ADMINISTRATION MOVES

The recent announcements of Robert Spear departing as the Baldacci administration’s agriculture commissioner and Press Secretary Lynn Kippax moving out of the governor’s office over to the Department of Health and Human Services as DHHS Spokesman Michael Norton leaves are strong signals the governor is preparing his administration for a tough campaign and a second term. Expect more changes in top personnel in the near future.

Turnover is normal in political positions, and if anyone is going to leave an administration, now is the last time to do it before campaigning begins in earnest and a departure takes on greater weight. The Baldacci administration has been notable because it did not have the usual comings and goings in its first two years as it settled into office, but that has also meant the governor didn’t make changes he perhaps should have.

A new direction for the administration now is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: One administration official referred to announced and expected changes as “a tune-up” to “get better mileage” out of government. That suggests the person behind the wheel – Gov. Baldacci – thinks his vehicle isn’t running all that well. Plenty of back-seat drivers would agree.

Second, it shows the governor is planning beyond 2006, that he is confident about being re-elected. That’s appropriate behavior for any incumbent, but it also risks looking overly presumptive. Whether his confidence is justified might be measured by who he attracts to open posts: people already in the administration shifting jobs or applicants from outside Maine government or outside the state eager to join the team.

The goals Gov. Baldacci set for himself when running in 2002 – a balanced budget, tax relief, better access to health care, an improved economy in some of Maine’s economically weakest regions- are either not immediately apparent or will take many years of incremental advances. Keeping a cabinet focused on these goals when polls often show either indifference or hostility to its work is a huge challenge. And however good the governor was when campaigning in 2002, he has not been good about getting out his vision for Maine since then.

These changes represent a chance to do that.