With little money or name recognition, former state Sen. David Ige eagerly accepted any opportunity to appear before an audience when he was a long-shot Democratic candidate for governor.
Talk story? Sure. Parade? Perfect. Bon dance? Fine.
But as Hawaii’s governor-elect, Ige is finding he cannot keep up with all of the invitations. At a seminar for new governors last weekend in Colorado hosted by the National Governors Association, he learned that a governor’s most precious resource is time.
"It just helps to put it in perspective from people who have been there and really can talk from firsthand experience about how quickly things can get away from you," Ige said.
The seminar, led by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is chairman of the NGA, and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican who is vice chairman, is sort of a boot camp for new governors. Veteran governors share advice on the transition from campaigning to governing, with an emphasis on hiring, scheduling, communications, legislative relations and preparing a state budget.
Former Gov. John Waihee has recommended the seminar as a valuable resource for new governors. The insight could be particularly useful for Ige, who has spent his 29-year political career in the Legislature.
Although Gov. Neil Abercrombie always rejected the theory, some of the governor’s critics have said that Abercrombie — a former congressman, Honolulu City Council member and state lawmaker — had a legislator’s view of chief executive power that may have caused him to overreach at times. (Abercrombie had been scheduled to attend the NGA seminar after he was elected in 2010, but had a severe head cold and was urged not to fly.)
Ige is mindful of the distinction between legislative and executive leadership.
After hearing from some of the other governors, however, Ige said his experience with the state budget as chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and his grounding in legislative culture give him an advantage. He said some of the other new governors have no elected experience, and some asked basic questions about how to prepare a budget draft and how to form a relationship with the Legislature.
"The whole thing about time, I think, was very helpful, in the context of these governors talking about it," said Ige, who attended the seminar with Mike McCartney, his chief of staff. "Because I could see getting underwater with all of the requests for appearances, for speaking and all of that.
"And, typically, you want to try and go to all of them, right? The initial campaign response is, ‘OK, I’m going to try and book all of these things and try and make five or six in a day.’ And the governors — the experienced ones — really said, ‘No. You really want to say no to 90 percent of them.’ Because if you want to be governor, you can’t be the guy who’s going to do all this."
Ige said one of the most important responsibilities emphasized was the fact that he will become commander in chief of the state’s National Guard, expected to lead during emergencies and ensure homeland security. He said the new governors were advised on the questions they needed to ask to prepare for the responsibility.
"It never comes up on the campaign trail, but it’s something that you are responsible solely for," he said.
Hawaii has among the shortest transition windows in the nation. Hawaii and Alaska will swear in new governors Dec. 1, less than month after the November elections, while other states will do so in January.
Ige’s transition team provided more time last week for people to apply for jobs with the new administration after some had trouble submitting applications online.
Ideally, Ige would name key members of his Cabinet by Dec. 1, but he is being advised to take the time necessary to select those best suited for the posts.
"Governor-elect Ige is going through one of the most important decisions of his term, which is selecting his Cabinet," William Kaneko, Abercrombie’s campaign manager, who directed the governor’s transition team four years ago, said in an email. "Competency and the ability to do the job is foremost.
"However, equally important, is the ability to be a team player, and to execute the vision and direction of the governor. Not their own vision. The governor’s vision."
Ige heard the same from veteran governors at the NGA seminar.
"It’s not about having an explicit timetable," he said. "You’re better off spending the time to get the right people and the best people, rather than rushing to get a Cabinet selected."
