The 2-Star State?

"Connecticut may well find itself at a crossroads in the coming years"

The Hartford Business Journal covered it a couple days ago, but I haven't seen any coverage of INC magazine's "Rating the Governors" article in the Hartford Courant yet.

INC took a hard look at the country's 26 governors up for reelection to see where they really stand on support for small business. Instead of looking at what they promise during campaign season or when they're riding the good news bus, INC ranked governors on their actual records for how well or poorly they support entrepreneurial activity and business ownership.

Janet Napolitano (Arizona), Bill Richardson (New Mexico), Kathleen Sebelius (Kansas) and Jim Douglas (Vermont) were the only governors who earned INC's 4-star rating. Connecticut's Jodi Rell came in with 2 stars. And Rell didn't make the cut for any of INC's "best of" lists, covering topics like technology transfer, health care, or fiscal policy. Yet as the magazine notes:

"Rell is popular, and Connecticut is a rich state, boasting the second highest household income in the country behind New Jersey. In two years in office, she has focused on good government measures such as making state contracting more transparent. This impulse is understandable, given that her predecessor, John Rowland, resigned from office under indictment for corruption. But Rell could be more proactive when it comes to small-business policies, because Connecticut may well find itself at a crossroads in the coming years. The state routinely struggles to balance its budget. Cities such as Hartford and key industries such as manufacturing and insurance are in decline. Housing costs are high, which makes Connecticut an unappealing destination for younger workers. And even with some bright spots, such as the hedge fund industry, job creation is flat."

Got a minute? Take a quick look at the 4-star performers:

• Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, a college and law school graduate, lists her task forces and commissions, lists their members, their goals and objectives (!!!), and even their agendas and minutes. Check out the Governor's Council on Innovation and Technology.
• New Mexico's Bill Richardson has a distinguished career serving in various high offices of federal government. Richardson not only has policy priorities, he committed them to writing. He even goes so far as to focus on accountability in government and Performance Review, reporting recommendations and progress in implementing them.
• Kathleen Sebelius (Kansas), served previously as the state's insurance commissioner and in the state house of representatives. In 2005, Time magazine named her one of the nation's top five governors. Not bad. Check out the details on her initiatives. Points scored for apparently having a State Economic Revitalization Plan, but points lost because I couldn't find it.
• Jim Douglas (Vermont), also a college grad, served in the state legislature, as secretary of the state, and as state treasurer before elected governor. Good rotational training program. He too outlines a list of priorities and initiatives. What? A Strategic Vision and Business Plan for Job Creation and Economic Advancement? The document is exemplary. It starts with the end in mind (it asks and answers "what do we seek to achieve?") and follows up with an outline for "how will we do it?"

Like they say, if you don't know where you're going, you might end up somewhere else. Like at the intersection of two roads you don't want be on.

For more on INC's review, click here.