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AMELIA KUNHARDT/The Patriot Ledger |
| Deval Patrick greets celebrating supporters as he walks on stage at the Hynes Auditorium in Boston to claim victory in the governor’s race. |
Patriot Ledger staff and news services / Nov. 8, 2006
Deval Patrick met today with outgoing Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who pledged his full cooperation in helping the newly elected Democrat with his transition to being sworn in as governor on Jan. 3.
“We had a very broad-reaching series of discussions, and I’m very anxious to make sure that his administration gets off to a great start,” Romney told reporters with Patrick at his side after a closed-door meeting.
Romney offered space in the State House for Patrick’s transition team, an offer Patrick accepted.
Romney had called Patrick last night following his victory.
“We had a kind of giggle last night on the phone when the governor called and I asked if he remembered what it felt like to just have won and how long its lasts,” Patrick said. “He said it lasts about as long as it does for the folks to begin to show you the numbers. There’s a lot of work to do.”
The 50-year-old attorney from Milton won a resounding victory at the polls yesterday, thumping Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey by 21 percentage points.
His win puts an end to 16 years of Republican governors in the state. When he takes the oath of office on Jan. 4, he will become the first black governor of the state and only the second in U.S. history.
“You know change won’t come in a flash,” Patrick, said in his victory speech at the Hynes Convention Center. “You know that it will take focus and commitment and patience. But you also know that government by gimmick and photo op and soundbite has failed us. Do not expect more of that from me.”
Romney introduced Healey before her concession speech as “the best lieutenant governor in the entire country.”
“You’ll be seeing more of her in four years,” he said.
Patrick urged his coalition of the young and old, rich and poor, black and white, to reach out to Healey and other opponents, and to transfer the campaign’s energy to the administration.
“The people of Massachusetts chose, by a decisive margin, to take their government back,” Patrick said.
Patrick took 56 percent of the vote, followed by Healey with 35 percent, Independent Christy Mihos with 7 percent and Green-Rainbow candidate Grace Ross with 2 percent.
Healey ran better on the South Shore than the rest of the state, taking 41 percent of the vote. She outpolled him by small margins in Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hanson, Holbrook, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke and Whitman.
Of the state’s 3.9 million voters, 2.2 million cast ballots, a 55 percent turnout. That was well short of the record 2.9 million for the 2004 presidential election.
Milton, where Patrick lives, had the highest turnout on the South Shore, at 74 percent, and Quincy the lowest, 54 percent.
Some in the business community worry that Patrick, who ran on a platform of not raising taxes, may force businesses to pay for new or expanded state programs.
“We’re going to be particularly concerned not just with taxes but changes in regulations,” said Peter Forman, president and CEO of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, citing health insurance surcharges and paid parental leave as possible examples. “There is every possibility that there will be a surge in interest in expanding mandates on businesses.”
One of Patrick’s first duties will be to produce a state budget by the end of February. He will be forced to address sagging state revenues, the possibility of $115 million if the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority votes next week to remove tolls, and pressure to deliver on campaign promises such as reducing property taxes and putting 1,000 new police officers on the streets.
“The budget the next governor is going to file is going to be very tight,” said Michael Widmer of the non-partisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “There will be very little room for restoration of prior cuts or new programs.”
The nearly $26 billion budget for the current fiscal year is already running a $250 million to $500 million shortfall in revenues, Widmer said.
Widmer said tax hikes and program cuts are unlikely, but so are ambitious new spending proposals.
“It’s a very sobering picture that faces the next governor,” he said.
Patrick’s backers say a tax hike is out of the question.
“He understands economically it would not be in our best interest to grow the economy by raising taxes,” said state Treasurer Tim Cahill, a Quincy Democrat who was re-elected yesterday.
Union officials say they expect Patrick to listen to their concerns without making outright promises.
“He’s not going to be 100 percent in our corner, but all we ask for is an open door, and Deval Patrick has promised us that,” said Paul Feeney of Foxboro, a representative of the AFL-CIO telephone workers’ union.
During the campaign, Republicans predicted Patrick will resemble the state’s last Democratic governor, Michael Dukakis, whom they considered a tax-and-spender. But Sen. Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat who held office while Dukakis was still in office, doesn’t see the parallel.
“You’re going to find people are much more cautions about moving ahead, you have to find funding sources for new programs, or even to maintain existing programs,” Morrissey said. “You have to move ahead cautiously, and I think (Patrick) will.”
Patrick will enjoy a honeymoon period, but will inevitably butt heads with lawmakers over issues such as in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, Morrissey said.
Republican Sen. Robert Hedlund of Weymouth said he worries about Democrats controlling both the governor’s office and both houses of the Legislature. Hedlund also cast doubt on Patrick’s pledge to lower property taxes, which are set at the municipal level.
“The biggest fraud perpetrated on the electorate this year by Deval is that he wants to do something about property taxes,” Hedlund said.
“Property tax rates are set by local town governments. It was a masterful stroke to obfuscate his refusal to honor the will of the voters on the income tax rollback.”
Patrick, who grew up in a poor neighborhood and attended Milton Academy and Harvard University on scholarships, was making his first campaign for political office after a career working for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, two law firms, the Justice Department under President Clinton, as well as two stints in the corporate world as counsel to both Texaco and Coca-Cola.
He won the Democratic Party’s endorsement at the state convention in June and defeated Attorney General Tom Reilly and Boston businessman Chris Gabrieli in the September primary.
Patrick is the third governor from Milton, but the first to be elected. The others were appointed by the King of England, Jonathan Belcher in 1730 and Thomas Hutchinson in 1771. When Hutchinson was recalled in 1774, under pressure from the Sons of Liberty, he left town to the affectionate cheers of his neighbors.
Sen. Brian Joyce told that story Monday night at the Hoosic Club in Milton, where 300 supporters turned out to cheer Patrick.
“The lesson for Deval, of course, is to trust your friends and neighbors here in Milton, but be very wary of those from Boston,” he said.
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CHRISTY MIHOS, GRACE ROSS
Few votes but plenty of optimism
Upbeat Mihos says independents now matter
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau / Nov. 8, 2006
BOSTON - For a raucous campaign, the ending was sedate.
About 150 staffers and volunteers for Christy Mihos, the independent candidate for governor, gathered last night to quietly clink wine glasses, polish off petits fours and dumplings and watch the multiple television screens at the Radisson Hotel ballroom.
They whooped when Mihos’ share of the vote inched up to 7 percent.
They expressed relief when Deval Patrick’s win became clear.
“If it’s not Christy, I’m glad it’s not Healey,” said Kim Inslee, a volunteer from Brockton. “At least Patrick says it’s time for a change, even though no one knows a change of what.”
And they reaffirmed their commitment to keeping the independent voice alive in the state.
The independent candidate made an appearance about 15 minutes after Kerry Healey conceded. Beaming as always, with wife Andrea and two children in tow, Mihos spoke briefly.
“We’ve really run a great race,” he said.
There was also a slide show of Mihos moments - the multimillionaire businessman talking to supporters, sitting with family and even posing on a Harley-Davidson - all to the accompaniment of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
The songs echoed Mihos’ campaign slogan: “Unbought and Unbossed.”
Many of his supporters believe this slogan is an important reminder that independents can provide an alternative to a two-party system.
“I think the independent voice is important,” said Robert Bielen, a volunteer from Plymouth. The power elite creates a certain culture, and you’ve got to question it.”
Bielen said Mihos asked the difficult questions about making Massachusetts more affordable, increasing local aid and lowering property taxes. But none of it got any attention, he said.
“You’ve got the media and two big political parties. How do you fight it?” said Bielen, a Plymouth town meeting representative.
Mihos himself was more upbeat.
“We’ve put the two-party system on notice that we want the truth and we want open government,” he said. “We have made an impact on this race.”
He also thanked his staffers for running a “truly independent” campaign. “It was by the people, of the people and for the people of the state of Massachusetts.”
Mihos also had a message for the new governor. He said Patrick should cherish his victory and build on it, and “never take it for granted,” he said.
“Boy, I tell you. He needs to work very hard,” Mihos said. “I’ll be watching him.”
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Green-Rainbow candidate Ross
celebrates support for party
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau / Nov. 8, 2006
BOSTON - The handwritten signs at the door proclaimed this as the spot for the Green-Rainbow Party’s “Victory Celebration.”
But for gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross and a couple dozen supporters gathered last night in Roxbury, the party was over before it started.
“Already?” was her first reaction, minutes after the polls closed, when the television news bulletins proclaimed Deval Patrick the overwhelming winner of the race. It wasn’t a surprise, given the weeks of polls proclaiming Patrick’s lead. But for Ross, the news still came too early.
Ross had arrived minutes before the polls closed, before the catering was set and before her supporters and reporters had taken their places.
For the next two hours, people came in and quietly stood in front of a TV screen while the campaign manager moved the antenna for better reception.
“I’m glad this is over,” said Martina Robinson, the Green-Rainbow Party’s candidate for lieutenant governor.
But then Ross climbed to the stage and organized the program: music, food, speeches and conversation.
“This is a victory for us,” Ross said as she was joined on stage by the party’s other candidates: Jill Stein, who was running for state treasurer and James O’Keefe, the candidate for secretary of state.
“There is no measure of the support that I have on the polling numbers that are showed there,” Ross said.
Ross sought to celebrate the party’s agenda in the gubernatorial debates. She also saw a victory in the big turnout.
“The people of Mass. won tonight because they took a stand toward what they care about,” Ross said.
It is estimated that the four candidates for governor spent $31 million. The Green Party spent $600,000 among its four races, said Treasurer Daniel Melnechuk. Yet, in five debates televised in prime time, Ross had equal time to voice her opinions. During the debates, she managed to express her point of view.
Ross’ support doubled, according to polls, from 1 percent in early October to the 2 percent she received.
Ross’ communications director, Coby Peterson, said the party’s campaign stressed the politics of inclusion. Ross hopes the issues she raised on the campaign could be included in the governor’s agenda.
“For us, at this stage of our development it isn’t a question of gaining the office,” said Chuck Turner, a city councilor from Roxbury and the highest-ranking elected official of the party. “It’s a question if gaining the minds and the hearts of the people of this state.”
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