Rell’s Husband Keeps A Low Profile

By Diane Scarponi Associated Press

NEW HAVEN — The spouse of Connecticut’s new governor won’t be doing flower shows or society balls, charity appearances or tourism promotions.

Like the growing number of “first couples” with separate careers, Lou Rell has no plans to be a visible sidekick to his powerful wife, Governor M. Jodi Rell, who took over on July 1 for John G. Rowland, who resigned amid a federal corruption investigation and legislative impeachment proceedings.

“The role of the governor’s spouse really has evolved over the years, regardless of sex,” said Marcia Lim, who directs spouses’ programs for the National Governors Association. “There’s greater flexibility, and they are not so tied down to a traditional definition of what is a governor’s spouse. Each one is really defining it for themselves.”

The idea of a “first husband”’ seems especially foreign to many people. Of the 50 states, eight currently have female governors, five of whom are married.

The first consideration is what to call the husband of the governor. Some men settle on “first spouse,” since “first husband” has its own connotations.

“I want you all to know that he’s my ‘first husband’ — and I hope the last,” Gov Rell joked this week.

Bill Shaheen joked that he was “first hunk” when his wife, Jeanne Shaheen, was governor of New Hampshire.

The “y” disappeared from the door of the office of the first lady in Utah when Olene Walker became governor, leaving her husband, Myron Walker, the “first lad.”

Dan Granholm Mulhern, the husband of Michigan Gov Jennifer Granholm, likes “first gentleman.”

“I think a lot of guys’ first reaction is, ‘I’m not getting near this,’ and it has its moments, but those are few and far between. First spouses really are substantial people, and increasingly people who have had careers,” said Mr Mulhern.

He gave up his consulting business, coaching business executives for leadership roles, and now consults on a volunteer basis for his wife’s administration, in addition to other traditional duties, such as charity work.

Bill Shaheen gave up a state judgeship and went back to his private law practice when his wife was elected governor.

Being “first hunk” was fun, he said. He got great Super Bowl seats, judged a beauty contest for tow trucks, and modeled a tuxedo in a charity fashion show.

The only awkward thing was that people occasionally would introduce him as “the governor’s wife.”

“They make mistakes, they get nervous, and you have to laugh it off,” Bill Shaheen said.

Mr Mulhern agreed: “There are definitely moments like that, and I’ve come to appreciate what women have experienced for hundreds of years, as an invisible partner people have looked past.”

Lou Rell, 63, has decided to stay out of the spotlight completely. He plans to accompany his wife to functions, such as official dinners, but he does not plan to do any of the things that Mr Rowland’s wife Patricia did, such as promote Connecticut tourism or write a children’s book for charity.

He is a retired Navy and airline pilot who now runs a business that shuttles people to medical appointments. He has served his hometown of Brookfield as a volunteer firefighter and as a police commissioner.

Lou Rell wants to keep his profile so low that he would not be interviewed for this article.

“He will not have any official duties,” said Cathy Hinsch, spokeswoman for the new governor.

Political scientist Harriet Applewhite, who teaches a class about gender and politics at Southern Connecticut State University, said this awkwardness over the “first spouse” is really about unease with the idea of women in power.

“It’s really a new role, and roles need to be invented, they need to be developed over time,” Ms Applewhite said. “There’s just such a tradition of men holding the power, and women getting it indirectly by being close to the man in power, and there’s no tradition of a man getting power by being the spouse of the woman.”

It is not just about the husbands of female leaders, either, Ms Applewhite said. First ladies who play nontraditional roles also have taken some getting used to.

She recalled how Hillary Rodham Clinton was criticized for exerting influence over her husband’s policies, and the way that Dr Judith Steinberg was questioned for not campaigning much for her husband, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, when he ran for president.

Things are changing as more women have their own careers and ideas, and as fewer professional women take their husband’s names. In the future, the idea of “first spouse” may morph into a “first power couple” mode, where both spouses are known for their own pursuits, such as US Rep Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn, who is married to Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, said Ms Applewhite.

The name difference has become somewhat of an in-joke for Mr Mulhern, since he became Michigan’s “first gentleman” last year. Each kept their original last names but took the other’s last name as a middle name.

“People will frequently say, ‘Mr Granholm, we’re sooooo happy to meet you’ — they’re usually older women who do this — and I love to tell them. ‘I kept my maiden name,’” Mr Mulhern said.

Mr Mulhern said he hoped Lou Rell would take a more active role once his wife is settled in as governor.

Mr Shaheen had some advice for him, too: “Don’t take life too seriously, don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun, help out in any way you can, and remember — she is the governor, not you.”