Lug-gate, the Challenge Before Governor Culver Boils Down to a Single Question

A few weeks ago, Governor Culver was befuddled by a reporter's question about funding for the new Iowa Utilities Board/Office of Consumer Advocate Building. The Governor had issued a moratorium on new state building projects earlier in the year. The Governor said the project was funded by the Legislature before the moratorium was announced. A few seconds later, another reporter pointed out the building was exempt from legislative approval because the money to build came from a bond issue that was to be repaid with fees collected by the Utilities Board. The Governor’s answer was, “better yet!”

The Governor had two jobs at the groundbreaking, 1) to wield a shovel while smiling without hurting anyone and 2) to sound confident and informed at the news conference. Looks like he pulled off #1 and duffed #2.

The groundbreaking isn’t the first time Governor Culver has had to scramble for answers. The Iowa Film Office mess has the makings to become the biggest, sorriest example of poor management in the State’s history. The Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation was in trouble before Culver moved his bags into Terrace Hill. However hard he has tried to look the other way and let others handle clean up, the situation has gone from bad to worse. The Governor has shown a callous disregard for Iowa’s open record laws ranging from his own calendar to releasing the details of an expensive consultant’s report on how the state could save money. And, this week a federal government report suggests that during Culver’s administration of the Office of Secretary of State, as much as $2.5 million of federal money may have been misspent.

The Governor faces reelection next year and the sharks are circling. Whether true or not, his opponents are going to make a strong case the Governor is in over his head and that he lacks the management skills Iowa needs in a chief executive. Sure, anybody who has served in elected office is going to have made decisions that when seen through the clear eye of a challenger’s hindsight can look questionable. How effective these claims are in sinking a reelection bid depends on how well the incumbent is able to respond.

Governor Culver is going to have to take control and some responsibility for the management mistakes made during his watch, both as Governor and as Secretary of State. Voters’ minds can be changed, but the task is difficult once they see a candidate in a negative light. He cannot afford to stare at another reporter without knowing the facts.

Governor Culver is going to ask voters to return him to office in 2010. Before he does so, he is going to need to chart a course to winning back the public’s trust. Pretty soon he is going to find himself asking voters if they share his vision for the future, or if they want to change course mid-stream. Here is a hint, Governor. If the voters answer, “better yet,” you are in big trouble.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.