Governor M. Rell Visits Newtown High School

By Martha Coville

Newtown High School students and district administrators filled the NHS lecture hall on Thursday, January 31, to hear Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell speak. Gov Rell had come at the invitation of NHS teacher Candi Deitter, who asked the governor to address her governmental studies classes. The governor spoke, sometimes humorously, about her long career in Connecticut politics, and fielded questions from the NHS students.

The governor told one story about the ease with which power seduces. But the story was funny. She drew laughter from the audience as she recalled a confrontation she had as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, with then-Governor Lowell Weicker. He was pushing hard to get a bill passed, she said, and she was angry to see several women, one after the other, exit his office in tears.

She said asked for a few minutes with Gov Weicker, and walked into his office to find him slumped across a couch.

“He didn’t even sit up when I came into the room,” she said, “which I thought was rude.” She was so angry, she said, “that I walked right up to him, and pointed my finger at him. And then I heard my mother’s voice in the back of my head. She said, ‘Never point your finger at anyone. It’s rude.’’’ Clasping both hands behind her back to show how quickly she had moved, Gov Rell said, “I quickly jumped back and Weicker said to me, ‘You heard your mother’s voice in your head, didn’t you?’”

The high school students laughed, but Gov Rell continued with her story.

“Weicker told me, ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to get this bill passed.’” Gov Rell recalled looking around the governor’s office, and thinking “This is an impressive office. It comes with the power to make promises. That’s the power of that office. Whatever you do,” she told students considering careers in politics, “don’t abuse your power. If you do that, you’ll always be on the right side. People might not always agree with you, but you’ll be on the right side.”

A Question And Answer Session

Gov Rell also answered questions from students. Most of them were political: How does a politician prepare himself or herself to make difficult decisions; can young people influence the introduction of new legislation; what advice would she give to first-time voters?

The governor said assuming a new office is “like having a baby. It doesn’t come with instructions. You’re never prepared. When you think you have the time, you read and listen, and you do the best you can. Do what you believe.”

Introducing new legislation she said, comes down to noticing what is wrong.

“When I was in the legislature,” she said, “I introduced a bill to allow anyone, well anyone with the proper certification, to be able to pierce ears.” Previously, anyone who wanted their ears pierced had to go to a physician or a registered nurse. Gov Rell said she thought changing the law to allow certified staff in jewelry stores and boutiques to pierce ears was reasonable, so she introduced it. The law passed.

Her advice to new voters was “Do your homework. Don’t vote for someone because they’re a woman, or they’re African American.”

Again, she looked back to her tenure as a member of the state legislature, and recalled canvasses for votes. She was going door-to-door, she said, and she started to explain her platform to one women, who was gardening in her front yard. The woman cut her off, saying, “I’m going to vote for you anyway, because you’re a woman.”

Gov Rell found this ludicrous. She was glad for the vote, she said, but she told the woman, “You haven’t asked my position on the death penalty, you haven’t asked where I stand on abortion,” and listed some other key issues. The women listened to the candidate’s positions, but finished saying, “Well, I’m still going to vote for you because you’re a woman.”

The governor also spoke against “one issue voting.” She said that she had decided to endorse Republican presidential candidate John McCain. “I found Obama’s positions too vague,” she said. “How is he going to find the funds for the middle class tax cuts he’s promising? How does Hillary Clinton justify the experience she claims to have?”

Returning to McCain, she said, “Now McCain is pro-life. I happen to be pro-choice, and I told him, I’m going to endorse you, but if you ever do anything to repeal Roe v Wade, I’m going to work twice as hard against you.”

One last student question drew laughter from the audience, and a curt reply from the governor.

“This a rumor that’s kind of going around Newtown High,” the student said, “and I was just wondering, is it true that the drinking age in the state is going to be lowered to 18?”

“No,” GovM. Rell said quickly.