"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.
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