"Governor Corbett has had the courage to be a leader in this area, and to leave 'R' and 'D' at the door when we have these discussions, and get it done." -- Corrections Secretary John Wetzel

--IN CASE YOU MISSED IT--

Corbett as transformational leader: will he be able to turn prison success into political capital? Video

The four-minute video above may be the most concise exposition of Tom Corbett as a transformational leader you'll ever hear - and it's not all bunk.

It's worth watching not only because it's so different from the standard media image of Corbett, but also because the facts support Corrections Secretary John Wetzel's characterization of Corbett as a results-oriented leader on prison reform and because it raises the question of whether or not Corbett will be able to translate that success to political capital going into November.

Prison reform the one issue Corbett can pretty much claim as an unalloyed success in his first term.

But the issue is also wildly complicated and not easily reduced to sound bites, which makes Wetzel's performance interesting.

Although Corbett's reforms have not reduced the prison population as quickly as hoped, it's clear they have stopped the population - and the associated costs - from growing as fast they would have otherwise.

The video demonstrates that Wetzel, the rock star of the Corbett cabinet, can be a powerful advocate for his boss.

Among the points to note in Wetzel's extemporaneous riff:

• He uses a gambling analogy to highlight the risks Corbett took in not doing "business as usual" and insisting "We're not going to use prisons as economic development."
• He casts Corbett as a bipartisan doer, a leader who "leaves R and D at the door" during policy discussions in order to "get it done."
• He focuses on the people affected, humanizing Corbett's policy - for a governor who often comes off wooden in public appearances, this is perhaps the most important aspect of the speech.

It's unclear the extent to which Wetzel might stump for Corbett in the coming months, but this performance last week in Washington, D.C. may be a preview.

Wetzel and Corbett were in Washington speaking in the Dirksen Senate Office Building about Pennsylvania's reform and the fact the state has successfully lowered its recidivism rate - the percentage of released prisoners who commit another crime.

Pennsylvania's three-year recidivism rate dropped from 43.9 percent to 40.8 percent. While three percentage points might not sound like much, in real terms, that's 571 people who are not back in prison who would have been otherwise. That translates into as much as $19.4 million per year in tax dollars saved.

Read the article online HERE.

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