Republican governors meet to celebrate, talk of policies and politics

[Judi Lynn]

Republican governors meet to celebrate, talk of policies and politics

ROBERT TANNER, AP National Writer Thursday, November 20, 2003


(11-20) 23:26 PST BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) --

For the second year in a row, Republican governors are gathering after the fall elections to celebrate victories -- and to hash out policy plans on everything from health care to education.

The Republican Governors Association meets here Friday and Saturday, fresh off GOP candidates winning the executive mansion in three of four states where it was up for grabs -- California, Kentucky and Mississippi. The lone loss was in Louisiana, where Democrats won an open GOP governorship.

Now the challenge is governing. While the financial picture is brightening for about two-thirds of the states after three years of cash shortages, states' economies are still fragile.

"When you have a significant challenge to balance the budget, it makes it a little more difficult to be aggressive on new policy initiatives," said Colorado's GOP Gov. Bill Owens, who heads the RGA. "A strong economy will help us and free us up for more innovation at the state level." (snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/20/national0226EST0429.DTL

[La_Serpiente]

1. *Sigh*

my governor will never get Hawaii in a Repuke column. The only Republican we have voted for since statehood was Reagan in 1984.