...The battle is far from over. But for now, there's a
clear victor: Napolitano, the ex-Arizona governor and former Homeland
Security chief who has been one of the few statewide figures to
challenge the four-term governor successfully. So how did Napolitano play this skillfully? First,
she made sure tuition increases were defined. No students -- or, more to
the point, no parents -- like bigger bills. But what they dislike even
more are surprises. Napolitano eliminated
those. Second, she put the onus on the Legislature and the
governor to repair the damage: If they came up with more money, she
suggested, the tuition increases would not need to be as large. Her
message: Don't blame us. Blame them.Third, she paid attention to the niceties of
politics. She prepared the ground with a public letter saying the
increase would allow UC to enroll 5,000 more students. And she avoided
making things personal. "I'm the president of the university
and my job is to make the case for the university. So I'm very
respectful of the governor," she said. "I disagree with him but I'm very
respectful.'' ...
Full story at http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_27002930/napolitano-emerged-victorious-over-brown-uc-tuition-fight
...(T)his contest was different because the UC has a
politician leading it, the former Arizona governor and homeland security
secretary Janet Napolitano. And this made all the difference. Napolitano took
the fight to her fellow politicians in a way that UC hasn’t done before.
And she won a big round, getting the better of Gov. Jerry Brown. Her successful strategy was this: she out-Browned Brown. Napolitano’s UC plan is very Brown – Sacramento can choose to give more
money or see increases in tuition. It’s a choice—and she portrayed it as
pragmatic and realistic. She also outmaneuvered Brown, by dropping the
plan on him the day after the election and lining up votes. He had to
react late, scrambling to add a couple of appointees to the board of
regents...
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