Opinion

One Tough Governor

In a surprise announcement Monday, Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell said she won’t seek re-election next year.

Rell became governor in 2004 when ex-Gov. John Rowland was facing corruption charges; she won a full term in 2006.

Her decision will no doubt disappoint many. A Quinnipiac University poll yesterday showed Rell with a remarkable 64 percent approval rating.

Now, we can think of another gov who took office after scandal: Yup — David Paterson. His approval rating? A recent Q-poll put it at a sorry 30 percent.

The comparison certainly undercuts Paterson’s claim that his poor popularity is the result of the bad economic and fiscal times that are affecting all states.

Connecticut, after all, has had its share of fiscal woes. And Rell has taken a tough line on spending: Just last week, for example, she slashed $34 million — “the first of many cuts to follow,” she said.

Paterson has made some cuts, too.

But yesterday, he failed again to get lawmakers to plug New York’s $3.2 billion gap, which he says will cause the state to go broke in but a month.

Seems his political troubles go well beyond the state’s budget woes . . .