The following exchange between Gov. Tom Kean and retired Star-Ledger op-ed editor Fran Wood took place via telephone last week:
GOV. KEAN: I'd like to start out by introducing our readers to you, Fran. Most of you don't know this, but Fran Wood has been the person behind the Byrne-Kean column for the past 23 years. Fran got us together to talk, selected the subjects, was patient when either of us was out of sorts or hard to find. Without Fran there probably would not have been a Byrne-Kean column, so I'd like to thank you on behalf of Brendan and myself.
FRAN WOOD: You're welcome, governor. It has been my great pleasure.
Q: I'd like to know how two esteemed governors from opposing parties became genuine and devoted friends.
GOV. KEAN: I will miss Brendan terribly as a friend. Brendan and I first got know each other when I was the Republican leader of the state Assembly and he was the newly-elected Democratic governor. We disagreed on a number of issues, and did so publicly - and privately. Neither of us had any idea that this argument would last more than 40 years. And what happened is what should always happen in politics and doesn't. Even though we disagreed, I found myself gaining respect for Brendan Byrne every time we talked. I think he felt the same way. He was a sincere Democrat and I was a sincere Republican, but we could always see the other's point of view. The friendship deepened as time went on, and extended to the tennis court, where we had some fierce matches - and, as we got older, onto the golf course. We'd go to shows together, have lunches and dinners together. Seeing Brendan was like opening a new bottle of champagne. I hope he felt that way, too. Ours was a close and lasting friendship until the day he died.
Former Govs. Tom Kean and Brendan Byrne arriving at the New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and red carpet at the NJPAC in 2011. (William Perlman | The Star-Ledger) Q: Each of you seemed to feel that being governor was ultimately about the quality of life in New Jersey. Is our state a more or less desirable place to live now than when you and Gov. Byrne were in Trenton?
KEAN: I think it would have been very hard to get either of us out of New Jersey. He loved the state, and I did too. We complained about things - the taxes were too high, sometimes somebody in government did something that made you mad. But, all in all, there's not a better state in the country. Are there more problems now? I think there are. But the problems were created by people, and can be solved by people.
Q: There have been a lot of big stories during the years the column covered - 9/11, a governor resigning, Hurricane Sandy. But is there any bigger concern than the way our debt has exploded? Were you and Gov. Byrne consciously more careful about not borrowing to balance the budget?
KEAN: Brendan and I were governors over a 16-year period, and over those years the state maintained a triple-A bond rating. Independent fiscal analysis showed that we were run as well or better than any state in the country. Brendan said to me once, "I always thought that whatever governor lost that rating would be in big trouble, but when it happened nobody noticed." That triple-A rating went down further and further, and neither voters nor the press seemed to hold anybody accountable. Fiscal issues are difficult to get across to voters. Nobody understood what a triple-A rating meant, but it meant a lot. It made him mad that people in both parties continued to increase the state's debt. That so irritated him that, for the last six years, he refused to vote for any bond issue unless there was some way presented to pay back the money.
Q: New Jersey has increasingly become an immigrant state. Have we turned that into an advantage?
KEAN: It is an advantage we haven't made full use of. We haven't integrated immigrants as well as we could. There are brilliant immigrants who have been successful in a variety of areas in the state, but we're still not as inclusive as we should be. We don't have as many programs as we should to bring them into the mainstream. That should be New Jersey's strategy.
Q: Both you and Gov. Byrne had major education initiatives. Have we followed through on educational opportunity, from pre-K through college?
KEAN: No. You recall I said we had an argument for 40 years. But among the fundamental things we both believed were opportunity for children in public schools, improving the state's environment and the preservation of open space. And while occasionally we differed on how to achieve those things, we strongly believed in the goals themselves.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to say about Gov. Byrne?
KEAN: Brendan made a number of important contributions to the state, but he believed his most important was preserving the Pinelands. Among the few things that made him angry were attempts to get around Pinelands laws, developing areas that would spoil that resource for our children. Brendan was the Harry Truman of New Jersey. He did a lot of good things that he didn't get credit for at the time. He was fortunate to live 93 years, and to see that, in time, he got the credit he deserved.
Finally, I want to thank our readers. I can't tell you how many times people would give us wonderful comments about our column. I don't think a week went by that we didn't see somebody in a barber shop or gas station or drug store who didn't say, "I love your column." On behalf of Brendan, we couldn't have been more grateful for the opportunity to share our views with readers and hear what they had to say.
WOOD: And I thank you and Gov. Byrne for participating in what became a Star-Ledger hallmark. It has been a privilege to run your column, and we know it will be missed.
The Kean-Byrne column ("What 2 ex-N.J. governors have to say"), which in 1997 was named best column in the country by Washington Monthly magazine, is archived at the Eagleton Institute for Politics at Rutgers.