The governor: A pop quiz

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/01/27/the_governor_a_pop_quiz/


The governor: A pop quiz

By Scot Lehigh, Globe Columnist | January 27, 2010

WE ALL know Governor Deval Patrick is in trouble. After all, he got off on the wrong foot with the new drapes and the Cadillac back in 2007, and he hasn’t done anything except screw up since then, right? Any casual observer of Beacon Hill can tell you that.

So today, rather than chronicle the incumbent’s failings, let’s play “Name That Governor.’’

Ready? Pick the recent Massachusetts CEO who best fits the bill. You can also answer “all of the above.’’

QUESTION 1: Which governor’s tenure was marked by testy spats with legislative leaders?

A) Mike Dukakis B) Paul Cellucci C) Mitt Romney D) Deval Patrick

Well, let’s see. Things became so strained under Dukakis that George Keverian, then the speaker of the House, temporarily stopped speaking, at least to the Duke. Cellucci got into an ugly hissing match with then Senate President Tom Birmingham. Romney became so enraged when a legislative agreement fell apart that, one senator said, “his hair was shaking.’’ So while Patrick has had some chilly relations, that’s about par for the Beacon Hill course.

QUESTION 2: Which state CEO actually did something on the thorny issue of replacing paid police details with civilian flagmen?

A) William Weld B) Cellucci C) Jane Swift D) Romney E) Patrick

Weld made a brief effort, but gave up when angry police officers spooked spineless lawmakers. Neither Cellucci nor Swift even tried. Romney led reporters to believe he’d address wasteful details, but never followed through.

Details weren’t a priority for Patrick, either, but when the Legislature tossed that hot potato in his lap, his administration developed a plan for using civilian flaggers on certain state-led construction projects.

QUESTION 3: Which governors advocated for - and got - truly significant education reform?

A) Dukakis and Weld B) Weld and Swift C) Cellucci and Romney E) Weld and Patrick

The most important education legislation we’ve seen in recent decades came in 1993, under Weld. But a clear second is the bill Patrick just signed into law, legislation that will increase the number of charter schools in the worst performing districts and impart new powers for turning around underperforming schools. As was true in 1993, the House and Senate education chairs - in this case, Marty Walz and Rob O’Leary - deserve mega credit as well. Others also played important roles. Still, it’s unlikely this would have happened without Patrick and Secretary of Education Paul Reville.

QUESTION 4: What governor pushed a political ally for a highly paid patronage position?

A) Patrick B) Dukakis C) Weld D) Cellucci E) Swift

Easy, right? After all, Patrick tried to plop Senator Marian Walsh into the number two slot at the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority. But don’t forget that Dukakis made state Senator Allan McKinnon chairman of the Turnpike Authority. Or that Weld installed defeated US Representative Peter Blute, he of subsequent Booze Cruise fame, as Massport chief. Or that Cellucci shoehorned Representative Gus Serra into a plush post at Massport and gave the highway commissioner’s job to former Senator Matt Amorello, whom Swift later elevated to Turnpike Authority chairman. Swift also rewarded Democratic Senator James Jajuga for supporting the 1998 GOP ticket by making him public safety secretary. And that’s just a sampling. So a patronage impulse isn’t just a Patrick failing.

FINAL QUESTION: Which governor won passage of important laws restructuring the state’s transportation bureaucracies and strengthening state ethics laws - and helped push the legislature to curb some of the worst public pension abuses?

A) Weld B) Swift C) Romney D) Patrick

That would be Patrick. Sure, some legislators - Senator Steven Baddour, to name one - also deserve bouquets, but that’s always the case.

So here’s the real point of today’s quiz. The derisive narrative about Patrick has grown stale. Yes, he’s made some clumsy blunders and yes, he’s had some rocky going with peevish legislative potentates, though that experience is hardly unique to him. Certainly his problematic poll numbers reveal the difficult spot he’s in as the election year commences.

Still, the fact of the matter is that Patrick is coming off a year or so of impressive accomplishment. He’s got a much better story to tell than most people realize. It’s a story that, properly told, should be a real asset in this year’s campaign.

Scot Lehigh can be reached at lehigh@globe.com.
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