Saturday, March 28, 2009

MassGOP Newsletter, 03/27/09

News From The Massachusetts Republican Party

In This Edition
What we're doing
In the news from this week
How you can help

Dear Fellow Republican,

Massachusetts Republicans have an incredible opportunity in the coming months. The people of the Commonwealth have made their voices heard through a new poll that states that a majority of people want to replace the extreme liberal Governor Deval Patrick with someone else. To add insult to injury, a plurality of people trust the legislature more than the Governor to deal with the economic crisis. The Democrat legislature is about as credible on the economy as Bernard Madoff is on investing.

The opportunity is there for us to make gains this coming election year. That's why it is so important for you to partner with me in growing the grassroots of the Massachusetts Republican Party. Earlier this week, I traveled to a well attended "MassGOP Grassroots Fourm" in West Springfield. There, we discussed different ways to grow the party and traded ideas and strategies. One gentleman made this great point: we can't look back in the rear-view mirror any longer. It's time to move the MassGOP forward.

I hope you'll consider attending a future forum with me and my staff. The opportunity is there for us. We must take advantage of it.

Keep sending your feedback to jennifer@massgop.com.

Yours in Victory,

Jennifer A. Nassour
Chairman - Massachusetts Republican Party

What We're Doing

As part of the MassGOP Grassroots Forums, the Massachusetts Republican Party is also launching a Charitable Service Program. The Party asks that every attendee of each regional forum bring an item that will be donated directly to the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS).

Below is the schedule for upcoming forums - with any questions please contact Kaitlyn Greeley at kgreeley@massgop.com.

Forum #2
Saturday, March 28th, 10am-12pm
Plymouth Memorial Hall
83 Court Street
Plymouth
Attendees are asked to bring games and puzzles or arts and crafts for BBBS.

Forum #3
Saturday, March 28th, 1pm-3pm
Elks Lodge
4500 North Main Street
Fall River
Attendees are asked to bring games and puzzles or arts and crafts for BBBS.

Forum #4
Monday, March 30th, 7pm-9pmThe Endicott Estate
656 East Street
Dedham
Attendees are asked to bring school supplies or books for BBBS.

Forum #5
Monday, April 13th, 7pm-9pm
Memorial Hall Library
2 North Main Street
Andover
Attendees are asked to bring games and puzzles or books for BBBS.

Forum #6
Wednesday, April 15th, 6pm-8pm
PNI Club
290 Millbury Street
Worcester
Attendees are asked to bring school supplies, books, or arts and crafts for BBBS.
"The Truth Behind The Triviality". That was the title of a great Op-Ed by Health and Education Facilities Authority vice chairman Marvin Gordon and former executive director Robert J. Ciolek on the subject of the patronage hiring of Gov. Patrick's friend Sen. Marian Walsh to a $175,000 a year job. The best line comes at the end, where Gordon and Ciolek write that: "In the end, it all comes down to money - not principle, not public policy, and certainly not reform. It is often said that actions speak louder than words, but sometimes words are far more illuminating than actions. In this instance, the governor's version of "transparency" is really a smoke-and-mirrors clouding of the public's view of the political version of trivial pursuit."
The governor has yet to back off the appointment.

Got an example of government waste? Send it to MassGOP Communications Director Barney Keller at bkeller@massgop.com.

It's time we take back Beacon Hill - forward this newsletter to everyone you know!

How You Can Help

The Massachusetts Republican Party is still soliciting resumes for summer internships. If you know of a hard-working, Republican-minded college student who wants to get Massachusetts back on track, then have them send their resume to info@massgop.com. As always, we are looking for people who want to volunteer at our Boston HQ. If you are interested, please call us at (617) 523-5005.

Get in touch!
The Massachusetts Republican Party
85 Merrimac St., Suite 400
Boston, MA
02114
(617) 523-5005

The Honorable Jennifer A. Nassour, Chair - jennifer@massgop.com

State Party Staff:
Executive Director Nick Connors - nick@massgop.com
Finance Director Lyndsay Jones - ljones@massgop.com
Finance Operations Brett Kasper - bkasper@massgop.com
Communications Director Barney Keller - bkeller@massgop.com
Operations Director Kaitlyn Greeley - kgreeley@massgop.com

MassGOP Research Briefing

In Case You Missed It!
A "Trivial" Stand
"Patrick called the public furor over Walsh's hiring 'trivial' -- so trivial that her salary was reduced $55,000. It would have been fun to see what he would have done in the aftermath of a "trivial" Boston Tea Party."
- The Lowell Sun, 3/27/09

A "Trivial" Stand
The Lowell Sun, 3/27/09
Editorial

Give Gov. Deval Patrick credit. He came to his senses after a rising crescendo from the public and members of both political parties criticized his appointment of a friend -- state Sen. Marian Walsh -- to a previously unnecessary $175,000 a year government job.

The first-term Democrat sought -- and received -- permission from Walsh to cut her salary to a measly $120,000 a year to work for the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority. Walsh fills a plum post that went unfilled for 12 years by Republican governors, who obviously realized how useless the job was to the state's effectiveness.

But now, with the state's jobless level reaching 9 percent and a fiscal 2010 budget gap widening to nearly $4 billion, Patrick sees the necessity for Walsh's expertise even though others saw little benefit from the post when the cupboard was full of dough.

It's good to see the governor thinking about our best interests in this time of fiscal crisis. Maybe this is his idea of state stimulus: hiring political friends and padding the state payroll to get things back on track.

Patrick called the public furor over Walsh's hiring "trivial" -- so trivial that her salary was reduced $55,000. It would have been fun to see what he would have done in the aftermath of a "trivial" Boston Tea Party.

Click Here For The Article Link

Deval's "Trivial" Pursuit: "Deval Patrick's Caddy shaft"

Today, the Boston Herald reports that Massachusetts paid $14,958 to keep Governor Patrick's Cadillac: As Gov. Deval Patrick faces driving criticism for a long road of bad political turns, taxpayers are still paying for the original dent to his image - the Cadillac DTS. The state paid $14,958 last month to keep the governor's official 2007 Cadillac because the vehicle's two-year lease had run out, a Patrick aide confirmed last night. That amount is on top of the $16,080 taxpayers covered for the 24-month lease and another $11,909 Patrick himself pitched in for the payments to blunt criticism. "The lease for the vehicle was expiring and could not be extended," said spokesman Kyle Sullivan. (Boston Herald, 3/27/09)

Flashback: Governor Patrick called the purchase of a Cadillac as his official vehicle "trivial":

The Boston Herald: Patrick strongly defended his choice of vehicles yesterday, saying it was a "trivial'' decision that draws far more attention from the media than it does from ordinary citizens. ``But for your collective appetite for this, I don't think most people pay attention to what I ride in,'' Patrick told reporters. (Boston Herald, 2/17/07)

The Lowell Sun: First there was the million-dollar gala. Then there were the helicopter rides. Now Gov. Deval Patrick's latest extravagance is on staff for his wife. The state has hired a $72,000-a-year chief of staff whose job is to schedule Diane Patrick's public appearances and media availabilities, The Eagle has learned. Diane Patrick's aide also gets a slice of office space in the governor's third-floor suite. ...Add to that royal image a brand new Cadillac DeVille which Patrick bought to replace one of the Ford Crown Victoria's used by his state police security detail to drive him around. The black luxury car sports tinted windows, seat warmers, and is being leased at $1,166 per month. A defiant Patrick laughed off the flashy purchase, saying he's using tax dollars wisely. "Have a good look at the budget, see the choices we have made, see the investments we intend to make to move Massachusetts forward, and make judgments on the basis of the big and hard decisions and not the small trivial ones," Patrick urged taxpayers. (Lowell Sun, 2/17/07)

Governor Patrick also called recent stories of government waste "trivial":

Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday recent stories about costly jobs for legislators, relatives of Cabinet members and administration employees are "trivial" and won't distract him from his focus on big issues. The governor, a one-time attorney, told reporters he has tried to learn how to focus on the meaningful, but "I sometimes feel like I'm in a profession now where that is completely upside down." In one example, Patrick said he was concentrating on a comprehensive overhaul of the state's transportation system. "That's going to make a difference economically, in terms of quality of life, long after I have left this job," he said. Patrick engineered a $175,000 state agency job for Sen. Marian Walsh. The sister of Transportation Secretary James Aloisi worked for six months as chief of staff in an office with no employees. And the Massachusetts Turnpike recently added two $100,000 employees despite a restriction on hiring only "critical" workers. Meanwhile, the state's unemployment rate rose to 7.8 percent last month. (Associated Press, 3/20/09)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Deval's "Trivial" Pursuit: "Patrick Late In Launching Pension Panel, Fails To Submit Efficiency Report"





Characterizing a publicly funded Cadillac and $175,000 patronage job as "trivial" while also advocating the highest gas tax in the nation shows how out of touch Governor Patrick is with the struggles of working families.
The Massachusetts Republican Party highlights examples of waste, patronage and inefficiency in state government in an ongoing series we call "Deval's 'Trivial' Pursuit."


Patrick Late In Launching Pension Panel, Fails To Submit Efficiency Report
State House News Service, 3/26/09
By Michael Norton and Gintautas Dumcius


The pension reform commission Gov. Deval Patrick touted with fanfare Sunday came six months after a statutory deadline for the panel's establishment.

Despite a recent focus on cutting state spending, budget balancing and reforming inefficient government practices, Patrick, who in January termed this a season of reform, has also failed to produce a legally required report on government-wide efficiency efforts

The state budget Patrick signed in July 2008 required the administration by September 2008 to convene a special commission to examine public employee pension contribution rates, benefits, portability and cost-of-living adjustments. Patrick said Sunday that the panel, which must report its findings and any legislative recommendations by July 1, will hold its first meeting at the end of this month and touted its importance, but administration officials did not mention that the panel was six months late in getting started.

State law also requires the administration to deliver a report to the Legislature every other year on Executive Branch proposals and accomplishments in the area of management efficiencies. That report was due to the Legislature in December 2008, but has not been submitted.

Administration officials in January said they couldn't locate the efficiency report, required under Chapter 7 of the General Laws, and on Monday confirmed that it had not been submitted. "We don't have a physical report," said Cyndi Roy, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F).

Click Here To Read The Whole Article (Subscription Required)

MassGOP Research Briefing

In Case You Missed It!
Governor must stop playing us for suckers

"The state faces a $1.1 billion budget deficit this year and $3.5 billion in anticipated spending cuts to start the next fiscal year. The governor says the situation is so dire we need to pay more taxes and expect less in services.It is hard enough that this message comes amid record unemployment and foreclosure rates. It's harder still when it comes amid news the governor is using taxpayers' money to line the pockets of friends and supporters and then scoffing when criticized for it.Raises and do-nothing jobs may be a common way of doing business on Beacon Hill but they're toxic assets in our book. And they should be toxic in the governor's book as well."
- The Patriot Ledger, 3/26/09


Governor must stop playing us for suckers
The Patriot Ledger, 3/26/09
Editorial

Gov. Deval Patrick has lost sight of the very message of voter empowerment that swept him into office 26 months ago and needs to get back on track.

His recent words and actions have so damaged his standing that even legitimate reform efforts look like sleights of hand timed to distract us from his serial insensitivity to the principles of those who elected him.

We deserve better.

The state faces a $1.1 billion budget deficit this year and $3.5 billion in anticipated spending cuts to start the next fiscal year. The governor says the situation is so dire we need to pay more taxes and expect less in services.

It is hard enough that this message comes amid record unemployment and foreclosure rates. It's harder still when it comes amid news the governor is using taxpayers' money to line the pockets of friends and supporters and then scoffing when criticized for it.

Raises and do-nothing jobs may be a common way of doing business on Beacon Hill but they're toxic assets in our book. And they should be toxic in the governor's book as well.

After all, he promised not to play these games.

Patrick says he is focused on long-term solutions and dismisses complaints about his recent spending as "trivial." That's wrong.

His approval rating has reached a record low of 28 percent and these mistakes threaten to rob him of the political capital he needs to affect change. What the governor seems to have forgotten is that as much as we want a solid manager to guide us through this crisis, we need an inspired leader.

And there's nothing inspirational about feeling like the person you've chosen to guard your money and interests puts patronage before principles; that the candidate who lifted an electorate on symbols now appears blind to their significance; or that someone who seemed to connect with the common man can't cope with anything less than a Cadillac.

The governor campaigned on hope and inspiration and vowed to resist the trappings of power. But less than a month after taking office he created a $72,000-a-year job for the co-chairman of his election campaign.

Early indications that he was out of touch with voters who supported his grassroots campaign might have been dismissed as the mistakes of a neophyte settling into his first elected office. But this pattern of tone-deaf politics is like a recurring rash and it needs immediate attention.

Whether it's his own inability to recognize why it's wrong or a problem with those advising him, change must come.

We cannot afford for the governor to fail at our greatest hour of need.

"We didn't build up this grassroots just to win an election," Patrick said on Election Night in 2006. "We built up the grassroots to govern in a whole new way, to make change real, and lasting, and meaningful."

It is imperative he acknowledge the damage his recent actions have done to that ideal and commit to changes in both attitude and conduct that shows he not only knows what it means to manage but also what is required to lead.

Click Here For The Article Link

Deval's "Trivial" Pursuit: "Let no tax go unextracted"





Characterizing a publicly funded Cadillac and $175,000 patronage job as "trivial" while also advocating the highest gas tax in the nation shows how out of touch Governor Patrick is with the struggles of working families.The Massachusetts Republican Party highlights examples of waste, patronage and inefficiency in state government in an ongoing series we call "Deval's 'Trivial' Pursuit."

Let no tax go unextracted
Boston Globe, 3/26/09
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist

In these parlous times, it is extremely comforting to know that while some AIG executives are busy counting their bonuses and Jim Aloisi's sister is busy counting sheep, the super sleuths at our crack Department of Revenue have been able to track down a scurrilous deadbeat who goes by the name of Fran Dalton.

Fran Dalton, enemy of the state, is 80 years old, and if she makes 81, she'll be lucky. She is badly stooped and uses something she fashioned out of a tree branch as a cane. She used to weigh 160 pounds, but is now a wispy 115. She has a bad heart and every imaginable ailment known to octogenarians. Despite all this, or maybe because of all this, she insists on smoking.

"It is my one and only pleasure," she says. "I don't have much time left in this world."

But before she departs this world, the state agency is determined to make Fran Dalton cough up 91 bucks and change, the amount its bureaucrats say Fran Dalton cheated the state out of by buying cigarettes from a mail-order company.

Fran Dalton, a retired artist, survives on about $600 a month, checks from Social Security, and the Veterans Affairs Administration. She lives in a small, subsidized apartment in Newburyport. The next-to-last time she bought a carton of Lucky Strikes, it cost something like 60 bucks, and that was in New Hampshire.

"Every cigarette I have, it's a joy," she says. "It calms me. It soothes me. But I couldn't afford them."

Someone told her about a cigarette company run by Native Americans in New York that was selling by mail at discount prices. She got the telephone number and ordered five cartons of the cheapest ones they had: nonfilter Senecas, at $14.89 a carton.

"They're not bad," Fran Dalton said. "They taste a lot like Luckys."
The Seneca tribe that runs the company doesn't have to pay or collect taxes on products it sells. But its salespeople send information about their customers to various states, which is why Fran Dalton got a letter from the Department of Revenue the other day demanding $91.58. The notice said that if she doesn't pay up by April 6, the state will add interest and penalties.

Well, they can start calculating, because Fran Dalton won't be paying.

"I don't have much money, but it's really not about the money. It's about the principle," she said. "I had no idea I was being taxed. And . . . the tax amount is outrageous."

There is, in fact, some microscopic print on the bottom of Fran Dalton's invoice from the SmartSmoker company that says, "The purchaser is responsible for payment of any state, local, or excise tax." Fran Dalton said she never saw that disclaimer, and even if she had seen it she wouldn't have been able to read it. Her eyes, like everything else, aren't what they used to be.

Massachusetts is adamant about collecting these taxes, and you can see the point. After all, we need every penny we can get to give legislators the raises they orchestrated for themselves, not to mention the 14 grand we need each week to pay members of Sal DiMasi's old staff, who are busy these days doing their best impression of Carol Aloisi. Times are tough, the government tells us, and there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Yesterday, Fran Dalton was sitting in the Salvation Army building in Newburyport, having, well, a free lunch.

"The churches take turns on different days," she said. "Wednesdays, they serve lunch here."

So, if anybody from the state is looking to pinch the dangerous, seditious, and defiant Fran Dalton, she'll be easy pickings any Wednesday, around noon, at the corner of Water and Fair streets. You can't miss her. She's the one smoking Senecas.

Nassour Congratulates Tim Cahill

Poll Shows People Are Tired Of Ethical Lapses, Waste

Boston, MA - The Massachusetts Republican Party today issued the following statement in response to a
Suffolk University/WHDH poll that shows that most voters, despite having no idea who he is, would vote for State Treasurer Tim Cahill over Governor Deval Patrick.

MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour said, "I congratulate Gubernatorial Front Runner Tim Cahill on his new status - certainly he needed some good news. This poll shows the people of Massachusetts are tired of the ethical lapses and waste in state government. The Massachusetts Republican Party stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of the Commonwealth in believing we need to clean up the mess on Beacon Hill by cutting spending, ending no-show jobs and lowering taxes."

MassGOP Research Briefing

In Case You Missed It!
"The Truth Behind The Triviality"

"In the end, it all comes down to money - not principle, not public policy, and certainly not reform. It is often said that actions speak louder than words, but sometimes words are far more illuminating than actions. In this instance, the governor's version of "transparency" is really a smoke-and-mirrors clouding of the public's view of the political version of trivial pursuit."
- Health and Education Facilities Authority vice chairman Marvin Gordon and former executive director Robert J. Ciolek, The Boston Globe, 3/26/09

The truth behind the triviality
The Boston Globe, 3/26/09
By Marvin Gordon and Robert J. Ciolek

In recent statements about a lucrative $175,000 position for Senator Marian Walsh, Governor Deval Patrick characterized critics as harping on a "trivial" matter. The announcement yesterday that the pay would be cut to $120,000 shows that the governor's tuning fork has finally alerted him to public outrage. Still, the appointment is outrageous.

Walsh, who was named assistant executive director of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority, has no experience in the world of bond finance. She would be filling a position that is vacant, purposeless, and unneeded. In order to pay her salary, the authority may charge it to the nonprofits it serves, or reduce its charitable facility grants to various Commonwealth Health Centers serving our needier citizens. The authority's board of directors knows this, but its duty to the institutions it serves is apparently trumped by its fealty to the governor. Patrick should withdraw his support and the board should - in a more public manner than its last vote - rescind the offer of employment, which will send an important message to the institutions, the bond rating agencies, and the marketplace that prices HEFA bonds.

The Health and Educational Facilities Authority was created 40 years ago to assist Massachusetts nonprofit institutions, such as hospitals, colleges, health clinics, and cultural groups, in accessing the tax-exempt bond market. The purchase of these bonds by private investors permits the institutions to build dormitories, hospital facilities, and museums, and to acquire capital equipment.

The basis for establishing the authority as an independent entity was the Legislature's understanding that it could perform the work and meet the requirements of the federal tax code at no cost to taxpayers. And while the staff of the authority is small - only 15 - its bond issuances are large, given the significant number of nonprofits in the state. To put it in perspective, there are about 8,000 entities with the power to issue tax-exempt bonds, and the Health and Educational Facilities Authority last year ranked sixth nationwide. Issuing bonds is what it does. And, it does it well.

But, the present situation at the authority is of deeper concern. The governor's plan is to put the authority out of business by folding it into another state authority, the Massachusetts Development Finance Authority.

The Development Finance Authority is an agency within the Office of Administration and Finance and, although legally independent, it is structurally much less independent than the Health and Educational Facilities Authority. With overlapping power to issue tax-exempt bonds for certain nonprofit institutions, the two authorities compete for clients. This competition provides a benefit to those nonprofit entities, in that each authority competes with the other by reducing fees for bond issuances by hundreds of thousands of dollars.So why would the governor now want to force a merger? The Development Finance Authority, as the governor's development agency, has been asked to be many things to many people. And it needs funding to do those things, preferably money not from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By becoming the only issuer of bonds, the Development Finance Authority would be able to end competition and, in all likelihood, raise the fees paid by hospitals, clinics, and colleges for bond issuances. Worse, it could raid funds controlled by the Health and Education Facilities Authority for millions of dollars, currently held in Trust for the benefit of charitable tax-exempt institutions. It is our hope that the charities division of the attorney general's office reviews such an effort.

At its last meeting, the Board of Health and Education Facilities Authority voted to create a committee "to reach out to (MDFA), to identify efficiencies and cost savings that might be gained by working together." That is code for putting the Health and Education Facilities Authority out of business. It is instructive that no one from any nonprofit institution to our knowledge has yet to be asked to serve on that committee. These issues are being kept out of the public view.

In the end, it all comes down to money - not principle, not public policy, and certainly not reform. It is often said that actions speak louder than words, but sometimes words are far more illuminating than actions. In this instance, the governor's version of "transparency" is really a smoke-and-mirrors clouding of the public's view of the political version of trivial pursuit.

Click Here For The Article Link

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

MassGOP Research Briefing

They Said It!

HEFA Vice-Chairman Marvin Gordon On Governor Deval Patrick's Appointment Of Sen. Marian Walsh (D-West Roxbury)
"To me, it almost smells of Watergate."- New England Cable News 3/24/09

Click Here For The Video Link

MassGOP Research Briefing

In Case You Missed It!
Cahill says ethics smears are no 'coincidence'

It was less than three weeks ago that Cahill told The Patriot Ledger he "definitely" plans to run if Gov. Deval Patrick's performance comes up short.
Cahill said Tuesday he believed the news leak about the confidential ethics inquiry was a deliberate attempt to smear him and place an ethics cloud over any gubernatorial bid.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that these stories came out when they did," he said.
"I fully expect these types of stories to keep coming up." -State Treasurer Tim Cahill (D-Quincy)
The Patriot Ledger, 3/25/09


Cahill says ethics smears are no 'coincidence'
Leak of confidential ethics inquiry into Lottery contracts won't derail plans to challenge for governor
The Patriot Ledger, 3/25/09
By Nancy Reardon


A state ethics inquiry into contracts awarded by State Treasurer Timothy Cahill hasn't slowed his plans to run for governor, the Quincy Democrat said.

Cahill said he is cooperating with a preliminary inquiry by the state Ethics Commission, which he confirmed is looking into his decision to award a $21 million state contract for Lottery scratch tickets to Scientific Games Corp. of New York.

The commission does not comment on investigations, which are confidential.

It was less than three weeks ago that Cahill told The Patriot Ledger he "definitely" plans to run if Gov. Deval Patrick's performance comes up short.

Cahill said Tuesday he believed the news leak about the confidential ethics inquiry was a deliberate attempt to smear him and place an ethics cloud over any gubernatorial bid.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that these stories came out when they did," he said. "I fully expect these types of stories to keep coming up."

Cahill reiterated his statement that he had no idea his friend and political supporter, Thomas Kelly, of Quincy, had received about $132,000 in consulting fees from Scientific Games at the time the state contracts with the company were approved.

"I didn't know anything about that," he said. "I wasn't aware of anything he was doing on my behalf."

Cahill described his relationship with Kelly - who lives two doors from him on a Quincy street - as a "neighbor and family friend."

The two men have known each other for more than 15 years, since Cahill moved into the neighborhood in the early 1990s, the treasurer said.

Kelly could not be reached for comment.

They've also shared similar career paths; Kelly was a deputy treasurer under former state Treasurer Robert Crane.

They are also both defendants in a lawsuit filed in December by Bingo Innovative Software, a Rhode Island company that alleges the two engaged in a "civil conspiracy" to steer business to Scientific Games.

According to U.S. District Court documents, Bingo Innovative claims Cahill and Kelly carried on a "pay to play" scheme, where Scientific Games was rewarded for campaign contributions to the state treasurer.

Cahill told the Patriot Ledger on Tuesday that he's never operated under any "quid pro quo" system.

"People are free to contribute to any campaign and free not to," he said. "It does not affect anything."

Ethics reform is a hot issue on Beacon Hill this week, with the House expected to vote Thursday on a bill that toughens lobbying laws and campaign finance rules. Legislators have framed the bill as necessary to restore public confidence.

Cahill said he doesn't expect the ethics inquiry would shadow him on the campaign trail, and he spoke in favor of ethics reform.

"I'm in favor of any expanding or tightening of the ethics rules," he said, adding he would "run a high-minded campaign, the way I've always done it."

Click Here For The Article Link

MassGOP Research Briefing

In Case You Missed It!
Cautionary Tale Of Card Check

Cautionary tale of card check
Washington Times, 3/25/09

By Governor Mitt Romney

In 2006, my last year as governor of Massachusetts, I vetoed a card-check bill that allowed public workers to organize if a majority signed union authorization cards as opposed to casting a traditional secret ballot. The veto was a gain for the rights of employees and employers to a fair election, but the victory was short-lived.

After I left office, organized labor had another run at replacing the secret ballot with a card check. With the support of Democrats in the legislature, that same bill I had vetoed was passed again in 2007 - and my Democratic successor signed it into law. What happened next is a cautionary tale for Congress as it moves toward a vote on national card-check legislation.

With this powerful new tool, for the first time ever in Massachusetts, a charter school was unionized. One reason so many parents want their children in charter schools is precisely because they operate free of union contracts, so that when administrators want to try something new, they can implement it quickly.

For this, charter schools are fiercely resented by teachers unions as a competitor to failing public schools. Charter schools use a merit system, rewarding teachers according to results in the classroom. They don't have complicated work rules that smother creativity, nor are they burdened with termination rules that make it almost impossible to dismiss an incompetent teacher.

The union drive started last year when the American Federation of Teachers met with a small group of teachers from the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston. Throughout the summer, they worked behind the scenes to sign up a majority of the 20 teachers at the school. Administrators learned of the successful organizing effort only after the decision to unionize had been made. For parents who may have liked the idea of a union-free school, there was no chance to be heard.

Not surprisingly, the chairman of the school's trustees is worried that a collective bargaining contract will be loaded with so many workplace restrictions that it will make it harder for the school to fulfill its mission to experiment with new ideas.

Unfortunately, these kinds of underhanded power plays are what we can expect across the nation if card check becomes the law of the land.

By tilting the playing field in favor of unions, card check not only robs workers of a secret ballot, it deprives management of the right to express its point of view. It will dramatically change the workplace as we know it, just as it's beginning to do for charter schools in Massachusetts. Small businesses will have to hire labor lawyers and follow burdensome new rules. If the parties can't agree on a contract, mandatory arbitration follows and employers that don't yield to union demands will have contracts foisted on them.

All of this will raise costs, leading to more unemployment. The Labor Department reported that unemployment in February rose to 8.1 percent as American employers cut another 651,000 jobs. Unions are supposed to serve the interests of working people, yet in this case more power for the unions would help destroy many thousands of jobs throughout the economy.

Conservatives like me are opposed to card check, but not to unions. At their best, labor unions have always fought for the rights of workers, and generations of Americans have been better off for it. But the card-check proposal is not an example of unions at their best - it is a case of union organizers rewriting the rules at the expense of working people.

Its advocates claim that card check is a step forward for labor, as if workers should thank them for making unions less democratic. But anyone who would deny a worker's right to vote on unionization by secret ballot is not advancing the cause of labor. They are just expanding the power of labor bosses. No one should be forced to publicly declare their intention before their employers and co-workers.

Leaders in the Democratic Party are eager to pay back the union bosses for their campaign support, even if it means selling out the American worker. Responsible members of Congress need to make it clear that Washington will not act to virtually impose unions on businesses. It is undemocratic, and it would devastate business formation and employment, worsening the present economic crisis.

By guarding against coercion and intimidation in the workplace, we can protect our economy from great harm, and secure the rights of employers and employees alike. The working people of America should be able to unionize the way their fathers and mothers did - by free choice and secret ballot.

Click Here For The Article Link

Flashback: Governor Patrick has an interesting definition of what's "trivial"... Take 2!

Today, Governor Patrick announced he would reduce Senator Marian Walsh's salary to $120,000: With Governor Deval Patrick facing public outrage over her appointment, state Senator Marian Walsh is asking a state authority to reduce her planned salary from $175,000 to $120,000, a move that Patrick aides hope will quell the uproar, a senior administration source said today. (Boston Globe, 3/24/09)

Last Friday, Governor Patrick called recent stories of government waste "trivial": Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday recent stories about costly jobs for legislators, relatives of Cabinet members and administration employees are "trivial" and won't distract him from his focus on big issues. The governor, a one-time attorney, told reporters he has tried to learn how to focus on the meaningful, but "I sometimes feel like I'm in a profession now where that is completely upside down." In one example, Patrick said he was concentrating on a comprehensive overhaul of the state's transportation system. "That's going to make a difference economically, in terms of quality of life, long after I have left this job," he said. Patrick engineered a $175,000 state agency job for Sen. Marian Walsh. The sister of Transportation Secretary James Aloisi worked for six months as chief of staff in an office with no employees. And the Massachusetts Turnpike recently added two $100,000 employees despite a restriction on hiring only "critical" workers. Meanwhile, the state's unemployment rate rose to 7.8 percent last month. (Associated Press, 3/20/09)

Governor Patrick said today that he wished he had never called Walsh's compensation a "trivial" matter: Patrick came under heavy criticism last week for calling the Walsh's compensation a "trivial" matter. Asked whether his views changed, Patrick responded, "Oh, uncle, uncle, uncle. I wish I'd never uttered the word." (State House News Service, 3/24/09)

But this wasn't the first time Governor Patrick referred to government waste as "trivial"

Governor Patrick also called the purchase of a Cadillac as his official vehicle "trivial":

The Boston Herald: Patrick strongly defended his choice of vehicles yesterday, saying it was a "trivial'' decision that draws far more attention from the media than it does from ordinary citizens. ``But for your collective appetite for this, I don't think most people pay attention to what I ride in,'' Patrick told reporters. (Boston Herald, 2/17/07)

The Lowell Sun: First there was the million-dollar gala. Then there were the helicopter rides. Now Gov. Deval Patrick's latest extravagance is on staff for his wife. The state has hired a $72,000-a-year chief of staff whose job is to schedule Diane Patrick's public appearances and media availabilities, The Eagle has learned. Diane Patrick's aide also gets a slice of office space in the governor's third-floor suite. ...Add to that royal image a brand new Cadillac DeVille which Patrick bought to replace one of the Ford Crown Victoria's used by his state police security detail to drive him around. The black luxury car sports tinted windows, seat warmers, and is being leased at $1,166 per month. A defiant Patrick laughed off the flashy purchase, saying he's using tax dollars wisely. "Have a good look at the budget, see the choices we have made, see the investments we intend to make to move Massachusetts forward, and make judgments on the basis of the big and hard decisions and not the small trivial ones," Patrick urged taxpayers. (Lowell Sun, 2/17/07)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Great Exaggerator Strikes Again

Patrick Has A History Of Wild Claims And Inaccurate Statements

Boston, MA - The Massachusetts Republican Party today issued the following statement in response to news that Governor Patrick overstated the cost savings of his police detail plan by as much as $850,000 a year.

MassGOP Executive Director Nick Connors said, "This is no surprise coming from an administration that has governed by sound bite and press release. Beacuse the Patrick administration didn't do it's homework on police details, they are undercutting attempts to reform state government. If Governor Patrick was actually committed to detail reform, then the Commonwealth would have joined the other 49 states that currently do not use police details at all. Governor Patrick should stop playing fiscal shell games with our tax dollars and commit to completely eliminating police details across Massachusetts."

"The Great Exaggerator": Governor Patrick has a history of making wild or inaccurate claims


Today, State Auditor Joe DeNucci said that Governor Patrick "overstated" his savings estimates his plan to switch to civilian flaggers: State Auditor Joseph DeNucci issued a report Tuesday on the Patrick administration's efforts to replace police officers with civilian flaggers on state-funded construction sites, calling the administration's savings estimates "overstated" and riddled with errors...According to the report, that weekly estimate was overstated by $18,980, or between $685,000 and $850,000 a year. (State House News Service, 3/24/09)

The Boston Globe's Steve Bailey called Governor Patrick a "great exaggerator": To listen to Deval Patrick's inspirational State of the Commonwealth address last week is to remember why he was overwhelmingly elected governor a year ago. He is one great communicator. He can also be one great exaggerator. (Boston Globe, 1/30/08)

On his Life Sciences bill:

Governor Patrick claimed his life sciences bill would create 250,000 jobs over a decade..."more than twice as many jobs as the state added from all sources in the previous decade": My Globe colleague, Todd Wallack, was the first to raise questions about Patrick's claim that his $1 billion life-sciences initiative, which stalled last year in the Legislature, could produce 250,000 jobs in a decade. That, Wallack reported, would be twice as many jobs as the state added from all sources over the past decade. The life-sciences sector currently employs 60,000 to 75,000 people in Massachusetts. In October, Patrick claimed that Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis, which has about 2,000 people in Massachusetts, shelved its plans to "invest hundreds of millions of dollars ... creating over 400 new, well-paying jobs" here because the Legislature had not acted on the biotech bill. Whatever the merits of Patrick's biotech bill, the Legislature's inaction didn't cost 400 jobs at Novartis, and its action isn't going to create 250,000 life-sciences jobs in the next decade. (Boston Globe, 1/30/08)

On his failed Casino bill:

Governor Patrick also claimed his failed casino bill would create "30,000 construction jobs"...more than four times the amount jobs created by the Big Dig: There's more: "And with 20,000 good permanent jobs, 30,000 construction jobs ... within our grasp, let's work together to pass the resort casinos bill," the governor said. Thirty thousand construction jobs? The $15 billion Big Dig, the most expensive public works project in US history, peaked at 6,500 construction and related jobs, says the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Robert Band, president of Framingham-based Perini Corp., the casino industry's go-to contractor, estimated it would take between 1,000 and 2,000 construction workers about 30 months to build a casino like the one the Wampanoags are planning in Middleborough. He said Perini is now building the $3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, which includes a high-rise 3,000-room hotel. Construction jobs peaked at 2,600, Band says. It would, indeed, take some fancy new math to get the three casinos the governor wants to add up to 30,000 construction jobs. (Boston Globe, 1/30/08)

Governor Patrick calculated the 30,000 jobs estimate "by figures...taken from Suffolk Downs, a casino advocate, at face value and simply multiplied by three": DiMasi highlighted another aspect of the Globe story, the source of the 30,000 estimate. Patrick's administration has acknowledged that the source was Suffolk Downs, a major player in the state's horse and dog track gambling industry and a would-be bidder for a casino license. Suffolk Downs asserted it would generate 10,000 construction jobs on a $1 billion casino in East Boston in a report submitted to Daniel O'Connell, the state economic development secretary, who is shepherding the casino proposal for Patrick. The administration then multiplied that estimate by three, for three casinos, to come up with 30,000, according to a written reply to Globe questions by O'Connell's office. "The fact that those figures were taken from Suffolk Downs, a casino advocate, at face value and simply multiplied by three [makes] the argument ... even more questionable," the DiMasi statement said. "As of today, it seems like we have a proposal where no tough questions were even asked, let alone answered." (Boston Globe, 3/4/08)

On his "Star Power":

Governor Patrick also claimed in his book proposal that he was able to "fill the Boston Common recently with ten thousand people" for a political rally...without mentioning that then-Senator Barack Obama was in attendance: Governor Deval Patrick said in his book proposal that he was able to "fill the Boston Common recently with ten thousand people," a boast intended to prove to publishers that his message of hope and optimism generates enthusiasm and will translate into sales. But Patrick left out a key fact about the Oct. 23 Boston Common rally. It was held to celebrate Patrick's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, who stood by Patrick's side at the event. Obama has filled sports stadiums around the country and caused onlookers to faint during his speeches, and he was almost certainly the bigger draw on the Common that day. Critics suggested yesterday that Patrick's assertion was like an opening band saying it filled Madison Square Garden without mentioning that the Rolling Stones later took the stage. (Boston Globe, 4/5/08)

In Case You Missed It!

"Trivial" Adds Up"

In continually moving from arrogant indignation to slightly less arrogant apology, Patrick has damaged his credibility with all but his staunchest supporters...Beyond the insulting nature of his effort to minimize his nickel and dime mistakes, Patrick has failed to see what Aloisi knew all those years he fought to keep the tolls on the MassPike: those nickels and dimes really add up."
- The Valley Advocate, 3/26/09

Between the Lines: "Trivial" Adds Up
Why doesn't Gov. Deval Patrick get it until the damage has been done?
The Valley Advocate, 3/26/09
By Tom Vannah

As Gov. Deval Patrick pursues what he undoubtedly views as a meaningful agenda-rebuilding the state's transportation infrastructure, restructuring the state's pension system, closing a $1 billion-plus state budget deficit-he's feeling pestered by matters he views as relatively "trivial."

In answer to a reporter's question about his administration's credibility with the public in light of ongoing revelations about his use of patronage, including his recent appointment of state Sen. Marian Walsh, an early Patrick supporter, to a $175,000 previously unfilled position as assistant director of the Health and Education Facilities Authority, Patrick didn't exactly defend patronage, but rather sought to minimize its relative importance.

"One of the challenges in life is concentrating on the meaningful and letting the trivial take a back seat," Patrick said. "And I sometimes feel like I'm in a profession now where that is completely upside down. We are trying to concentrate on what's meaningful."

Patrick's comments came on the heels of a related controversy involving his transportation chief James Aloisi. After the Boston Globe reported last week that Aloisi's sister recently held a $60,000 legislative job "that had no apparent duties," the state's top transportation official-a lawyer who's been involved in transportation issues, including the Big Dig, since the early 1980s-took his case to the Blue Mass Group blog. Calling the Globe story "misleading" and "inaccurate"-it's worth noting that Aloisi didn't cite a single specific error in the report-Aloisi wrote: "I didn't think that it was ever appropriate for the press or others to take shots at me through members of my family, but it seems that the rules of the game have changed."

Aloisi has since publicly apologized to the Globe. His boss, meanwhile, defended Aloisi last week-"He's my guy," Patrick said-at the same time he effectively rebuffed the media and his critics for wasting time on "trivial" matters.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Patrick has come under fire for decisions he failed, at least initially, to see as important.

Drapery-gate, Patrick's baptismal gaffe in the earliest days of his administration, really might have been a "trivial" issue. In fact, Patrick's decision to spend $11,000 on damask drapes-part of the $27,000 in public money he used to spruce up his State House office in January, 2007-might never have caused a stir if it hadn't been revealed just about the same time we learned that the governor had leased himself a $46,000 Cadillac rather than let himself be chauffeured around in the standard-issue Ford Crown Victoria. Cadillac-gate, too, seemed like pretty small potatoes against the backdrop of a looming $1 billion state budget deficit.

Nevertheless, Patrick eventually showed contrition. In late February, 2007, after having defiantly declared his Cadillac "useful and appropriate"-"You should take a ride in it. It's nice," the governor quipped to an AP reporter-Patrick decided to reimburse the state for his new office furnishings and contribute $550 per month to the cost of leasing his luxury sedan.

"All weekend long, I have been struggling with the budget constraints we are facing in the Commonwealth," Patrick said in a written statement at the time. "I realize I cannot in good conscience ask the agencies to make those choices without being willing to make them myself."

Of course, by the time he caved on the car and drapery issues, he was dealing with a host of other missteps, coming under scrutiny for his cavalier use of State Police helicopters and for hiring a $72,000-per-year staff member to handle scheduling and interview requests for his wife, lawyer Diane Patrick.

While Patrick's earliest gaffes may have been "rookie mistakes," the honeymoon was over a long time ago. Perhaps more damaging than the mistakes themselves is his immediate rush to defend his moves and attack his critics. In almost every case, Patrick eventually concedes-but only after his efforts to justify himself fall short.

In continually moving from arrogant indignation to slightly less arrogant apology, Patrick has damaged his credibility with all but his staunchest supporters. At the same time, these so-called "trivial" controversies help to distract voters from potentially thornier issues for Patrick, none more problematic right now than his appointment and continued support of Aloisi, whom many see as the architect of the corrupt and bloated system the governor claims to be reforming.

Beyond the insulting nature of his effort to minimize his nickel and dime mistakes, Patrick has failed to see what Aloisi knew all those years he fought to keep the tolls on the MassPike: those nickels and dimes really add up.

Click Here For The Article Link

MassGOP Research Briefing

If House Speaker Robert Deleo cares about ethics, why is Rep. Tom Petrolati on his leadership team?

Today, House Speaker Robert Deleo (D-Winthrop) will hold a press conference at 2pm to discuss ethics reform. (State House News Service, 3/24/09)

Speaker Deleo claims he cares about ethics: "Too often, the public has come to see people in government playing by a different set of rules than the rest of the world," said DeLeo in his e-mailed statement yesterday. "I look forward to working with Governor Patrick and Senate President Murray as we fix the way the people's business is done." (Boston Globe, 3/24/09)

Why is Rep. Thomas Petrolati (D-Ludlow) a member of the Speaker's leadership team?

In February, Speaker Deleo renamed Rep. Petrolati "speaker pro tempore": Yes, despite his thick-as-thieves relationship with ex-Speaker Sal DiMasi, Rep. Thomas Petrolati (D-Ludlow) will keep the fabricated post of ``speaker pro tempore'' under DeLeo. And where Petrolati goes, controversy follows. He is caught up in the ongoing probe into ticket-broker legislation that helped usher DiMasi out the door, and he helped engineer the last redistricting plan, the one a federal court ruled was rigged to protect incumbents. (Boston Herald, 2/13/09)

Rep. Petrolati is embroiled in the Vitale Ticket Brokers Scandal that forced former Democrat Speaker Sal DiMasi to resign: But Coakley's office said Vitale had repeated contact about the ticket brokers' legislation with both DiMasi and a key lieutenant, House Speaker Pro Tempore Thomas M. Petrolati. Vitale was paid $60,000 by the ticket brokers association, while attempting to keep his work on their behalf secret, authorities said...In another instance, Vitale forwarded e-mails from the ticket brokers to a personal e-mail address of DiMasi, according to Coakley. Investigators also allege that Vitale used a courier service to deliver printed copies of e-mails from the ticket brokers to Petrolati's office. (Boston Globe, 12/19/08)

In April of 2008, the Boston Herald also reported the Rep. Petrolati took 13 campaign contributions from convicted felons: House Speaker Sal DiMasi's second-in-command, Rep. Thomas Petrolati - a driving force behind major legislation on Beacon Hill - has accepted thousands in campaign contributions from reputed mobsters, bookmakers and a who's who of corrupt Springfield pols, a Herald review has found. Among the criminals who've contributed to Petrolati, the House speaker pro tempore, is Frank Colantoni, who served 12 years in connection with the 1989 mob hit on Patriarca crime family capo William Grasso. Colantoni, who has a rap sheet dating back to 1983, donated $500 to Petrolati's campaign in 2006, records show. (Boston Herald, 4/11/08)

VIDEO: A Boston Herald Reporter confronts Rep. Petrolati about his felon donors

Petrolati once told a grand jury under oath he didn't know what river the Tobin Bridge spans: Head of the redistricting committee, he said under oath that he didn't know where Charlestown is in relation to Chelsea or which river the Tobin Bridge passes over. (Hint: The bridge is also called the Mystic-Tobin.) (Boston Magazine, 12/04)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Nassour Says Governor Should Focus On Reform

GOP Says Patrick Has Questions To Answer

Boston, MA - The Massachusetts Republican Party today issued the following statement in response to news that
Governor Patrick will call on the Turnpike Authority to use cash reserves to delay a toll hike scheduled for March 29th.

MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour said, "If the Patrick Administration could tap cash reserves, why wasn't this option clearly explained earlier to the toll- and taxpayers? Why are they waiting until the last-minute to make this suggestion? Why has the Governor said nothing about his administration's failure to make reforms, like the promise to reduce 100 jobs at the Turnpike? Why hasn't the governor forcefully rejected his Transportation Secretary's declaration that 'reform before revenue' is a 'meaningless slogan'?"

"The Governor needs to stop focusing on tax and toll increases and start putting some serious effort into real reforms, including eliminating wasteful spending like the no-show jobs on Beacon Hill and the newly created jobs for his friends and neighbors. The Governor needs to explain to the hardworking families of Massachusetts who are struggling to manage their own household budgets why he chose to try to ram through an 11th hour tax increase instead of tackling real, obvious reforms," concluded Nassour.

In Case You Missed It!

The Boston Herald's Jerry Holbert On Governor Patrick

3/19/09

MassGOP Research Briefing

A Brief Timeline Of Events Surrounding Patrick Administration Secretary James Aloisi
Governor Patrick wanted him from the beginning, but he was the only one...


December, 2006

Shortly after being elected as Governor, the Boston Herald reported that Deval Patrick is looking to appoint James Aloisi as Transportation Secretary:
After months of decrying the ``Big Dig culture'' on Beacon Hill, Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is eyeing one of the project's longtime insiders as a possible pick for transportation secretary, the Herald has learned. Several sources said James A. Aloisi, whose firm made millions as legal counsel for the Turnpike Authority and wrote a Big Dig book, is on a short list of people being considered for the post. (Boston Herald, 12/14/06)

The Boston Herald notes that Aloisi is a long time Big-Dig insider, and was also the chief defender of James Kerasiotes, who was fired for concealing cost overruns: Because of his familiarity with the project's inner workings, Aloisi has remained involved in the Big Dig as an outside legal consultant - work for which he has billed the state more than $3 million. He was also the chief defender of former Big Dig Boss James Kerasiotes, who was fired for concealing billions of dollars in cost overruns. (Boston Herald, 12/14/06)

The Associated Press also noted that Aloisi was an advisor to former Turnpike chief Matt Amorello: He also helped advise former Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello in the wake of last July's fatal accident in one of the Big Dig tunnels, helping convince Amorello his legal options were running out in the face of efforts by Gov. Mitt Romney to oust him. Amorello eventually resigned. (Associated Press, 12/14/06)

Governor Patrick said he'd be "crazy" not to consider Aloisi as Transportation Secreatry: Gov.-elect Deval Patrick said he would be ``crazy'' not to consider longtime Big Dig insider Jim Aloisi for transportation secretary, even though Patrick demonized the project's political culture during the campaign for governor.``He is a very strong and well-respected expert in transportation,`` Patrick said of Aloisi during a press conference yesterday. ``And I think anybody would be crazy not to consider him.'' (Boston Herald, 12/15/06)

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette Editorialized that Aloisi presided over "a golden age of patronage, waste, abuse and political manipulation.": When word got out that lawyer James A. Aloisi Jr., a well-wired mover and shaker in Democratic politics, was being considered for the position of state transportation secretary in the Patrick administration, reporters' questions focused on his billing for legal work relating to the Big Dig. Far more troubling is his record at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.As general counsel, he and former chairman Allan R. McKinnon presided over a golden age of patronage, waste, abuse and political manipulation. (Telegram and Gazette, 12/17/06)

The Telegram noted that Aloisi once dismissed an Inspector General's report slamming the Big Dig, calling the IG "the Grinch that stole Christmas.": Two state inspectors general, Joseph R. Barresi and Robert A. Cerasoli, found a pervasive pattern of spendthrift policies, including high-cost perks to executives, donations to private charities, and lavish vacation, attendance and sick-leave policies.In a 1991 report, Mr. Cerasoli concluded the authority - which the Legislature intended to have a 30-year life span - had pursued a hidden agenda aimed at self-perpetuation, staying alive by increased long-term borrowing. Mr. Aloisi dismissed the report condescendingly, calling Mr. Cerasoli "the Grinch that stole Christmas." (Telegram and Gazette, 12/17/06)


Patrick ended up naming Bernard Cohen Transportation Secretary: "It's probably a good thing that somebody comes into a job like this with some strong experience but also a fresh eye and a clean slate," Aloisi said. "Patrick's going to be well-served by this pick." (Boston Globe, 12/24/06)

February, 2008

Governor Patrick appoints James Aloisi to the MassPort board: Gov. Deval Patrick has appointed James Aloisi Jr. to the Massachusetts Port Authority Board. Aloisi is a transportation law expert at the Boston firm of Goulston and Storrs. The law firm's Web site says Aloisi was a principal author of legislation creating the framework for financing of the $14.79 billion Big Dig, the nation's costliest highway project. Aloisi served in the Dukakis administration, eventually becoming general counsel for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority in the early 1990s. (AP, 2/11/08)

November, 2008

The Boston Globe reported that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was burdened with excessive debt and its credit rating was close to junk:
In the mid-1990s, state lawmakers were desperately searching for a way to pay the state's share of escalating Big Dig costs. To borrow the billions they would need, they found a financially stable government agency with a consistent source of income: the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. More than a decade later, the authority is unable to afford needed maintenance, has a credit rating just above junk bond status, and is in such a shambles that Governor Deval Patrick is drafting a plan to split it into parts and wipe it from the face of state government. (Boston Globe, 11/12/08)


The Globe noted that Aloisi drafted the law that made the Turnpike responsible for the Big Dig's finances: "No one is going to want to repeat the mistakes of the past," said James Aloisi Jr., an informal Patrick adviser and one of two Patrick appointees on the seven-member Massport board. "And one of the mistakes is that in the mid-'90s, we burdened the turnpike with excessive amounts of debt. And I don't believe anyone is contemplating anything like that in this plan." Aloisi should know. He was the Turnpike Authority's lawyer from 1989 through 1996 and drafted the law that made the agency responsible for the Big Dig's finances. He now regrets that decision. (Boston Globe, 11/12/08)

December, 2008

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen resigns:
Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen resigned Monday, having lost the confidence of the Patrick administration as it geared up for a major push to resolve the state's sizable and lingering transportation woes. (Associated Press, 12/16/08)


Republican lawmakers opposed replacing Cohen with Aloisi: Aloisi called a "ghost of Big Dig past," by Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth): Horrified lawmakers and transportation officials were outraged that Patrick is considering Aloisi, who made millions as legal counsel for the Turnpike Authority and was behind tying the $15 billion Big Dig boondoggle to the agency. ``He's a lingering ghost of Big Dig past, and he's partly responsible for getting us in this mess in the first place,'' said Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth). ``I can't believe there's nobody else out there capable of serving at this crucial time.'' (Boston Herald, 12/16/08)

The Boston Herald editorialized that Aloisi "helped ensure that Turnpike tolls would live on in perpetuity": Reports are swirling that Gov. Deval Patrick might soon replace his top transportation aide - with the man who helped ensure that Turnpike tolls would live on in perpetuity. Not quite the ``reform'' the commonwealth is crying out for. Yes, before he cashed in as a high-priced lawyer and consultant to the Big Dig James A. Aloisi Jr. served as general counsel to the Turnpike Authority. And in the waning days of the Dukakis administration, he helped engineer a controversial sale of Turnpike bonds that breathed new life into an authority marked for oblivion. (Boston Herald, 12/16/08)

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette editorialized that Aloisi played a key role in "placing the burden of paying for Boston's Big Dig on Central Massachusetts and MetroWest toll payers.": If transportation reform is the goal, Mr. Aloisi's part in securing the perpetuation of the turnpike authority in the 1980s and '90s should give Mr. Patrick pause. The authority was supposed to be eliminated when the construction bonds were paid off in the 1980s. As Pike general counsel and adviser to chairman Allan R. McKinnon, Mr. Aloisi was architect and chief defender of a borrowing strategy, hatched in 1989, that gave the authority a new lease on life. Two state inspectors general, Joseph R. Barresi and Robert A. Cerasoli, concluded that self-perpetuation was the turnpike authority's "hidden agenda." Mr. Aloisi also played a key role in legislation creating the Metropolitian Highway System that, contrary to its stated purpose, places much of the burden of paying for Boston's Big Dig on Central Massachusetts and MetroWest toll payers. His declaration in 1995 that the authority's "hope and expectation" was that any toll hikes would not be to pay for the Big Dig has proved to be disingenuous or naive. (Telegram and Gazette, 12/17/08)

The Boston Globe's Joan Vennochi said that Aloisi "helped create and nurture the culture of arrogance and secrecy Patrick pledged to change," and that the selection was "puzzling at best.": When he ran for governor, Deval Patrick promised to end what he called "the Big Dig culture." Now, Patrick is thinking about putting James A. Aloisi Jr. - a key architect, enabler, and beneficiary of that culture - in charge of reforming it. The prospect of Aloisi as the state's next transportation secretary is puzzling, at best. Aloisi, the Big Dig's former chief counsel, has no obvious track record as someone who tried to reform the system from within. In fact, he helped create and nurture the culture of arrogance and secrecy Patrick pledged to change. (Boston Globe, 12/18/08)

Even Democrats called Aloisi "involved in creating the disaster": ``I wish anyone well convincing the public to support tolls, a gas tax or any reforms if you have the very people involved in creating the disaster at the helm,'' said Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford). (Boston Herald, 12/17/08)

Governor Patrick names Aloisi Transportation Secretary: "After railing against the "Big Dig culture" on the campaign trail, Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday tapped a key Big Dig player to serve as transportation secretary and spearhead the overhaul of a state transportation structure imperiled in part by the $15 billion project's debt." (Associated Press, 12/19/08)

Note: Governor Patrick was so excited about his appointment, that he announced the pick during a blizzard: There is a time-honored tradition among public officials of releasing controversial news late on a Friday afternoon. That Gov. Deval Patrick chose to announce the appointment of James A. Aloisi Jr. as secretary of transportation during a Friday afternoon BLIZZARD well, maybe the administration just wanted to pay tribute to the old way of doing things. Because that really is what the appointment represents - a return to the good old, bad old days. That Patrick could bill the appointment as part of his effort to ``reform'' the state's transportation system, well, it's frankly laughable. (Boston Herald, 12/22/08)

January, 2009

The Boston Herald reported that Aloisi received a state pension while consulting for the Turnpike authority as recently as last year:
New transportation secretary James Aloisi has made big money off the Big Dig debacle, rolling up in the past two years nearly $1 million in his law firm's consulting fees from the Turnpike Authority while taking a $31,000 a year pension from the state agency. Critics blasted the transportation chief - who was profiting as a consultant from the $22 billion boondoggle as recently as last year - for taking $343,000 in pension payments while also working for the state...Aloisi, who's been on the new job for four days, worked for the state and the Turnpike Authority for almost 18 years combined, and began taking early retirement in 1996. Shortly afterward, he went to work for the now defunct law firm Hill and Barlow, which was a Big Dig consultant. Aloisi also collected consulting fees when the Turnpike later hired his firm Goulston and Storrs, taking in a total of $3 million off the project. (Boston Herald, 1/15/09)


The Boston Globe reported the Aloisi may have to recuse himself from some policy decisions because of financial ties between the turnpike authority and his previous employer: Governor Deval Patrick's new transportation secretary has acknowledged he may have to recuse himself from some policy decisions because of the extensive financial ties between his former law firm and the agencies he is now being asked to overhaul.
That firm, Goulston & Storrs, where James A. Aloisi Jr. was a partner, collected $2.8 million from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and $1.6 million from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority over the past five years, Aloisi's spokesman disclosed in response to written questions from the Globe last week. Aloisi, now chairman of both agencies, declined to be interviewed yesterday. Neither Aloisi nor his spokesman elaborated on which decisions, if any, he may have to avoid. But significant limits in his participation could jeopardize his ability to direct a complicated and controversial transportation reorganization that has become a top priority on Beacon Hill. In his new job, which he assumed last week, he is expected to lead Patrick's push to restructure and bail out the bureaucracies that run roads, tunnels, bridges, subways, buses, trains, and airports. (Boston Globe, 1/22/09)

The Associated Press reports that Governor Patrick is weighing a .27 cent gas tax hike: Gov. Deval Patrick is considering asking the Legislature to raise the Massachusetts gasoline tax by 27 cents per gallon as part of a comprehensive package aimed at solving lingering state transportation problems, The Associated Press learned Monday.(Associated Press, 2/9/09)

February, 2009


Aloisi continually interrupts Turnpike board member Mary Connaughton as she proposed alternatives to toll increases: Board member Mary Connaughton voted against the hikes and said she wanted the board to consider fairer alternatives and cost reductions. As she tried to outline a proposed amendment, Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, who also serves as the board's chairman, continually interrupted her and asked her to remain focused on the vote at hand. As Connaughton sought to explain her amendment, Aloisi stopped her and reread the proposed vote very slowly. (Boston Globe, 2/24/09)


WATCH: Video of Aloisi interrupting Mary Connaughton.

March, 2009


Aloisi tells the Boston Globe's Joan Vennochi that when he worked for the Turnpike Authority, it "wasn't his job to tell people the truth.":
The truth may set Jim Aloisi free. But it's going to cost Massachusetts taxpayers. Aloisi, the new state transportation secretary, argues passionately that the gas tax hike promoted by Governor Deval Patrick is urgently needed to make up for "sins of the past," which include covering up Big Dig costs. As lawyer to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Aloisi knew the sins and the sinners. But, "It wasn't my job to tell people the truth," he said during a visit to the Globe last week. Now, he declared, "I am liberated." A liberated Aloisi admits it was wrong for Big Dig champions to ask the Turnpike Authority to "bankrupt itself" to pay for the project's ever-escalating costs and wrong for the Turnpike Authority to go along with the request: "It bankrupted itself . . . Congratulations." Today, Aloisi labels it bad policy for board members to do what he did: arrogantly decide to run a public authority without transparency or accountability to the people or the governor they elect. Now, he calls it "a disgrace" that state transportation officials increased MBTA fares over the years instead of getting behind a politically painful gas tax increase. "I was part of the thinking of the '90s," said Aloisi. "I don't come in here as Caesar's wife." (Boston Globe, 3/1/09)


In response to Aloisi and Patrick's proposed "carbon fee" for parking at Logan Airport, the Boston Herald editorialized that "When it comes to arrogance Transportation Secretary James Aloisi is without peer.": When it comes to arrogance Transportation Secretary James Aloisi is without peer. Aloisi, of course, is the brains behind Gov. Deval Patrick's 19 cent gas tax hike and the rest of the governor's transportation reform plan. Among the ``reforms'' in that plan is a new $2 ``carbon fee'' that Aloisi and Patrick want assessed on anyone who parks at Logan Airport - whether for 10 minutes or 10 days. Aloisi told the Boston Globe last week that it SHOULDN'T be convenient to drive to Logan and park. ``We need people to understand that there are better ways to get to Logan,'' he said. Tell that to the mom traveling to Logan from Roslindale with her toddler, a baby stroller and luggage to make a 6 a.m. flight. (Boston Herald, 3/3/09)

The State House News Service then reported that Aloisi then referred to "reform before revenue" as a "meaningless slogan": Taking direct aim at the central mantra behind Senate President Therese Murray's transportation reform policy, Gov. Deval Patrick's top transportation aide on Wednesday derided her insistence on "reform before revenue" as a "meaningless slogan." In a closed-door, standing-room-only meeting with lawmakers and aides, Transportation Secretary James Aloisi stunned several of those in attendance with his harsh dismissal of the policy, to which Murray has clung despite the administration's approval of a $100 million toll hike and a 19-cent-per-gallon gas tax as mutually exclusive measures. Aloisi said he would advise Patrick to veto a nine cent-a-gallon gas tax hike, one in a series of proposed increases to the state's existing 23.5-cent levy. (State House News Service, 3/4/09)

Even Democrats said that "reform before revenue" was "certainly not meaningless": Senate leaders said they were bewildered by the criticism. "I don't even know what to think," said Senate Ways and Means chair Steven Panagiotakos. "I would say it's certainly not meaningless to the citizens of Massachusetts," said Panagiotakos (D-Lowell). "Everywhere I've gone, people have thought that was the proper approach: clean up the transportation system, make it as efficient as possible, then you have an idea of how much it's going to cost." (State House News Service, 3/4/09)

Aloisi then referred to Turnpike board member Mary Connaughton as a "gadfly": Patrick's new transportation secretary and the chairman of the authority's board, James A. Aloisi Jr., is not nearly as charitable. His treatment of her during a recent vote to raise tolls - in which she was the only dissenter - attracted criticism from Senate President Therese Murray and a call for an apology from the state Republican Party. ``Respect is a two-way street,'' Aloisi said, a few days after cutting Connaughton off repeatedly during the Feb. 24 meeting and removing her from a spot on the authority's audit committee, where she had freer access to agency documents. ``And I wasn't treated with respect and I haven't been treated with respect by her since the first day I took this job.'' ``She's a distraction,'' he continued. ``She's a gadfly. And I have more important things to do.'' (Boston Globe, 3/9/09)

The Boston Globe then reported that Aloisi's sister Carol had a no-show job at the State House: Her title was chief of staff, but she had no staff and reported to no one. That did not prevent Carol Aloisi from collecting a $60,000 State House salary for six months, until a state representative found her - literally - sitting in his new office and put her to work. Aloisi, the sister of state Transportation Secretary James Aloisi Jr., was assigned in August by House leaders to the onetime office of former state representative Rachel Kaprielian months after Kaprielian had vacated her post to head up the state Registry of Motor Vehicles. When aides to Representative Garrett Bradley of Hingham, named as Kaprielian's successor as floor leader this year, arrived to take over the office two weeks ago, they were baffled to find her there. (Boston Globe, 3/17/09)

The Boston Globe editorialized that Aloisi "isn't the most obvious symbol of reform" and is a "tainted messenger.": While Governor Patrick wants to fix the state's transportation bureaucracy, his new transportation secretary, James F. Aloisi Jr., isn't the most obvious symbol of reform. The Globe's Andrea Estes reported yesterday that Aloisi's sister, Carol Aloisi, holds a state job that paid her $60,000 for doing nothing. It's hard to imagine anyone without connections getting such a plum deal...Passing these reforms - which Patrick says are as vital to his plan as the gas tax hike - means convincing unions and their political allies that the state's fiscal stability is at risk. Aloisi, who is supposed to press the governor's message of reform, is a tainted messenger. (Boston Globe, 3/18/09)

Then Aloisi attacked the Boston Globe in a blog post for the story about his sister. He later apologized: State Transportation Secretary James Aloisi Jr., abruptly reversing course yesterday, publicly lashed out at the Globe for a story describing how his sister recently held a legislative job with no apparent duties and then issued an apology to the paper and one of its reporters. The episode, one in a string of high-profile conflicts involving Governor Deval Patrick's recent appointee, began with a strongly worded blog posting on Tuesday night. In it, Aloisi criticized a Globe story that disclosed Carol Aloisi's lack of responsibilities for six months despite her $60,000-a-year salary. Aloisi called the story "misleading," "inaccurate," and "disgraceful." (Boston Globe, 3/19/09)

MassGOP's Special Election Phone Bank for Jim Tedisco of NY

The Massachusetts Republican Party is holding a phone bank this Saturday, March 21, at its headquarters located at 85 Merrimac Street to support Jim Tedisco.

Jim Tedisco is a Republican running in a special election in New York's 20th congressional district. He is in a close race and can use the support of his Republican friends in a neighboring state.

If you have any questions please feel free to email karl@rebuildtheparty.com

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

In Case You Missed It!

Note: Patrick administration officials would not comment today on Aloisi's blog posting, which appeared Tuesday night, other than to say it was unauthorized. (Boston Globe, 3/18/09)

Aloisi defends sister in blog
The Boston Globe, 3/18/09
By Andrea Estes

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/03/aloisi_defends.html

In a highly unusual and strongly worded blog posting from a top Patrick administration official, State Transportation Secretary James Aloisi Jr. lashed out at the Globe while defending his sister, who held a $60,000-a-year legislative job for six months in 2008 and 2009 with no apparent responsibilities.

Aloisi described the Globe story that revealed Carol Aloisi's no-work job as "misleading," "inaccurate," and "disgraceful." He provided no details on the blog of what he considered erroneous, and did not respond to repeated requests for comment from a Globe reporter today.

Aloisi and his sister turned down repeated requests on Monday to comment for the original story, which was published in Tuesday's Globe.

"I didn't think that it was ever appropriate for the press or others to take shots at me through members of my family, but it seems that the rules of the game have changed," Aloisi wrote on Blue Mass Group blog, a left-leaning forum frequented by Democratic activists and politicians.

Patrick administration officials would not comment today on Aloisi's blog posting, which appeared Tuesday night, other than to say it was unauthorized.

Aloisi, a former Big Dig lawyer, has not shied from controversy since Patrick appointed him in December to lead the state through a major overhaul of its transportation system. In a closed door meeting, he disparaged Senate President Therese Murray's approach to transportation legislation calling her "reform before revenue" mantra a "meaningless slogan." He also called Turnpike Authority board member Mary Connaughton, a Republican appointee who has been sharply critical of the Turnpike's finances, "a distraction. She's a gadfly and I have more important things to do," he told a Globe reporter.

Aloisi said in the posting Tuesday night that his sister had an "unblemished record'' since she began working in the House in 2003 and that she had repeatedly sought reassignment beginning last August when she was posted in the vacant State House office a former legislator, a job that left her with nothing to do.

"She has been a leader in the state Democratic party for many years. She has never needed to call on me for help in getting a job or keeping a job,'' he said.

Carol Aloisi was hired by former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi to be chief of staff to Springfield Representative Cheryl Coakley-Rivera. Last year, she asked to be transferred after a dispute over attendance. In September, the speaker's office sent her to the office of Representative Rachel Kaprielian, even though the Watertown lawmaker had left months before to become Registrar of Motor Vehicles.
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