Amidst partisan rancor, economic turbulence, and greater state-level responsibilities, Scott Pattison is well-positioned to lead NGA to its next level of effectiveness.

Skilled Navigator Scott Pattison Takes Helm at National Governors Association

As a contributor to Route Fifty — a new Atlantic Media publication with an exclusive focus on state and local government — I recently had the privilege of sitting down with longtime colleague Scott Pattison. This month Pattison assumed the position of executive director of the National Governors Association after almost 15 years at the helm of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Scott Pattison, NGA’s new executive director, willl work with the nation’s governors and their top lieutenants to tackle their toughest problems.

Pattison’s rise to the leadership of this essential organization could not be more timely. As partisan rancor continues to rain down in torrents from Washington to the statehouses — exacerbated by the 2016 presidential election cycle — NGA is positioned to amplify its role as a forum for reasoned dialogue among the nation’s governors from both parties. The Association is on the cusp of returning to its function as a voice of objective research and information in support of informed policy choices that will serve all Americans.

Pattison represents a fresh approach to the leadership of NGA. Wise in the ways of Washington — where his mother attended Wilson Senior High School in leafy northwest DC — and yet grounded in the felt experience of state policymakers and budgeteers — having served in the offices of Virginia’s Governor and Attorney General in the 1990s.

Pattison is well-positioned to lead NGA to its next level of effectiveness.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from our conversation? That the past few years’ post-Great Recession 3.5–4 percent revenue growth is well below prior years’ 5.5 percent increases — and may remain there for some time. As Pattison says, “There’s not enough money to do everything that most voters want.” Navigating policy goals and fiscal realities will be a challenge in which Scott Pattison will excel — working with the nation’s governors and their top lieutenants to tackle their toughest problems.

Read all about it in a wide-ranging Q&A published in Route Fifty that covers state finances, education, infrastructure and more.