Robert DeLeo blames casino woes on Deval Patrick

Photo by Nancy Lane

Gov. Deval Patrick is jeopardizing his re-election and “underestimating” voters if he kowtows to liberals and kills slots, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told the Herald yesterday, as he blamed the “rigid” governor for the likely fatal deadlock on expand gambling.

“He’s probably underestimating the average working man and woman out there who want this,” the Winthrop Democrat said, even as he acknowledged the chances of passing casino gaming this year are “very doubtful.”

DeLeo – who indicated Patrick was playing to his liberal political base by blocking slots – said the governor must pay more attention to the state’s blue-collar Democrats or pay the consequences in November.

“I think saying no to local aid, saying no to 15,000 jobs, I think that could be an issue,” DeLeo said when asked about the governor’s re-election bid, adding that unions were “outraged” by Patrick’s decision to send the casino bill back instead of signing it.

Patrick insisted yesterday he’s not playing politics but added that he’s prepared for the blowback.

“If there are political consequences that come from that, then so be it,” Patrick said. He added that supporting slot licenses for the racetracks puts “short-term interest of a few against the long-term interest of the many.”

A frustrated DeLeo yesterday also mocked Patrick’s gaming compromise. The governor said last week he’d accept one competitively bid slot license after DeLeo pushed for four licenses – and eventually two.

“Just to say you’ll go to one, well, gee, thanks. I cut mine in half,” DeLeo said, adding that he was confused as to why Patrick then reversed his decision and slashed all slots.

“I think if you’re trying to work towards a compromise and you retreat from that compromise – how serious were you to begin with?” DeLeo said.

The clash between the Beacon Hill leaders comes as Senate President Therese Murray said she didn’t see how the casino legislation “can be salvaged.”

Lawmakers must return to formal session to reverse Patrick’s changes – something both Murray and DeLeo said is unlikely.

A resigned DeLeo defended his work throughout the session, however, pointing to other accomplishments such as ethics, transportation and pension overhauls.

“We’ve done a whole lot in these two years,” DeLeo said. “I think I’ve pretty much passed all the tests.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1272195

Gov. Deval Patrick to sign national popular vote bill
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Mass. to divest pension investments in Iran
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Patrick: No deal for no-bid contract on slots
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Patrick’s stand on casinos a gamble

Amending bill keeps issue in play, may pay off in fall

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff  |  August 2, 2010

Article Courtesy of:  Boston.com

As the casino resorts he once championed teetered closer to defeat yesterday, Governor Deval Patrick was walking a tightrope between two important parts of his base: liberals, many of whom were horrified at the prospect of casino gambling in the state; and labor unions, which view resort casinos as a major source of new jobs.

If the impasse continues, Patrick is better positioned to cobble together support in the fall election, according to several political analysts, because he blocked slots at racetracks — which gambling opponents decry as particularly corrosive — and can argue to unions that he advocated for job-creating casinos.

Patrick’s posture carries risks, however. Organized labor may yet hold him accountable for the demise of a bill unions dearly wanted, and liberal opponents of casinos may not forgive him for proposing them in the first place. Plus, the monthslong debate over gambling has given ammunition to Republicans, who say he has failed to grapple with far more important economic challenges facing Massachusetts.

“The governor looks principled and determined, but he also looks in a way like he can’t get the job done,’’ said Jeffrey Berry, a Tufts University political science professor who called the probable defeat of resort casinos a “split decision’’ for the governor. Berry said the battle over casinos has “left the Democratic electorate scratching its head.’’

The casino gambling bill, which won overwhelming support from state lawmakers Saturday in the waning hours of the legislative session, remained in a kind of limbo yesterday. At an appearance in Worcester, Patrick reiterated his intention to send it back to lawmakers with an amendment that would strip out the slot parlors and allow simply for three resort-style casinos in different parts of the state.

Patrick had been pushing a bill focused solely on casinos, while the Legislature — at the insistence of the House — demanded the inclusion of slot machines at the racetracks to help those struggling businesses survive.

“I call on the Legislature to accept the amendment promptly so that we can provide the good jobs at better wages and benefits that we all agree are available in destination resort casinos,’’ Patrick said. “Had they done so two years ago, when I first proposed it, thousands of workers in the building trades and in other fields would be working today.’’

But a spokesman for House Speaker Robert DeLeo, whose district hosts two of the state’s racetracks, said that he was not backing down. “Anything short of Governor Patrick approving this compromise bill represents a decision to kill the prospects of 15,000 new jobs and immediate local aid to our cities and towns,’’ spokesman Seth Gitell said.

Whether the Legislature will even consider Patrick’s proposal is unknown. The legislative session expired for the year on Saturday night and House and Senate leaders have said they would not call lawmakers back in. Even if they did, Senate President Therese Murray has made it clear that she does not have the votes necessary to override Patrick’s changes. If the Legislature does not reconvene to consider Patrick’s amendment, the bill will die for the year.

But Murray suggested another solution yesterday, saying that Patrick could safely sign the bill as is, because of a clause that she says gives him the power to block slot parlors at racetracks. She said the Legislature specifically put the decision as to whether tracks would have slots in the hands of the state commission that would be created to govern expanded gambling.

“The commission clearly can decide whether there should be two or one, or none,’’ Murray said in an interview.

She insisted that the governor would in effect control the five-member commission because he would appoint one member himself and two others in joint agreement with the state treasurer and the attorney general.

“He should declare victory,’’ Murray said. “It’s out of the political sphere now.’’

But Patrick and his aides said that does not give him enough assurances.

“The bottom line is this bill allows for no-bid slot licenses for track owners and the governor only has one guaranteed appointment to the commission out of five members,’’ said Kyle Sullivan, Patrick’s communication director.

Patrick has long opposed slot machines as a way to prop up the state’s racetracks, but last week said he would approve one slot parlor as long as it was subject to an open bidding process and not promised to one of the tracks.

If casino gambling stalls, Patrick could begin making amends with his base heading into the fall elections, some observers said.

“By rejecting the Legislature’s bill, Deval wins twice,’’ said Dan Payne, a Democratic media consultant, who is unaffiliated with Patrick’s 2010 campaign. “First, he shows that he will stand up to a Democratic Legislature, while at the same time, Patrick warms the hearts of those in his liberal base who consider slot machines as a form of economic slavery for poor people and those with gambling addictions.’’

Warren Tolman, the former Democratic state senator from Watertown and one-time gubernatorial candidate, said that Patrick’s impasse with Democrats could undercut the criticism that his gubernatorial rivals, Charles D. Baker and independent Timothy P. Cahill, are leveling at him.

“He stood up and held resolute in his demands, and still got a lot of the legislative initiatives he wanted,’’ Tolman said. “The big component in both Baker and Cahill’s arguments is that Patrick is part of the Democratic problem on Beacon Hill, but here we have Patrick standing up to the House and Senate on one of their biggest issues and saying ‘I am not doing your way.’ Whether you like the end result or not, you have to impressed with his leadership.’’

Republicans have a different take. They say Patrick has yet to show any leadership in resolving the state’s serious fiscal problems or getting any of the reforms in place that would make state government more efficient. “Governor Patrick has failed to enact the reforms and tackle the difficult issues facing Massachusetts and, as a result, the Commonwealth still faces a $1 billion budget deficit this year and a $2.5 billion deficit next year even after eight new tax increases,’’ Rick Gorka, Baker’s campaign spokesman, said yesterday.

Baker supports casinos, but says the state should start with one, to test its effect on the economy.

Cahill’s campaign declined to comment, but in a statement on his website, the state treasurer called on Patrick to sign the bill and “not play politics with our economy.’’

“With the construction industry suffering, unemployment at record highs, and hundreds of millions of dollars leaving our state each year, not voting to compete in the area of expanded gaming would be yet another setback for Massachusetts. We need to create jobs, expand tourism — and most importantly — put our citizens back to work,’’ the statement read.

The expansion of gambling has long put Patrick between the liberal wing of the party and labor. Both factions have been central to the Democratic party’s success in statewide elections for decades. One consists of the reform-minded political community that evaluates candidates on issues such as gay marriage, campaign finance, and social justice. The other is made up of blue collar, union voters who look to Beacon Hill for support on issues and programs that directly affect their paychecks: laws and regulations that essentially limit state construction projects to union labor, the setting of wage levels, and the management of unemployment benefits.

Patrick strategists, who did not want to talk on the record, are counting on liberals, in the end, being with him on Election Day. With the casino debate off the table, that seems probable. As for labor, they realize Patrick will be the target of much of their anger. But they note that labor has always been lukewarm to Patrick and did not play a significant role in his landslide victory four years ago.

Globe correspondents June Q. Wu and Alex Katz contributed to this report. Frank Phillips can be reached at phillips@globe.com

Scandal raises issues for Patrick

Team’s dealings with DiMasi are criticized

By Andrea Estes and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | June 4, 2009

Leslie A. Kirwan is Governor Deval Patrick's secretary of administration and finance.

The corruption indictment of former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi contains what critics are calling an unflattering behind-the-scenes look at Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, depicting its officials as bowing to political pressure to award a $13 million computer software contract that was allegedly rigged.

No Patrick officials have been implicated in criminal wrongdoing. Yet the scandal, one of the biggest to roil Beacon Hill in decades, has the potential to create political problems for the governor as he pushes forward on ethics law changes and lays the groundwork for a reelection campaign.

Yesterday, critics seized on the impression that the Patrick administration, which awarded one of two Cognos ULC contracts cited in the indictment, failed to respond to a series of red flags indicating that DiMasi and others were exerting heavy influence.

“What the speaker is accused of doing is absolutely wrong – and he should be held accountable – but it takes two to tango,” said House minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., a North Reading Republican. “Somebody in the administration knew it was important to the speaker, and somebody made the decision to go forward with it.”

DiMasi is accused by federal authorities of reaping $57,000 from the software company even as his associates pushed state officials to award contracts to the firm. Three friends were also indicted. No further indictments are expected.

“There was a lot of insider baseball going on, and you wonder how the contract got approved in the first place,” said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei, a Wakefield Republican. “Was awarding that contract in the best interest of the people in Massachusetts, or was it done to placate the speaker? That’s really the question.”

Yesterday Patrick’s office acknowledged that the administration could have acted sooner to scuttle the project. But administration officials said Patrick and his staff were unaware that DiMasi was pushing for a contract award to Cognos, and they denied any deal-making with the speaker.

“There have been absolutely no allegations by the investigators of misconduct of any kind by any senior Patrick administration official,” said spokesman Joe Landolfi. “We are confident that senior administration officials acted appropriately at all times.”

Landolfi declined to discuss specific allegations in the indictment, citing the ongoing federal investigation.

In the indictment, prosecutors cite at least three instances when DiMasi is alleged to have approached Leslie A. Kirwan, Patrick’s secretary of administration and finance, to discuss “performance management software,” the kind of software manufactured by Cognos. Prosecutors also refer to other unidentified administration officials who were in contact with DiMasi or his chief of staff, Maryann Calia.

In May 2007, the indictment says, Richard McDonough, who was a Cognos lobbyist and close friend of DiMasi’s, told an unnamed “executive official” that DiMasi was keenly interested in the contract and “wanted to make sure it went to the right vendor.” Sources briefed on the investigation have identified the official as David Morales, Patrick’s deputy chief of staff.

Kirwan awarded the contract to Cognos in August 2007.

The administration has refused repeated requests to make Kirwan and Morales available for interviews and continued to refuse interview requests this week in the wake of Tuesday’s indictments. In addition, Patrick declined an interview request yesterday.

DiMasi was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on a charge of participating in a scheme that allowed him to pocket $57,000 in payments from Cognos while making sure the company won state contracts.

Three close DiMasi associates – Cognos lobbyist McDonough, its sales agent Joseph Lally, and DiMasi’s former accountant Richard Vitale – also were indicted. They each collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for their alleged help in winning multimillion-dollar Cognos contracts from the state.

The multiple corruption counts carry maximum prison terms of up to 20 years each, although federal sentencing guidelines would trim those sentences by half or more. Acting US Attorney Michael Loucks announced the indictments at a press conference Tuesday.

In the 33-page indictment, prosecutors cited numerous instances in which Kirwan or officials of the Office of Administration and Finance were alerted to DiMasi’s interest in the software contract:

# Within a month after taking office in 2007, Kirwan held a meeting with acting state chief information officer Bethann Pepoli and DiMasi during which “performance management” software was discussed. Administration officials had not previously publicly acknowledged such a meeting. Cognos, according to records, donated $10,000 to Patrick’s inaugural committee.

# In a March 2007 e-mail to Office of Administration and Finance officials, Pepoli wrote: “I know that Speaker DiMasi really really wants the performance management project in the emergency bond bill and will add it if we don’t include it.”

# Aides to the governor were involved enough to be exchanging e-mails about DiMasi’s desire to have funding for the contract included in the bond bill. “I just spoke with [the speaker's chief of staff],” read an e-mail, sent on March 12, 2007. “I told her that we were including the speaker’s request in the bill. She was very appreciative.”

# In April or May 2007, DiMasi “contacted the Secretary of A&F and inquired how the procurement for business intelligence was going,” referring to the software.

# On May 22, at a function attended by both, DiMasi told Kirwan “he wanted to call or meet with her about performance management.”

Despite the repeated contact, administration officials pointed blame for the award at a holdover from the Romney administration, Pepoli. Pepoli selected the winning bidder and recommended approval to higher-level officials in a bid process that has since been found to be improper. Pepoli has since left state government and did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment.

The governor and his staff have said Patrick officials, as soon as they discovered something was amiss, referred the matter for investigation, canceled the Cognos contract, and recovered the $13 million.

In December 2007, just four months after she awarded the contract to Cognos, Kirwan asked Inspector General Gregory Sullivan to investigate. Her letter left the impression that it was the administration’s decisive action that prompted Sullivan’s probe. She wrote that the Patrick administration notified Sullivan as soon as it was made aware of any “possible irregularities.”

Officials said yesterday that they did not know that the inspector general had already launched a probe before they contacted the office.

House Democrats made an overwhelming show of support for DiMasi in a reelection vote less than five months ago, just before he resigned in January. Yesterday, less then 24 hours after indictment of their former speaker, House Democrats retreated to a closed-door caucus, where DiMasi’s successor, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, told members he “felt like he was punched in the stomach,” according to House members in attendance.

Leading Democrats, including DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray, declined to discuss the impact the indictment could have on the Patrick administration.

Patrick, Murray, and DeLeo released a joint statement calling the charges against DiMasi “deeply disturbing.”

“In light of the recent developments, we believe it is critical that we stand united in our shared commitment to restoring the public trust,” the statement read. “Therefore, we have agreed that ethics reform legislation will be passed and signed into law swiftly that includes the best provisions from all three of our proposals. We owe the people of Massachusetts nothing less.”

Deval Patrick to visit D.C. amid top court rumor

Gov. Deval Patrick is heading to the White House to meet with President Obama amid speculation he is among those being considered for a Supreme Court post.

An event added to his official schedule for today has him attending an auto emissions announcement with the president. It had not been on the governor’s schedule before Monday. His staff had only said he was traveling to Atlanta for a biotechnology conference.

Another possible Supreme Court contender – Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm – is also expected to be at the White House today for the auto emissions event. It was not known if Obama planned to meet with Patrick or Granholm about the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring Justice David Souter.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1173287

Between the Lines: Deval’s Promise
Instead of addressing structural deficits created by income tax cuts enacted by his predecessors, Gov. Patrick leaves property tax payers in the lurch.
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
By Tom Vannah

When he campaigned for governor, Deval Patrick approached the subject of taxation with apparent intelligence and courage. Since coming to office in 2007, however, the governor has wandered far from his campaign promise to provide property tax relief by restoring local aid to municipalities.

Rather than confront the correlation between lower income taxes and higher property taxes and fees, as he did in his campaign, Patrick first cast his lot with the casino industry in a scheme ostensibly intended to increase state revenue. Now he finds himself pushing another unpopular plan to raise revenue through a proposed 19-cent per gallon gas tax hike.

At a debate in Springfield on Oct. 4, 2006, then-candidate Patrick rejected the idea, pushed by his opponents, to roll back state income tax rates from 5.3 percent to 5 percent. “We roll the income tax back and we pay for it with higher property taxes and exorbitant fees in many cases,” Patrick said. “I believe that the tax to cut right now, and to do it immediately, is the property tax and to relieve these exorbitant fees.” To cut property taxes, Patrick promised “to restore local aid.”

At a debate a few days later, Patrick again tried to focus voters not just on income taxes, which his Republican predecessors had been cutting for nearly 16 years, but the total tax burden. “Look, we focus on the wrong tax,” Patrick said. “The tax to cut is the property tax, and the only way to cut the property tax is to take the state surplus right now and return it to cities and towns in the form of greater local aid. And we cannot afford to do that& and at the same time roll the income tax back.”

Of course, the surplus is now gone. The economy has collapsed. But the governor still pays lip service to the idea of property tax relief. “With falling state revenues and cuts in local aid, cities and towns have been forced to pass the costs of essential services along to homeowners in the form of residential property taxes,” he wrote in support of his proposed Municipal Partnership Act this year. “Homeowners in Massachusetts need real property tax relief, and they need it today.”

But how does Patrick propose to provide the relief he believes homeowners so desperately need? At the national level, President Obama proposes to provide tax relief to working families by manipulating the income tax, repealing Bush-era tax cuts and restoring marginal rates to pre-2001 levels. In other words, he looks to a progressive form of taxation, income tax, as a means to raise total revenues—to send more money to the states—while cutting taxes on the middle class.

Patrick, by contrast, proposes no property tax relief nor any restoration of local aid. Rather, through the Municipal Partnership Act, he would allow cities and towns to pass local meals and hotel taxes. His plan, like his proposed gas tax, is not only regressive, hitting the poor harder than the wealthy; it also fails to address the structural deficit that is at the heart of the problem.

A Jan. 14, 2009 report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Substantial Surpluses to Dangerous Deficits: A Look at State Fiscal Policies from 1998 to 2008, makes the problem clear. Between 1998 and 2008, the state economy grew at an annual rate of 2.64 percent while state spending grew at an annual rate of only 2.26 percent; the amount of money spent on education, health care, human services, local aid, and the rest of the state budget grew more slowly than the economy as a whole.

“If spending was declining as a share of the economy, why did the state’s fiscal condition deteriorate?” the report asks. “During the same 10 years, revenue, which includes state taxes and fees, grew at an annual rate of 1.48 percent& significantly slower than the growth of the economy as a whole. This was because the state made substantial income tax cuts and the sales tax has not kept pace with changes in the economy. If the tax revenue had grown as a steady share of the economy during these past 10 years, Massachusetts would have shown a substantial surplus and would have been in a far better position to weather the current national recession.”

Patrick was right to carp at his Republican predecessors for playing a shell game with taxes, cutting income taxes and depriving municipalities of sufficient local aid. Sadly, given his failure to push progressive tax reform, he now looks like a con artist or a coward.

GOP lawmakers blast Patrick’s toll hike, gas tax ideas
By Rosemary D’Amour
GateHouse News Service
Posted Feb 27, 2009 @ 12:31 PM
BOSTON —

Republican lawmakers went on the offensive against Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax proposals Thursday, saying Massachusetts residents are being presented with the Democrats’ “false choices” of increased taxes and tolls vs. an economic crisis of crumbling highways and limited state services.

“We are tired of this argument being painted as if increasing the gas tax and raising the tolls are our only solutions,” said Rep. Karyn Polito, R-Shrewsbury, following a State House press conference. “When the only choices presented amount to asking for more money from our citizens, there is no choice at all.”

Republicans expressed disappointment following a Tuesday vote by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board for a $100 million toll hike, saying that Democratic leadership seemed to be interested more in revenue than reform.

Minority party leaders also noted a recent string of taxes on fuel, hotel and meals, and candy, soda and alcohol taxes as a way of avoiding necessary reforms and reducing government spending during a time of financial crisis.

“Reform seems to get put to the back burner, if it makes the stove at all,” said House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-Reading, citing the cigarette tax and licensing fees.

Republican lawmakers also criticized the governor for taking two years to submit a transportation bill.

Rep. George Peterson, R-Westborough, noted that if reform legislation had been passed during the Romney administration nearly five years ago, the Turnpike would have avoided the current threat of financial ruin.

“If that had happened, we would not be looking at higher tolls today,” said Peterson.

Patrick submitted his transportation reform bill on Tuesday, which includes a 19-cent increase on the state’s 23.5-cent gasoline tax along with significant efficiency-driven reforms that the governor said would reduce the bureaucracy within the transportation department.

The criticisms by Republicans left a bitter taste for many Democrats.

“We’re now dealing with 16 years of inaction by Republican governors,” said freshman Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Bolton. “They did not take care of public buildings, universities, roads and bridges, and now they’re criticizing a plan that has taken 16 months to develop.”

MetroWest legislators have generally supported a gas tax increase over toll hikes.

The Turnpike Authority’s board has given tentative approval to a plan to nearly double tolls for commuters coming into Boston from the western suburbs.

Patrick has said he would not support increases in both tolls and the gas tax. He said Wednesday he would veto legislation that did not involve “adequate” reform.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said he was hopeful that the Legislature would address the transportation issue next month, but many lawmakers are concerned they will not have enough time to pass legislation before the toll hikes go into effect.

Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, said state government did not have sufficient revenue to wait for long.

“We should squeeze out every nickel and dime we have in the budget,” said Linsky. “But at the end of the day, the state has $20 billion in unmet transportation and infrastructure needs, and there needs to be some revenue source to pay for it.”

The Legislature has scheduled four regional hearings throughout the state, beginning next week, to discuss plans presented by Senate leadership and the governor for transportation reform and financing.

The MetroWest Daily News

Patrick says he’s flexible on size of gas tax hike

Legislators hint 19 cents might be too steep

Republican Party supporters protested Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed increase in the gas tax in front of the State House yesterday morning. (Globe Staff Photo / George Rizer)

Deval Patrick revs up gas tax hike
Would link increase to inflation

Photo by Matt Stone

Hidden deep inside Gov. Deval Patrick’s new plan is a fine-print provision linking the gas tax rate to yearly inflation-fueled hikes in the consumer price index, guaranteeing Bay State drivers will keep getting hosed at the pump long after he leaves the Corner Office.

Patrick announced yesterday he wants to boost the gas tax by a whopping 19 cents, upping the state tax from 23.5 to 42.5 cents and bringing $600 million into state coffers. But in a little-noticed provision tucked inside his proposal, the gas tax would automatically grow each year by the same percentage as the rise in consumer prices.

“I can’t wait to see how this plays when we get into double-digit inflation,” said Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “The public response to this should be, ‘No, not until we get the reforms.’ ”

The $787 billion federal stimulus is expected to goose inflation by as much 2.5 percent a year, even if the economy bounces back, said Mark Zandy of Moody’s economy.com.

“There is some concern that it will accelerate in 2011 and 2012,” said Zandy, meaning state taxpayers could be hit by a double whammy – ever-growing hikes in both consumer prices and the gas tax.

Patrick said yesterday that his proposed gas tax increase would avert an unpopular toll hike, but he intends to leave all tollbooths on the Mass Pike in place – in sharp contrast to his earlier pledge to take down those west of Route 128. He’s also reportedly seeking to put tolls on the border.

Patrick yesterday argued the current increase would cost the average resident only $8 a month, or the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

“It’s clear to me that there is political risk in these proposals,” Patrick said. “Our long-term job growth and economic security . . . depend on both major reforms and new revenue now.”

Both Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray declined to address the consumer price link, saying they needed to study it more. But one Republican lawmaker predicted an ever-expanding gas tax would be dead on arrival in the Legislature.

“I don’t think this will have a lot of support,” said Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) “It’s a pretty insatiable appetite as far as looking at sources of revenue.”

Christy Mihos, who is considering challenging Patrick again in 2010, said he sold off his Cape Cod-based gas stations to Hess earlier this month because the state was too hostile to small businesses.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult for Deval Patrick to be re-elected after this,” Mihos said. “It just makes it very difficult for small businesses to flourish in the commonwealth.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1153598

1. Making Massachusetts a national leader on clean energy

• Joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
• Worked with Legislature to develop comprehensive energy and advanced biofuels legislation to help consumers deal with the rising cost of fossil fuels.
• Passed a first-in-the-nation comprehensive oceans bill for our state waters.
• Approved the final state environmental review for Cape Wind.
• Launched Commonwealth Solar rebate program to spur installation of solar electric power.

2. Marriage equality for all Massachusetts residents

3. $1 billion life science initiative

Worked with the Legislature to position Massachusetts as a world leader in the emerging biotechnology industry, create thousands of new jobs, help develop life-saving new cures, and establish an international stem cell bank.

4. The readiness project

• Developed a grassroots coalition to bring global standards to all students, close the achievement gap, and build upon the lessons learned from the past 15 years of education reform.
• Made the strongest investment in education in state history, and expanded early childhood education, extended learning opportunities and higher education funding.
• Created a Secretary of Education for increased accountability and leadership.

5. Civic engagement

Created Commonwealth Corps to further civic engagement throughout the state, expanded the SERV Program, developed a Statewide Youth Council, instituted Park Serve Day and the Offices of Civic Engagement and Public Liaison.

6. Successfully implemented health care reform…

…providing health insurance for 340,000 previously uninsured residents and making Massachusetts a national leader in providing health care coverage.

7. Closed corporate tax loopholes

Froze the unemployment insurance rate and lowered the business tax rate for 15-20,000 small and mid-sized Massachusetts companies.

8. Increasing access to state government

Increased the number of women and people of color serving in state government and on boards and commissions, established the Access and Opportunity Initiative as a central coordinating point for accessing state government provided for constituent services online and improved accessibility via the web.

9. Foreclosure prevention initiatives

• Established best-in-the-nation practices to deal with the foreclosure crisis, including a 90-day “right to cure” cooling-off period to help residents stay in their homes.
• Initiated a process to apply the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to some of the state’s largest lenders in order to hold them accountable.

10. A concerted commitment to job creation

• Over 15,000 new jobs created, 8th in job creation in the country for the first quarter of 2008.
• Streamlined state permitting processes to spur job creation.
• Development of regional growth districts to spur regional economies.
• 90-day economic stimulus plan to help protect MA from national economic downturn.
• Worked with the Legislature to pass the film tax credit resulting in over $630 million in new economic activity.

11. Instituting real reforms and long-term change

• Introduced managed competition in auto insurance to lower rates and provide more choices.
• Instituted significant management reforms at the Turnpike Authority, saving $14 million.
• Fought to institute long-term savings by asking state employees to contribute more for their health insurance contributions based on an ability to pay.
• Major reforms in transportation policy, including reducing the average time to complete projects from 10 years to 5.8 and developing a policy for using civilian flaggers on road projects.
• Significantly reduced the backlog at the state crime lab and instituted reforms that helped law enforcement solve more crimes.

12. Making our communities safer

• Increased the number of police officers on the streets.
• Expanded Shannon grants, DPH anti-violence grants, and summer jobs programs to support law enforcement and crime prevention efforts.
• Established the Governor’s Statewide Anti-Crime Council.
• Filed legislation for CORI reform, post-release supervision and to limit gun purchases to one per month.

13. After 16 years of neglect, made long-term investments in our roads and bridges…

…through passage of a $3.5 billion transportation bond bill and the development of a $3 billion program to repair over 400 structurally deficient bridges across the state. Brought coordination to the many transportation agencies through the MA Mobility Compact, and instituted the 511 Traveler Information System, which gets 50,000 calls each month.

14. First-ever five-year capital spending plan…

…supported by national bond rating agencies to ensure fiscal responsibility and long-term planning and investment, and filed $16 billion in bond bills to invest in public infrastructure.

15. Governor of the whole state

• Opened a western Massachusetts office.
• Convened cabinet, Anti-Crime Council, and Readiness meetings around the state.
• Filed legislation to deliver universal broadband access across the Commonwealth.

16. Passed parts of the municipal partnership act…

…to give cities and towns the relief they need from skyrocketing health care and pension costs.

17. Appointed reform-minded leaders…

…and established responsive, accountable management in historically challenging agencies like DSS, DCR, Department of Corrections, Division of Insurance, and the Turnpike Authority. Established the first Child Welfare Advocate.

18. Moving an agenda to affirm human dignity

• Extended the buffer zone to protect the safety of women seeking reproductive health services.
• Secured $10 million to help end homelessness in MA.
• Made major improvements in food stamp eligibility and processing.
• Rejected federal abstinence-only funding, and overturned Gov. Romney’s stem-cell regulations.
• Signed legislation that enhances workers’ freedom of choice in deciding whether to join unions.
• Developed a New Americans Agenda to support the role of immigrants in our state.
• Creation of an Advisory Council on Veterans Services, chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, to coordinate and improve services to our military veterans.

19. Investing in the state’s DC office…

…which helped with the state’s response to the Uxbridge fire, fisheries aid, the hunger summit, the Medicaid waiver, CyberCommand, and federal grants.

20. Governor’s role as the state’s chief salesperson…

…including a trade mission to China, a trip to California to attract biotech companies, personal calls to CEOs, an increased role for the Governor’s Development Cabinet, and a strengthened MA Office of Business Development.