Class

Thank You
Governor Rell





"What's Governor Rell really like?" A fairly common question.




The two photos here illustrate as well as any, the Jodi Rell I know.

The Governor is holding her grandson Tyler Rell O’Connor in this now three year old photo.


Unlike so many public figures where stories abound of behind the scenes fits, temper tantrums, and worse, the Jodi Rell you see on TV, or have encountered at some event, is the only Jodi Rell I ever met; and I met her some time ago. She has the intellectual integrity to have never bothered, or needed, to develop a "Public Persona" - she's comfortable with who she is, and judging from her stratospheric popularity numbers, so are we.

Jodi Rell arrived in Hartford in 1985 as a freshman member of the general assembly as did several of my friends, and others wound up there in short order as constituent workers for the new Republican majorities we had in both chambers.

Self employed at the time, I could be where I wanted, and frequently found myself "on call" bringing this or that to various friends at the Capitol, more so as they became busier.

It was during this time I made the acquaintance of then state rep. Jodi Rell; you couldn't help but to notice her, she was unusually classy.

Just a few years older than me, she always acted like a grownup which in itself was a little unusual; always dressed well, not showy at all, and carried herself with grace, smiling at those she encountered and calling most, including me by name.
Considering I was simply some politico wandering around the capitol and thus of no value to her at all, I found that surprising especially considering the inflated egos I ran into throughout the entire grounds.
Jodi Rell was clearly a lady and conducted herself accordingly.

The Capitol was a bit of a mad house and the lack of decorum behind the scenes occasionally surprised me, which made Jodi from Brookfield stand out even more as I never saw or heard of her breaking character; no-doubt because there wasn't one to break. She simply didn't slip into a stream of foul language or throw fits as that isn't who she is then or now.

Funny, witty, likes to laugh and doesn't take herself too seriously unless she has to, in which case she'll lapse into grownup mode and can do so in a millisecond when required.

She has decided that she would rather spend her time with her husband and the rest of her family than run for what would be an easy re-election. Now that grandchildren are arriving, who can blame her?

Make no mistake; M. Jodi Rell is the most popular governor over time in the history of the nation; and would easily win re-election regardless of the Democratic opponent.
(No governor in the history of the United States has ever maintained positive poll numbers like hers for as long as Governor Rell has.)


Well Done! Thank You Jodi!


What's next? We'll have to wait and see.
Will she and Lou finally buy that Mercury Grand Marquis they've always dreamed of, and drive back and forth to Florida, (or occasionally out to Branson) with one of the blinkers on?
Only time will tell.