Tuesday’s election was about governing, not politics
The meaning of voters’ behavior in Tuesday’s elections does not lie in which political party is up and which is down at the moment, but in how government and the people who run it respond to an economy that is ruining the lives of too many people.
Tuesday’s outcomes serve as a cold reminder that the public now grades chief executives in politics – mayors, governors, presidents – according to two questions. Voters ask: 1) Have you done something constructive to deal with the need for jobs and delivery of services in my town or city or state? 2) Do you empathize with us? Do you even know what it is like to get up every day in the dark, walk a mile and wait outside in the cold for the PATH train in Jersey to take you into Manhattan — to a job that you are not sure will be there in six months? Does the person at the top understand anything about what the person at the bottom – or even the person in the middle – is going through, especially now, in this economy?
In Boston, Mayor Tom Menino won reelection on Tuesday to a fifth term. As a Boston Globe editorial this week pointed out, in hard times, Menino has shown a knack for making the city run better, with less crime, fewer divisions and better services than the city enjoyed before. He is also someone who keeps in touch with the people of Boston, understands their needs, and makes a point of showing up places that show his sensitivity to their priorities. Menino passes the grade on both of the above questions. On Tuesday, he won 57-40.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has brought about changes in nearly every part of the city bureaucracy to make it run better. New Yorkers see this and credit him, but they are blind to any empathy he might possess. His imperial style, disdain for those who disagree with him, and his heavy-handed approach to the Constitutional change that allowed him to run for a third term left voters wanting to take Mike down a peg or two. Bloomberg scores one out of two in the above criteria –- and he won by a whisker on Tuesday. His opponent had astute political advice, as his campaign took aim at the crown on the mayor’s head, instead of the stars on his record.
In New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine is zero for two on leadership. The voters in New Jersey have no idea what he has accomplished, if anything, and they do not feel that he knows anything about their struggles. From his doomed idea to raise fees on the lifeblood of every New Jerseyan – driving on the garden state parkway – to the French cuffs he wears, Corzine has consistently sent the signal to voters that he is a Wall Street guy who makes so much money that he probably doesn’t even know how much property tax he pays, and he certainly does not worry about it. In focus groups we conducted throughout the state this year, voters’ attitudes toward the governor were polite but they asked, “what has he accomplished? We cannot think of a single thing.” They realized he was dealt a bad hand, but the only thing they could recollect about him was his highway speeding accident.
Seeing Tuesday’s election through the experiences in New Jersey and Virginia leads to the obvious conclusion that the electorate is very unhappy, and the most effective way it knows how to express itself is to act out against incumbents. This may only get worse in 2010, as long as we keep losing jobs and President Obama is seen as not taking bold enough action to turn the economy around.
In sum, candidates, parties, and the president need to recognize that now job creation is the first priority of voters, so it should be their first priority. Then they should also take a tip from Tom Menino in Boston. Show that government can do something constructive for people. Demonstrate a capacity to lead, a commitment to find governement solutions, and a compassion for the people you serve. Otherwise, get ready for a very bumpy ride in 2010.