House
07-20-2009, 10:22 AM
Fumo's deal-closing abilities missed amid budget morass
By Lauren Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writer
HARRISBURG - For the first time in two decades, the often tumultuous state budget-crafting process is missing one of its most skillful operators: Vincent J. Fumo, who once reigned as the ultimate architect of the backroom deal.
Until he left office late last year, the powerful Philadelphia Democratic state senator often would work behind the scenes to help forge compromises on fiscal blueprints.
This year, as his former Capitol colleagues toil to strike a budget agreement that never seems to be within reach, one question keeps coming up: "What if Vince were here?"
While opinions vary, some say they keenly feel Fumo's absence.
"Vince was always his most valuable when we got down to the nitty-gritty talking about closing the deal," Gov. Rendell said in a recent interview. "I think we all understand we have to step it up individually to fill that void."
Pennsylvania is facing a $3.3 billion deficit, and for the last six months, the administration has been bickering with Republican lawmakers over how to best deal with it and forge a new budget.
That's where those who know him say Fumo, the former ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, would have helped bridge the chasm.
He did just that in 2007, when he brokered a budget deal that ended a one-day state worker furlough that threatened to shut down Pennsylvania government.
"He always had the ability to reach across the aisle and understand the perspectives of leadership in all four caucuses as well as the governor," said Randy Albright, a former top budget analyst for Fumo.
At the bargaining table, Fumo - sentenced last week to a 55-month prison term on federal corruption charges - played both the bully and the charmer.
He had his enemies, but most people respected his sharp intellect and encyclopedic institutional knowledge. What made him good as a negotiator was a keen grasp of numbers and a shrewd understanding of what the other side wanted - and how far it was willing to go to get it.
Fumo's style wasn't pretty. He could be bombastic and arrogant. And he could lose his temper and fly into obscenity-laced tirades.
When asked about Fumo's absence, House Republican Leader Sam Smith of Jefferson County said, "It would be different. I can't say it would be better. It would be more entertaining."
Fumo always looked after himself and his city. During his 30-year Senate career, he piled up funding for new police helicopters, a hospice for AIDS patients, and neighborhood revitalization in the Italian Market, among other pet projects.
Still, few would have called him a team player.
"With Sen. Fumo, at the end of the day, everything was about him," said Rendell's chief of staff, Steve Crawford. "Now it's more about the Democratic caucus in the Senate. That's different."
The man who now is the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Jay Costa, described this year's budget process as "uncharted territory."
"We're moving through this process very well without Sen. Fumo's presence," said Costa, of Allegheny County. "It wouldn't matter if he was here. We haven't seen a recession like this in 80 years."
So far, neither side seems to be budging, with some conceding that there is little middle ground and that the impasse could drag on.
Philadelphia still has some of its own in positions of power, starting with Rendell himself. Democrat Dwight Evans chairs the House Appropriations Committee and is a key player in budget negotiations.
Nonetheless, Rendell acknowledged that "nobody was like Vince in his intelligence and grasp of the budget."
"The real question is: Can the people who replaced Vince be as good as deal-closers?" Rendell asked. "That remains to be seen."
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090720_Fumo_s_deal-closing_abilities_missed_amid_budget_morass.html
By Lauren Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writer
HARRISBURG - For the first time in two decades, the often tumultuous state budget-crafting process is missing one of its most skillful operators: Vincent J. Fumo, who once reigned as the ultimate architect of the backroom deal.
Until he left office late last year, the powerful Philadelphia Democratic state senator often would work behind the scenes to help forge compromises on fiscal blueprints.
This year, as his former Capitol colleagues toil to strike a budget agreement that never seems to be within reach, one question keeps coming up: "What if Vince were here?"
While opinions vary, some say they keenly feel Fumo's absence.
"Vince was always his most valuable when we got down to the nitty-gritty talking about closing the deal," Gov. Rendell said in a recent interview. "I think we all understand we have to step it up individually to fill that void."
Pennsylvania is facing a $3.3 billion deficit, and for the last six months, the administration has been bickering with Republican lawmakers over how to best deal with it and forge a new budget.
That's where those who know him say Fumo, the former ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, would have helped bridge the chasm.
He did just that in 2007, when he brokered a budget deal that ended a one-day state worker furlough that threatened to shut down Pennsylvania government.
"He always had the ability to reach across the aisle and understand the perspectives of leadership in all four caucuses as well as the governor," said Randy Albright, a former top budget analyst for Fumo.
At the bargaining table, Fumo - sentenced last week to a 55-month prison term on federal corruption charges - played both the bully and the charmer.
He had his enemies, but most people respected his sharp intellect and encyclopedic institutional knowledge. What made him good as a negotiator was a keen grasp of numbers and a shrewd understanding of what the other side wanted - and how far it was willing to go to get it.
Fumo's style wasn't pretty. He could be bombastic and arrogant. And he could lose his temper and fly into obscenity-laced tirades.
When asked about Fumo's absence, House Republican Leader Sam Smith of Jefferson County said, "It would be different. I can't say it would be better. It would be more entertaining."
Fumo always looked after himself and his city. During his 30-year Senate career, he piled up funding for new police helicopters, a hospice for AIDS patients, and neighborhood revitalization in the Italian Market, among other pet projects.
Still, few would have called him a team player.
"With Sen. Fumo, at the end of the day, everything was about him," said Rendell's chief of staff, Steve Crawford. "Now it's more about the Democratic caucus in the Senate. That's different."
The man who now is the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Jay Costa, described this year's budget process as "uncharted territory."
"We're moving through this process very well without Sen. Fumo's presence," said Costa, of Allegheny County. "It wouldn't matter if he was here. We haven't seen a recession like this in 80 years."
So far, neither side seems to be budging, with some conceding that there is little middle ground and that the impasse could drag on.
Philadelphia still has some of its own in positions of power, starting with Rendell himself. Democrat Dwight Evans chairs the House Appropriations Committee and is a key player in budget negotiations.
Nonetheless, Rendell acknowledged that "nobody was like Vince in his intelligence and grasp of the budget."
"The real question is: Can the people who replaced Vince be as good as deal-closers?" Rendell asked. "That remains to be seen."
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090720_Fumo_s_deal-closing_abilities_missed_amid_budget_morass.html