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Jane Swift on Principles & ValuesFormer Republican Acting Governor (MA) |
The announcement of Romney's entrance into the GOP race for governor had been anticipated for weeks, and Swift's popularity suffered with each poll taken. Still, until recently, she said she welcomed a challenging campaign. Many of her staff did not know until Tuesday about her decision.
A Boston Herald poll on Sunday showed Romney leading Swift 75 percent to 12 percent.
"Having said early on the time with family was non-negotiable, something had to give," Swift said. She plans to serve out her term until the end of the year.
Her admittance came weeks earlier than she and her staff had apparently expected. Her doctor, hoping to keep the twins in utero for at least 10 more days, ordered her off her feet. Swift intended to work from her hospital room, calling in to staff meetings, signing documents ferried to her bed by State House staff.
Opponents suggested that Swift’s speakerphone meetings might be unconstitutional. But far from undermining Swift, that challenge-and her determination to keep governing despite her condition-appeared on [news media worldwide]. Swift’s aides say she will not make political hay from her twins. They will be taken home soon, away from Boston and public view.
The New England Governors’ Conference, an informal alliance since colonial days, was formally established in 1937 by the Governors of the six state region to promote New England’s economic development. In 1981, the Conference incorporated as a non-partisan, non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 corporation. The region’s six governors serve as its Board of Directors. Annually, the governors select a Chairman to oversee the activities of the organization.
The NEGC’s framework permits the Governors to work together, to coordinate and implement policies and programs which are designed to respond to regional issues. The NEGC coordinates regional policy programs in the areas of economic development, transportation, environment, energy, and health, among others. Through these efforts, the Conference seeks to coordinate, effectively and cost-efficiently, regional policies that reflect and benefit the states. The NEGC manages committees of state officials in such areas as energy, the environment, and economic development.
The NEGC also serves as the New England Secretariat for the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP). The NEG/ECP, which first met in 1973, is a unique, inter-regional, bi-national organization. [Resolutions from the NEG/ECP appear on each Governor’s web page under the appropriate topic areas. NEG/ECP resolutions do not necessarily reflect the full policy stance of individual governors, but they do represent the consensus viewpoint.]
The National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation’s governors and one of Washington’s most respected public policy organizations. NGA provides governors with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing policy reports on innovative state programs and hosting networking seminars for state government executive branch officials. The NGA Center for Best Practices focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform, and the environment. NGA also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors.
Since their initial meeting in 1908 to discuss interstate water problems, governors have worked through the National Governors Association to deal with issues of public policy and governance relating to the states. The association’s ongoing mission is to support the work of the governors by providing a bipartisan forum to help shape and implement national policy and to solve state problems.
Fortune Magazine recently named NGA as one of Washington’s most powerful lobbying organizations due, in large part, to NGA’s ability to lead the debate on issues that impact states. From welfare reform to education, from the historic tobacco settlement to wireless communications tax policies, NGA has influenced major public policy issues while maintaining the strength of our Federalist system of government.
There are three standing committees—on Economic Development and Commerce, Human Resources, and Natural Resources—that provide a venue for governors to examine and develop policy positions on key state and national issues.
[Note: NGA positions represent a majority view of the nation’s governors, but do not necessarily reflect a governor’s individual viewpoint. Governors vote on NGA policy positions but the votes are not made public.]
Founded in 1963, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is the official public policy and political organization of the Republican governors and governors-elect of the United States of America
The RGA will enhance the visibility of the Association as a unified policy-making and political force with the national media, business community and government through a coordinated communications strategy. By building more awareness of the policies of the Republican governors, the political and policy objectives of the Association as a whole can be achieved. Currently, there are 29 Republican governors representing roughly 60 percent of the American people.