply "Do you want football?" Many of the local idiots had no idea that they had to pay. It got very ugly. A number of us who opposed the deal were threatened, intimidated, and few physical attacks. The local radio, TV, and print media were the head cheerleaders for the deal.
I predict that Bredesen will use the same tactic with the income tax. He will have the media across the State pushing the idea. There will be slick ads with famous Tennesseans and average citizens proclaiming support for an income tax. Maybe he will even have a slogan like "Tennessee YES". We who oppose the agenda will again be belittled, attacked, and intimidated. We will be called neanderthals and obstructionists. The universities will be used to sell the message and bus in loads of students begging for an income tax.
He will keep the issue cloudy so as to fool the simpeltons of Tennessee. Sadly, I predict that in the end Bredesen will get his income tax just like he got his NFL stadium.
Interesting side note: Titans owner Bud Adams had Bredesen give him whatever he wanted. Our current Mayor Bill Purcell stresses neighborhoods and voted against state funding for the Titans stadium while in the Legislature. Bud no longer gets his way and lashed out at Mayor Purcell this weekend.
Titans owner Bud Adams and Metro Nashville had a legal dispute settled through mediation recently, but Adams said Friday that he still has problems with Mayor Bill Purcell.
''I'd like to get along with him, I have to put up with him for the next five years,'' Adams said. ''We'll live through it. I haven't been to Nashville as much since he's been mayor. I don't like the guy. He doesn't like me, and I don't like him.''
Relayed those comments Friday night, Purcell said he was ''surprised, and frankly baffled.''
And to show what kind of RINOs we have in Tennessee, Mr. Donelson works for Howard Baker's law firm and served on Lamar Alexander's staff while Lamar was Governor. Donelson has been pushing an income tax since the early 70's. By the way, Baker's law firm has Linda Daschle (wife of Tom) as one of its top lobbyists. Lamar(R) has Tom Ingram heading up his Senatorial staff when Ingram is not busy working as an advisor to Governor elect Phil Bredesen(D). Not much chance for true conservatives in this state.
Court rejects teacher pay rules/Fixing gaps may inflate Tenn. budget
NASHVILLE - The way Tennessee figures its teacher pay is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The court said lawmakers must put in place a mechanism to equalize teacher pay across the state, narrowing the gap between salaries in rural and urban districts.
The decision could have far-reaching impact, including inflating a state budget that lawmakers just balanced this summer by raising the state sales tax.
Because the case is over a state constitutional issue, the state Supreme Court ruling is not subject to appeal.
the court didn't say anything about increasing the pie, did they? So you take the same pie (the total $ amount paid to teachers) and slice it up into "equal" shares. There should be zero impact on the state budget.
As for TennCare, if that nightmare is mercifully closed down and the state's parasite population is returned to the Medicaid establishment, there is no "reinstatement" to worry about.
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