Different from Romney
Unlike ex-Governor Mitt Romney, Governor Deval Patrick:supports the 130 tower Cape Wind proposal at Nantucket Sound, and 20 more turbines in Monroe MA and Florida MA (Berkshire County), supports gay marriage,
opposes abstinence-only sexual education programs (he refused a $700,000 grant for abstinence-only sex ed),supports stem cell biotechnology, supports solar energy and other energy conservations, has had Massachusetts rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,and ended the Commonwealth Development Coordinating Council.
On February 9, Governor Deval L. Patrick split the Dept of Telecommunications and Energy into two, bringing back the Dept of Public Utilities that 1998 Gov Paul Cellucci eliminated, and a new (as yet unnamed) public utilities commission.
In a first ever public hearing, Patrick wants to open a process to public scrutiny. The process of MA annually awarding low-interest federal loans of hundreds of million of dollars to education financing and semi-public state development agencies. The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, and Massachusetts Development Finance Agency perform as middlemen between MA, and the individuals and developers. This years total is $547 million. Jay Gonzalez, an undersecretary of Leslie Kirwan, the Administration and Finance Secretary, said that these types of loans are no financial threat to MA.
Gov Patrick has been working on the Criminal Offender Record Information law, supporting broad and unlimited CORI access to law enforcement, while also balancing those background checks with protecting peoples' employment prospects from CORI errors, and minor or unrelated (to job) crimes in their history, employers would have limited CORI access. Patrick said that he wants minor criminals to have a second chance at restarting their lives. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino agreed, saying that CORI should not be a life sentence. The Criminal History Systems Board's Executive Director Barry LaCroix said that last year had 1.5 million CORI reports sent to 10,000 organizations.
Ronald Reagan Day
33 Governors approved February 6 as becoming Ronald Reagan Day. The other 17 either did not recognize it or did not reply. Patrick was one who refused to sign the Day in. Trivia: Reagan's nickname was Gipper, from when he played the late Notre Dame athlete George "Gipper" Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne All American.
Helicopter Use
Some have criticized Patrick for his "extensive" use of state police helicopters, comparing it to 2000 Gov Jane Swift's $1,000 helicopter flight to her Berkshires home for Thanksgiving. On January 17 Patrick flew in the helicopter from a meeting at the MA Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams to Boston to attend Treasurer Tim Cahill and Auditor Joseph DeNucci swearing in ceremonies. On February 6 Patrick used the helicopter for a roundtrip, from Boston to Hyannis for the funeral of a Centerville soldier who was killed in Iraq, and back to Boston for budget meetings that afternoon. The Governor said, "I have a really crowded calendar and a very ambitious agenda so I'm going to use every resource available. " Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi M. Roy explained, "The governor during the campaign pledged to be governor of the entire state. He's not going to be a governor who sits in his office on Beacon Hill. When schedules are tight and he has official business in various regions of the state, then we'll evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether he should use the helicopter." Helicopter fuel costs from $2.50 to $4.00 per gallon.
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Research on Local Taxes
The Patrick Administration is researching ways for MA cities and towns to have more freedom in raising fees and taxes. A Boston Foundation 200-page report on the 6 other cities of New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and San Francisco, concluded that Boston is hampered by getting such a high amount as 60% of its revenue from property taxes (in New York it's 25%) and by state laws prohibiting using meal taxes, local sales taxes, etc. to raise revenues. Gerald Frug, a coauthor of the report and a Harvard Law School professor, said, "If you're relying on prop taxes as your only source of income, you want to have them increase. Your whole tax structure works against affordability." These other cities have taxes for parking, insurance premiums, car rentals, and towed vehicles. Patrick said he is reluctant to pursue a meals tax. On February 22 Gov Patrick proposed changing the "circuit-breaker" state income tax credit from allowing only those 65 and older to be eligible, to letting many others also apply, for example a single person with a salary of $46,000 or less could apply under the new plan. To pay for this tax credit expansion, Patrick wants to close corporate tax loopholes, such as companies claiming 2 different tax statuses for state and federal taxes. A Western MA organizer for the socio-political activist organization Neighbor To Neighbor, Lena Entin had this to say, "We support him 100 percent. It's time for large corporations to pay their fair share." D-Springfield Representative Sean Curran also agreed, saying that property taxes are a burden to almost all in MA.
Mis-steps corrected
On February 20 Patrick said that he will reimburse the State $543 per month, for the difference in cost between his previous Ford Crown Victoria official-car and his new Cadillac DeVille, and reimburse the entire $27,387 for new office furnishings including chairs, drapes, tables, etc. Aides said that the new Crown Victorias do not meet State Police security standards. The Governor has also been criticized for hiring a $72,000 per year assistant Amy Gorin for his wife's interview requests and scheduling, something not done since then-Governor Michael Dukakis hired an aide for his wife Kitty. Mrs. Diane Patrick is also a partner at the Ropes & Gray law firm in downtown Boston. The Governor left MA on February 23 for Washington DC, for a 4-day annual meeting of the National Governor's Association. A state trooper drove Gov and Mrs. Patrick there in Patrick's official Cadillac.
Wants to keep in touch
Patrick has started a monthly program on CBS radio WTKK 96.9 FM called Ask The Governor. Questions can be submitted by email, phone or fax, and the show will also be available as a podcast at www.mass.gov
Also check out www.devalpatrick.com and www.phenomonline.org
Turnpike Tolls
Deval Patrick did not eliminate some MA Turnpike tolls as he previously researched doing, but does want to continue the program of giving discounts to commuters using the Fast Lane automated toll system, despite the state loss of $12.2 million a year. Weston chiropractor Peter Hill drives into Boston and back every day, and says that he saves hundreds of dollars a year by using Fast Lane.
Retroactive Raises Covered
After a 6 year battle between the Legislature, and Governors Swift and Romney, Gov Patrick approved the final piece of funding to cover all the retroactive raises of all UMass employees, this last piece covers over 1,000 retirees.
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Health Insurance Plan
Patrick's plan for the approx 180,000 uninsured MA residents could allow them to purchase basic (prescriptions, ER, outpatient) health care coverage for $175 per month or less. As of July 1, any uninsured person who does not buy a plan will be subject to increasing penalties. Neighborhood Health Plan was the lowest bidder.
On March 11 Deval Patrick attended the Ludlow Democratic Committee annual breakfast, as keynote speaker.
CitiGroup Blooper
The Governor said he made a mistake by even briefly calling the world's largest financial company Citigroup as a reference of his former employer ACC Capital Holdings, at a time when ACC was struggling and attempting to get cash infusion from Citigroup. ACC owns the Argent and Ameriquest mortgage companies that have been accused of making predatory subprime loans. The GOP asked the state Ethics Commission to investigate this phone call; the Commission ruled that while the call was poor judgment it was not illegal. On April 25 Gov Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley helped a Wayland family of 4, the mother Nancy Rousseau has terminal cancer, to delay Ameriquest from foreclosing their house for another 45 days. Ameriquest said they would explore a range of options with the family before the July 31 deadline. Last year Ameriquest paid $325 million to 49 states ($12 million for MA) for their predation. The family was late for $25,000 of payments until friends and relatives raised over $30,000 for past and future mortgage payments for her husband and 2 children, including friend and real estate agent Margot Hampe.
State Intercedes for Stranded Children
The New Bedford leather company Michael Bianco Inc, that made Army vests and backpacks, was raided by federal authorities, who detained 327 of the 500 employees at the former Fort Devens military base, on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. The company owner Francesco Insolia and 4 other top level employees were arrested on charges of fake ID's and sweatshop conditions. With approx 100 of the detainees' children left stranded with baby sitters or at schools, Gov Patrick asked U.S. Rep. William Delahunt to ensure that social workers could attend to the 327. Federal officials then allowed 2 dozen detainees to be interviewed and released 60 for humanitarian reasons. The Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had previously been alerted to the needs of the children who would become stranded by the raid.
The Army had no comment on this incident.
Exhausted
Deval's wife Diane was hospitalized for exhaustion and depression on March 10. She returned to public life on April 26 with a speech at a private Boston middle school gala and a victims' rights conference at the Statehouse.
Springfield Office?
At an April 6 breakfast meeting of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Hampshire College, Patrick spoke of the priority of reopening the Springfield office which Romney closed in 2003, and maybe opening another office in Pittsfield near his home. On April 7 he attended the 2007 Hampshire and Franklin Municipal Conference at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton. The Governor has also visited Agawam in February, and Springfield in February and on April 11 a town hall meeting at STCC.
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