Governor Can Be Divided Into Formal And Informal Power

According to the National Governor’s Association, the role of governor goes far beyond being the head of the executive branch. The role of any governor includes being a legislative leader, head of their state’s political party, acting as a national figure, implementing the state’s budget, making appointments, meeting with constituents and when necessary acting as the state’s ceremonial chief. Obviously the role of a governor is quite complex.

Tools
The tools a governor has at their disposal can be divided into formal powers and informal powers. Informal power can come from an electoral mandate, where a large margin of victory allows the individual governor to declare that “the people cast their votes overwhelmingly so that… ” The ability to declare a mandate allows for a governor with a strong personality to bring pressure anyplace it is necessary to accomplish the governor’s agenda. The mandate, an informal power, coupled with a personal power, also an informal power, of how the constituents feel about the governor can be a strong force even in a state designed to have a weak governor.
Formal tools of a governor include the institutional powers, or those powers granted officially by the state. Institutional powers can include those powers given in a state’s constitution, powers
Richard Kearney describes the weakness in South Carolina’s governorship under then governor Dick Riley. Kearney explains that in South Carolina the state’s independent Budget Control Board prepares a budget, not the governor. During Riley’s tenure, the governor did not appoint agency heads and in many cases positions are elected positions as opposed to appointed positions. Riley had neither the ability to unilaterally reorganize agencies or departments, nor did he have access to an overly abundant staff. For all of these reasons, the hurdles placed by the state on the governor’s office would make it a weak