B. Explaining the Governor's Influence
VII. THE INDEPENDENT POLITICAL STATE EXECUTIVE'S ROLE IN CREATING A STATE'S "PLACE VALUE"
Independent Political Executive 141 evolve over time (Ryan, 1990) Understanding the value-laden nature of the pub- lic is fundamental to analyzing the impact of independent political executives on the state governance process Since this process is fluid, the authority, power, and boundaries established by one person filling a particular position do not nee essanly transfer to the next person who inhabits that position
Independent political state executives have broad latitude m developing their concepts of public authority and in delineating their personal spheres of influence within a state's governmental process The techniques by which the executives build their sphere of influence varies by personal style and skill This process can be understood as an artisan carving a niche m the political terrain The successful state executive meets Goodsell's definition (1992 247) of an arti san who performs each individual task well with a sure sense of execution and mastery The state political executive masters the political terrain by learning to harness personal creativity and distinctive style The independent political state executive daily engages m an artistic performance responding to complexity and proceeding with only partial information (Etziom, 1989) Like any true artisan, the independent political state executive takes pride in what he/she does Schon (1983) captures the artistry of the state political executive when he writes
His artistry is evident m his selective management of large amounts of mfor ination, his ability to spin out long lines of invention and inference, and his capacity to hold several ways of looking at things at once without disrupting the flow of inquiry (p 130)
The choice and skill to pursue power from these positions is, of course, an individual one Obviously, not every executive is interested m expanding their sphere of influence, authority, and political power Some political executives are satisfied with the status quo and narrowly define their public authority These individuals take little action outside prescribed boundaries But the potential for these individuals to move into their state's larger political terrain outside of the executive clearly defined junsdictional boundaries remains
VII. THE INDEPENDENT POLITICAL STATE EXECUTIVE'S
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Place value can best be understood as a shared understanding of why people choose to live in a state Place value is the sum total of a location's characteristics including governmental, economic, sociocultural and natural factors that lead to shared understandings by inhabitants of the assets and worth of the locale The shared understandings of a locale's value may be taken for granted by its inhabit- ants As Puhtzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder writes, "of all the member- ships we identify ourselves by (racial, ethnic, sexual, national, class, age, reli gious, occupational), the one that is most forgotten is place" (Snyder, 1995 44) Place value implies that where an individual lives defines and shapes his experiences and perceptions in a variety of ways Thus, place value has important ramifications in terms of economics, politics, and quality of life issues
This understanding develops from the ongoing interaction of government, the economy, and both the sociocultural and natural environment Kirlin (1994) notes that place values are important
Place values include effectiveness o± political structures, civic institutions, individual, property and other rights that influence the quality of life in an area, such as personal safety, environmental quality and opportunities for individual to shape their destinies (p 1)
Independent political executives help to shape a state's place value by act- ing as political brokers who mediate competing demands These executives also regularly articulate their personal understandings of shared public values in a state The combination of these activities helps create a state's place value
Kirlm argues that every geographic location has a place value Place value, however, is not a static concept but is constantly evolving through a complex interaction of inhabitants, political structures, civic institutions, rights, quality of life issues, environmental factors, and individual opportunities Paul Gruchow (1995) captures the evolution of place value when he writes
The word "wilderness" acquired positive connotations only quite recently Before the mid 19th century, in the European American tradition, wilder ness—especially those teatures of wilderness that we now think particularly lovely seacoasts, islands, mountains, forests—was regarded as frightful ugly, even evil The idea ot wilderness as a good thing took root and pros- pered as our culture became more urban and industrial What unfulfilled need in contemporary lite does wilderness satisfy"? (p 51)
Each state has chosen to design its institutional structures in a distinct manner as a result of differing values, cultural and economic differences, and geography The end product of this design process is a state's place value
Independent political state executives can be key actors in developing a state's distinctive place value The manner in which these executives choose to exercise their public authority can over tune change the structure of a state's
Independent Political Executive 143 civic institutions, individual and property rights, and, ultimately, the state's place value.
This role of the independent political executive is a different concept than the more traditional view of government executives being responsible for deliv- ering services, arbitrating interest group conflicts, or developing structures that remedy market failures (Kirlin, 1994:3). This view focuses on the executive as a key player in the ongoing evolution of state governmental structures. This per- spective changes the emphasis of analysis from management styles to meanings, processes, and outcomes.
Independent political executives, however, do not have free reign in devel- oping place value since they operate within the constraints of existing laws and institutional structures. In fact, as Kirlin notes, the greatest opportunities to impact place value are in the beginning, the moment of creation of a policy. Once institu- tionalized, as Selznick (1957) notes, the institution can have remarkable staying power. A role of the political executive is to recognize when existing governmen- tal structures have outlasted their usefulness and are negatively impacting the place value of their state and then actively attempt to change these structures.
Political executives cannot assume that their chosen values will become the preferred "public value" for their state. Political executives operate in "a politically negotiated order held together by political bargains and agreements"
(Fischer, 1986:11). The executives are engaged in power struggles characterized by uncertainty and risk. In this ever-changing terrain, the political executive's conception of the public good is just one of many possible constructions which are vying for acceptance.
Every state has ongoing public policy debates designed to strengthen the worth and assets of the state for its citizenry. Those individuals with the power to help enforce their definitions of what should be valued can position themselves to play a major role in this definitional process. Thus, independent political state executives who effectively use their formal authority have the potential of bro- kering values, developing policy and ultimately creating place value in every state.
VIM. THE POSITIVE FUNCTIONS OF DISPERSED AUTHORITY IN STATE GOVERNANCE
The final theme of this chapter is that centrist positions recommending elimina- tion of the independent political executive position have been developed without research into the role of these executives in state government. This chapter has suggested that independent political executives make a positive contribution to the governance process and that the elimination of these positions might dramati-
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cally alter state governments, not necessarily in a favorable manner Table 2 presents a comparison ot the centrist position versus the beneficial role of the independent political executive
Proponents of strengthening the state leadership role of governors by ehmi natmg other independent political state executives suggest that restructuring would revitalize state government by providing a structure which is more effi- cient, effective, and democratically responsive (Thompson, 1993a) For example, the first report of the National Commission on the State and Local Public Service argued that fragmentation of authority among a number of political actors denies governors the opportunity to effectively lead
Chief executives need the authority to forge their own leadership teams Too many governments especially state governments have scattered that author ity among too many elected cabinet-level otficials, boards, and authorities (Winter, 1993 10)
Public administration theorists who advocate tor centralizing state authority in the hands of the governor note that electonal choices for the populace would be easier with the only choice for state elected position being that of governor With a shortened state ballot, it can be assumed that the voting public would have better information about a limited number of candidates to make reasonable choices
Even if the candidate elected proved unworthy of the voter confidence, the responsibility for leadership would be clearly delineated Bad leaders would be held accountable and removed in the next election Research has shown that in cases where authority is not clear, the public sometimes has a difficult time identi tying exactly who is responsible for programs (Thompson, 1993a) Thus, dis persed authority raises a variety of issues about public accountability
Finally, centrists argue that dispersed authority in state government results in excessive friction among the various actors This fragmentation of authority leads at best to inconsistent policy and at worst to total policy stalemate
On the surface, the rationale outlined above provides a convincing argu ment for centralizing authority in state government in the hands of the governor These centrist arguments, however, do not look at the the role of independent political state executives in the state government process In fact, contributions by independent political state executives to the governance process are usually omitted in centrists' discussions
This chapter has suggested that given the ongoing efforts to streamline government and the tenacity of these positions in absolute numbers, these posi- tions must make some positive contributions to a state or efforts to eliminate them would be more effective Reformists have had trouble eliminating these executive positions because the public perceives that the positions protect strongly held values of republicanism and bureaucratic neutrality The longevity
Independent Political Executive 145
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of independent political executives provides continuity in the state governance process. Dispersion of authority at the state level means independent state politi- cal executives are key actors in demarcating the boundaries of governance. Indi- viduals in these roles come to play important parts in a state's political struggles to develop a unique sense of "place."
Changing the state governance structure to a strong governor and appointed cabinet, at the expense of independent political state executives, could potentially affect the stability of state government. At the present time, state executives have a tenure in state government on the average of 13 years. As noted previously, the longevity of independent state executives changes the dynamics of state gov- ernment interactions from those at the federal level.
State executives in cabinet positions, however, have a much shorter tenure.
For example, in the 1970s and early 1980s, turnover for agency heads was about 50% every two years (Haas and Wright, 1989a,b). Controversial positions such as corrections commissioners, welfare commissioners, or mental health commis- sioners may stay three years or less (Hargrove and Glidewell, 1990). These execu- tives, however usually do have state government experience. Thompson (1993a) argues that this turnover does not result in a government of strangers similar to the federal level because, "first, exempt positions in state government do not as readily turn over when a newly elected governor takes office. . . . Second, top administrators in state agencies usually have considerable experience in the pub- lic sector" (p. 21).
The risk, however, of moving to a single elected official with total appoint- ment power is that the tenure and role of state government executives will be politicized to the extent that characteristics of state executives will come to mirror those of federal political executives. Admittedly, movement toward politicizing the apex of state government might vary across individual states and even be- tween governors in the same state. Without independent political state executives, however, the potential for a governor to extremely politicize a state governmental terrain exits. By asking for and accepting the resignations of all political execu- tives, a newly elected governor could transform overnight state government man- agement structures previously based on long-term relationships of trust and loy- alty.
Centrists assume that governors will appoint qualified executives to provide leadership to their proposed streamlined state government structure. The centrist proposal, however, places tremendous power in the hands of one individual and his/her appointees. Centralized authority requires that leadership at the top be outstanding. As Richard Neustadt (1990) notes, when describing presidential power, ' 'the responses of our system remain markedly dependent on the person of the President. . . . A dangerous dependence on the expertise of the top man—
dependence on his 'feel' for power in the ongoing system" (p. 162). As Neu-
Independent Political Executive 147 stadt's work also chronicles, different men have brought different approaches and skills to the presidency with varying results
Dispersed authority gives the public a number of avenues to responsive governance As former Wyoming secretary of state Kathy Karpan (personal com- munication, June 15, 1995) notes
Independently elected officials have the power of people's consent They are picked by the people and this makes them powerful They must remain in direct communication with the people, in order to be re-elected, they have to keep the electorate happy
In the dispersed approach, emphasis is not on finding the one great leader but on developing systems that produce a number of good political leaders In a dispersed authority model, "what is needed is not just able and strong leaders, but leadership systems rooted in institutional reform" (Nathan, 1994 156-174) Under such a system, states should encourage able men and women to run for or apply tor a variety of independent political executive positions
Independent political executives also allow for a diversity of opinions as part of the governance process In a complex society with settled institutions and difficult problems, a variety of viewpoints may result in more positive outcomes than a single-minded response to an issue Wyoming state auditor Dave Ferrari, a proponent of centralizing gubernatorial powers and the architect of the Wyoming cabinet system, notes
I believe in a strong governor but it is important not to go overboard A number of elected officials from different parties is valuable to a state It allows for differing positions to be debated and issues other than those fo- cused on by the governor to be raised (Personal communication, April 27, 1994)
Finally, independent political state executives help define and create a state's distinctive place value The existence of independent political state execu- tives insures greater diversity in the ongoing social construction of a state's place value The elimination of these positions from a state's governmental process will reduce the viewpoints presented in policy debates and the potential for these officials to moderate and/or change strongly held or extreme positions of the governor or one or two powerful interest groups in a state Part of the variety of states' political structures and cultures can be attributed to the existence and di- versity of independent political state executives serving in various positions across the United States
Thus, while centrists argue for centralizing power in the hands of the gover- nor to create clear lines of authority, this chapter has argued that dispersed author- ity structures account, in part, for the responsiveness, innovation, and other dis-
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tinctive governmental features which have made states the focal points for governmental changes in the 1990s. The longevity of independent political state executives in these positions provides a stabilizing force in states during times of great political volatility. This continuity has allowed states to engage in a clear pursuit of policy outcomes not possible in the more transient structure of political actors at the federal level.