M. Jodi Rell rose to power and prominence at a dark time in Connecticut.

Rell, who died Friday at the age of 78, was the lieutenant governor under John G. Rowland, who was forced to resign on July 1, 2004, after a corruption scandal.

Rowland had been mired in controversy, and faith in the office of the governor was low at the time. Into this void stepped Rell, who, like most lieutenant governors, was not well-known.

She proved to be exactly what the state needed.

Rell immediately was one of the state’s most popular figures. In her first months in office, a Quinnipiac University poll showed her approval rating at 80 percent, the highest rating ever in that poll for a Connecticut governor.

She finished out Rowland’s term before winning re-election on her own with a modern-day record of 63% of the vote. Rell did not run for re-election again and was succeeded by Dannel Malloy. She is the last Connecticut Republican to serve as governor.

Rell, who began her political career representing her hometown of Brookfield in the state legislature, was a moderate Republican who was a supporter of abortion rights. She also was the first governor in the nation to sign a bill legalizing the civil unions of same-sex couples without being forced to by courts. That bill eventually led to a court case resulting in gay marriage.

She helped to reform the state’s campaign finance laws among many other achievements.

Rell was the second woman governor of the state after Ella T. Grasso, and the first Republican woman.

Locally, Rell played a key role in keeping the Naval Submarine Base in Groton open after it had been scheduled to close in 2005.

She said in an interview with CBS shortly before leaving office that saving the sub base was her proudest accomplishment.

“When it was slated for the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) commission closure, I think all of us felt that it was just the most devastating news we could get and we worked so hard,” Rell said at the time. “I mean, we put a team together. I led the team. We made our case to the BRAC commission up in Boston and when they announced, in late August, that 'You know, you made your case. You made it very well and we're going to keep that base open.' I think you could have peeled us all off the ceiling. We were so happy."

She nominated former congressman Rob Simmons to serve as director of the Connecticut Office of Military Affairs as well as the state’s first Business Advocate.

While Rell was graceful and fair, she was also tough. She was diagnosed with breast cancer late in 2004, her first year as governor. Just nine days after a mastectomy, Rell delivered her first State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly, earning a loud and lengthy round of applause.

Rell’s time as governor brings to mind something that has been lacking in state and national politics, perhaps since she left office: bipartisanship.

“During her time as governor, she succeeded by using the same approach to deal with difficult issues on a bipartisan basis, which explained her immense popularity both before and after her time as governor,” Congressman Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said in a statement. “That civility, comity, and adherence to her oath of office are in many ways her enduring legacy, which is greatly needed at a time of great division in our country.”

She knew she had to work with Democrats, and as a moderate Republican, it came naturally to her.

There was nothing fake or phony about Jodi Rell. She governed as she lived: calm, reasoned and steady.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.