PA’s Long-Running One-Act Play
All sorts run for governor of Pennsylvania. There have been mayors,
prosecutors, congressmen, judges, state legislators, businessmen, statewide
elected officials, and even a lieutenant governor or two. Most have been
qualified; a few perhaps have not. Most have been men; a very few have been
women. Most have been career politicians, but occasionally private citizens
have been candidates.
But there is one sort that never seeks the governorship of Pennsylvania‹a
sort that arguably is among the best qualified to do so. And that is former
governors. In fact, since 1873 only two of Pennsylvania¹s former governors
have ever run for the office again. And the last was 80 years ago.
That fact of political life has become so expected, indeed counted on, that
it seems unremarkable‹merely a normal feature of modern state politics.
But it is anything but normal in many other states. This year, for example,
of 37 gubernatorial contests nationally, at least five former governors will
be on the November ballot running for their old job: Roy Barnes in Georgia,
Jerry Brown in California, Terry Branstad in Iowa, Robert Ehrlich in
Maryland, and John Kitzhaber in Oregon. Nor is that unusual. Former
governors often run in other states.
Several reasons explain why former Pennsylvania governors don¹t seek the
office again. But one of those reasons isn¹t any legal prohibition on doing
so. Some confusion exists on this point because all governors since 1873
have been ³term limited² under the state constitution.
But term limited is itself a limited term. It doesn¹t mean a governor can
never run for that office again. It only means another consecutive term is
prohibited. Since the post-Civil War period, two different state
constitutional provisions have been in place, both allowing governors to run
again after a period out of office.
The first period ran from 1873 until 1970. Then governors were limited to a
single four-year term, but could serve another term if they sat out at least
one term before doing so. As noted, two governors during this period
actually did just that‹Democrat Robert Pattison in the 19th century (1891)
and Republican Gifford Pinchot in the 20th (1931). But they are rare birds
in state history.
The second period began in 1970 and continues today. Now governors can serve
two consecutive terms before being term limited. But then after four years
they can run again. None have, however, although several have run for U.S.
Senate seats.
Why the dearth of gubernatorial second acts? Current governor Ed Rendell has
provided one answer, lately acknowledging that he is ³ready to go² when his
term expires in early 2011. It¹s a tough, often frustrating, sometimes
thankless job. Eight years seems about enough for many.
But there are probably other reasons that Pennsylvania¹s ex-governors stay
away. One surely is that some could never have been reelected. In the modern
era, both Republican Ray Shafer and Democrat Milton Shapp are examples. Both
were very unpopular by term¹s end, and their political careers were over.
For others, illness and age explains the end of their political
career‹former Governors Bob Casey and David Lawrence died within a few years
of their terms.
Still others met political adversity after leaving office. Former Governor
Arthur James ran for and lost a race for state Superior Court. Former
Governor John Fine failed to return to his old office as a court of common
pleas judge.
Yet another factor has been not adversity, but success. Two former
governors, Edward Martin and James Duff, became U.S. Senators. Two others,
Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge, went on to become cabinet officers in
presidential administrations, while Bill Scranton turned down an offer to
become Secretary of State and later accepted an assignment as Ambassador to
the United Nations.
Beyond these singular explanations, there may be more systemic factors at
work. Some might point to the GOP¹s methodical ³wait-your-turn² successions
that tend to render the governorship a career step in a well-ordered
trajectory. Certainly, since Bill Scranton in 1962, the governorship has
tended to be entrée to national politics for Republicans.
Democratic governors show no similar pattern. On the contrary, the
governorship has been a career ender for most. Former Governor David
Lawrence did serve as chair of the Kennedy- Johnson Equal Opportunity
Commission in the 1960¹s. But since then, no former Democratic Governor has
received a federal appointment after leaving office.
So there are plausible, even compelling, explanations for why Pennsylvania¹s
gubernatorial office has been a one-act play. Still, the question lingers as
yet another governor prepares to wind down his tenure. Will it always be
that way?
The celebrated novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once famously remarked, ³There
are no second acts in American lives.² Fitzgerald was talking about
individuals, but he might also have been talking about Pennsylvania¹s former
governors.
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Politically Uncorrected is published twice monthly, and previous columns
can be viewed at http://politics.fandm.edu. The opinions expressed in this
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Copyright © 2010 Terry Madonna and Michael Young.