Thompson Aims To Rebuild Bipartisan Coalition, Spur Bold Action

By Lonnie Harp

Denver

As Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin takes the reins of both the Education Commission of the States and the National Governors' Association this summer, he finds himself reminding policymakers of the groups' credentials.

The three-term Republican participated in the work the N.G.A. and the E.C.S. did over the last dozen years to help build support for education reform. But since the governors brought a set of national school goals into the political mainstream in the early 1990's, he says, the clout of the...