Man of the Year - Gov. Dannel Malloy

Dannel & Cathy Malloy (CT Post)

Few thought Dannel Malloy could make the transition from being a big city Mayor to running a $20 billion operation. In modern times, no one has ever been elected Governor in Connecticut who has come directly from City Hall to the Executive Mansion.

But Malloy did and since then, he has had it his way. Despite all the complaining by Democrats that he doesn't consult them or Republicans who claim he is a bully, Gov. Malloy has rammed through his agenda, leaving his opponents dazed and stupefied.

The Hartford political class is long accustomed to make Governors follow their calendars and schedules. Malloy runs on Malloy time and he has brilliantly distracted the media and politicians with slights on hand when he needs to change the subject.

In an ironic twist, the very trait that many thought would prevent him from succeeding, has provided the path toward rolling over obstacles with impunity.

Mayors are seen as parochial, who often get hives when they physically leave their borders. Mayors also deal with the retail end of politics and don't always gaze at the"big solutions," because they don't have time for such "big thinking" or want to risk rejection from voters who watched every property tax penny. Best to make sure the leaves are picked up and the dump takes old tires if you want to succeed.

Dannel Malloy doesn't avoid conflict, he runs to a fight and usually wins. But when he is faced with something unpleasant, he quickly starts a fire somewhere else and then puts it out.

A few examples of how Gov. Malloy has taken "bait and switch" to a new level:

• Faced with many mouths to feed and no money to pay for those requests. Malloy figured out a way to control the veracity of the actual budget numbers by relying on his budget office (Office of Policy & Management) and ignoring the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis.

• Then, he and the Democrats, without a single Republican vote, simply raised taxes higher in one year than in all previous years dating back to the Charter Oak. Malloy made a few trims along the edges of union contracts and working conditions and declared victory. Malloy now say "we have an honest budget" although there is no independent way to measure it.

• Gov. Malloy claims there is a $110 million surplus. No serious person believes it, but no one has asked the tough questions about the numbers. Budget cuts, the Employee Suggestion Box and other promised savings have yet to be added or subtracted from the state's spread sheet. At the very least, Connecticut is short $500 million.

The state employee unions also play into Malloy's long-term plans to show the nation how a strong governor governs. Having escaped any serious layoffs or cuts in pay, having secured every state jobs for several years along with pension rights and health care benefits, union members still complain that they somehow got shanked by Gov. Malloy during negotiations. Most people would gladly get stabbed to guarantee their jobs regardless of honesty or performance.

Meanwhile, the long-term debt meter continues to spin and spin an spin, nearing $60 billion in unfunded liabilities and making Connecticut near the top nationwide in per capital debt.

• You want jobs? Malloy started handing out millions to companies that threatened to move like CIGNA, or threw $400 million to Jackson Laboratories to bring a research facility to the University of Connecticut Health Care Center. Malloy believes Jackson will create 7,600 over the long-term. There is no way to measure what the long-term means, but if, after 10 years, Jackson doesn't produce 300 direct jobs, the state can say - "oh, well."

• The same can be said of the $815 million 12-mile bus line from New Britain to Hartford, which is paid for with federal and state funds. This project laid in some in-box gathering well-deserved bureaucratic dust when Gov. Malloy saw an opportunity to placate the trade unions and minorities. Rather than apply it to  repairing Metro North rail cars or fix rail beds elsewhere for improved freight hauling, Malloy saw hard hats and rolling stock.

Malloy also saw an easy way to have friendly contractors who will let the Malloy 2014 campaign access to its site when bulldozers are moving earth or cranes are hoisting girders.

• During the disasterous snow storm which knocked power out for a week and a half and caused many residents to consider burning their shingles for heat or breaking into cans of Hormel Chili, Malloy tortured radio listeners with almost hourly update of what service wasn't being restored, to be followed by the hapless Jeff Butler, CEO of Connecticut Light & Power.

Malloy waited several days before deploying the Connecticut National Guard to clear debris. This lack of leadership or his ability to expedite other assistance from neighboring state was over-shadowed by Butler's equal incompetence.

As tempers boiled in frustration from residents, Gov. Malloy cut back on his informational updates and allowed Butler to painfully twist in the winds of public judgment.

When the scandal or ineptitude knocked on his door, Gov. Malloy showed an adept form of side stepping the glare of accountability.

Following Storm Irene, thousands of Connecticut residents took full advantage of sloppy and criminally negligent oversight of a federal program designed to help poor people replace perishables.  But, when over 800 state employees were suspected of joining this free-for-all and grabbing EBT cards that they weren't entitled to,  Malloy held a Sunday press conference to address the problem and then headed to California.

Recently, as workers saw some of their state with-holding often wipe out their earnings due to a software malfunction, Malloy put it on the private contractors for messing up and placed Commissioner of Revenue Services Kevin Sullivan in witness protection to avoid offering an explanation.

But Connecticut is only a stepping stone for the Malloy machine. He isn't waiting for anyone. Malloy has made frequent trips across the country to share his management insights, helps raise money for the Democrat's Governors Association and pops on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," to make nice with Mica Brezinski, a former Connecticut TV reporter.

Dannel Malloy has by an measure made his mark - for good or bad - and for that, he must be given his due. And besides, Gov. Malloy owns a Jack Russell Terrier. That's all you need to know.