A national conservative group gave Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt the worst grade Thursday of any Republican governor in the nation for holding down government spending.
The Cato Institute gave him a lowly D. His point score of 33 (out of a possible 100) finished 40th out of 46 governors rated. Some newly elected governors were excluded.The six governors who finished lower than Leavitt were Democrats.
But Leavitt's spokeswoman, Vicki Varela, said Cato used flawed criteria. "Basically, they look at whether you are cutting taxes, not whether you had a sound tax base to begin with."
She added that it penalized Lea-vitt for spending more on transportation, even though "anyone who has traveled to the state lately knows it is a necessity. We put a lot of trust in more complete and thoughtful measurements such as Financial World magazine, which has rated us the best-managed state in America."
But others placed high stock in Cato's report card - including Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, who issued a press release ballyhooing how Republicans generally did much better than Democrats - except, of course, for Leavitt.
"I'm gratified - but not surprised - by the high marks our Republican governors are getting for balancing state budgets and reducing the tax burden on the working men and women in their states," Nicholson said.
He noted how Republicans earned nine of the top 10 grades in overall fiscal policy (on which Leavitt earned a somewhat higher grade of C), and only Democrats earned F's.
Rubbing salt in the wound for Leavitt was a Cato explanation. Cato said that for the first time in such annual grades, it found that "party affiliation did seem to make a major difference in the governors' records of fiscal restraint. Republicans substantially outperformed Democrats."
Except, of course, for Leavitt.
Cato, which advocates limited government and low taxes, gave governors grades in three areas. Leavitt, as mentioned, received a D for efforts to hold down spending; a C for overall fiscal policy (finishing 33rd of 46 governors rated); and a C for revenue and tax rates (finishing 24th of 46).
Cato was disappointed that Republican Leavitt ended up with such low scores.
"This is not the fiscal record one would expect from a Republican in one of the nation's most conservative states," the report said.
It noted that Leavitt once said his top priorities in office are education, transportation and taxpayers. Cato complained he may worry more about schools and transportation than reducing the burden on taxpayers.
"On education, while Leavitt has supported charter schools, he has also dramatically increased school funding, and he has opposed vouchers. Perhaps not surprisingly, those views have won him the endorsement of the powerful teachers' union," the report card said.
"On transportation, Leavitt has tried to establish his `legacy' by pushing higher gas taxes and fees and more debt to fund billions of dollars worth of government-built roads," its report card said.
"While Leavitt has successfully pushed for modest tax cuts, they have been partially offset by his increases in the gas tax, vehicle registration fee and cigarette tax. In 1998 Leavitt didn't even bother proposing a tax cut, although revenues surged," it said.
Varela complained that the report card doesn't address how well a governor may handle a state's overall needs - such as in education and transportation - only whether he cuts taxes and spending from previous levels.
"If you compare it to personal finances, they provide the greatest reward to someone who paid a lot of bills," she said. "We've given money back to taxpayers many times."
The top-rated governors in the report - who received overall grades of A - were Republicans William J. Janklow of South Dakota and John G. Rowland of Connecticut.
The worst-rated governors - who received overall grades of F - were Democrats John A. Kitzhaber of Oregon, Lawton Chiles of Florida and Mel Carnahan of Missouri.
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Additional Information
Mike Leavitt's Report Card
How the conservative Cato Institute ranks his tax and fiscal policies
Score Grade Rank
Overall fiscal policy score 44 C 33 of 46
Spending score 33 D 40 of 46
Revenue and tax rate score 49 C 24 of 46
SOURCE: Cato Institute