Political Capitol

Ned Lamont, the man who made U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the self-described “independent Democrat” from Stamford, work for his re-election in 2006, was at the Old State House in Hartford today to officially launch his campaign for Governor.

Lamont’s campaign manager, Joe Abbey, asked a couple of reporters afterward how we thought it went.

I told him Ned would make a great Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for whoever is elected the next Governor.

Lamont’s speech was all about pushing his experience as a cable executive and desire to create jobs, which, to be fair, is the norm during these economic times.

Here are some of the quotes:

-”I’m running as a guy who started a business about 25 years ago … with a dollar, a dream and a great administrative assistant.”

-”Here in the state of Connecticut we’re doing business pretty much the same old way, same old technology, same old business model.”

-As a Governor he said he will “hire good people” to run state agencies.

“Strong executives, innovative executives who will make our departments work again.”

-”I’ve devoted my life to expanding the economic pie.”

- As Governor Lamont said he would be Connecticut’s CEO – “the Chief Economic Development Officer of the state.”

- “I know how to talk to businesses. I know how to get Connecticut back on offense again.”

Lamont is just one of several businessmen and women who are vying for public office this year. Linda McMahon, former CEO of Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment, is another great example of someone who is arguing their experience building a company is what’s needed, in her case, in Congress.

But it is a fair question to ask how business experience – particularly when you’re the one running the show – translate into the ability to govern?

Here is a good story from Chief Executive.net exploring the issue and here’s the money quote from that report: “When CEOs win a race, however, then a different dynamic begins to apply: Governing is more like pushing a rope than cracking a whip. ‘Once you get in office, you have to start to build consensus, and CEOs get startled,’ Judith Glaser, executive coach and author of The DNA of Leadership, says.

That was one of the questions I had to almost-shout at Lamont during his post-speech media swarm. How will he govern? He may view himself as Connecticut’s CEO, but he won’t be the only one calling the shots any more. He will have to deal with a General Assembly. And even if that body remains in the Democrats’ control, various legislators have their own ideas and their own constituents and are not going to embrace every one of Lamont’s ideas because he belongs to the same party.

“I’m going to work hard with the legislature, hard with labor,” Lamont responded.

Afterward we briefly discussed the matter further.

“One of my role models is a guy named Mark Warner,” Lamont said, referring to the Connecticut-raised co-founder of Nextel who went on to become Governor of Virginia and now is a member of the U.S. Senate.

Lamont said former House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, who recently abandoned his own gubernatorial bid, told him the same thing – you need to have been a legislator to be able to govern.

Lamont does not buy it.

“I’ve got a lot of friends. I’m going to be able to work with the legislature,” Lamont said.

One of his opponents for the nomination – recently retired Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy – clearly wants party loyalists to choose his executive experience over Lamont’s business acumen. In a statement on Lamont’s announcement, Malloy said: “Ned seems to think his millions of dollars and his background as a cable executive are why Democrats should choose him over me. I think he’s wrong. I think Democrats want a nominee who has the right kind of experience for the job.”