Here they are:
Michael Angelini, of Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey;
Ron Homer, of Access Capital, and
Gloria Larson, of Boston law firm Foley Hoag.
According to the press release, these three
will assist the Governor- and Lt. Governor-elect in conducting a thorough review of state government. They will work with other members of the Transition Committee to be appointed in the days ahead to make policy and personnel recommendations. Patrick and the Committee co-chairs will establish several working groups based on policy and issue areas. These will create additional avenues to include people and ideas.
Like I said before, I’m hoping that the Gov- and LtGov-elect cast the net far and wide in assembling their administration. These three, all of whom have extensive experience outside state government as well as some sophistication about how it actually works, strike me as a pretty good start.
I agree with you that they need to cast their nets far and wide. Hopefully, they will tap some talented people outside of state government, people who will look at things with different eyes. This certainly seems to be a good start.
has a good reputation around here. Interesting choice.
was given the 2005 Isaiah Thomas Award for community leadership, as part of the “Visions” awards given out by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette each year. He’s a stupendous asset to the community, with a terrific reputation, and he more than deserved it. Nice guy, too.
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The keynote speaker for the awards ceremony (which I attended – the founders of the Joy of Music Program, whose board I serve on, got the annual cultural award at the same ceremony) in one of his first area appearances, was….
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Deval Patrick.
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The audience at Mechanics Hall was packed with Worcester movers and shakers. And Deval wow’ed em with his speech that day.
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I don’t know if these two gentlemen knew each other before the ceremony, but I’m sure Deval took the time to have a long conversation with Mike while he was in town.
Massachusetts is going to become a much better place under Deval Patrick; I can just feel it.
Two partners of well-heeled law firms and somebody from the financial services industry.
your point is?
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The idea is to recruit talent for his administration from outside the political sphere. That’s what Deval is doing with these appointments. The people he chose to spearhead that effort are immensely talented and have extensive connections in dozens of other walks of life, in both the public and private sectors. Read the blockquote again and then check out their resumes.
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I know one of these individuals, Mike Angelini, personally. The fact that he is a high-powered lawyer is but one of the things that makes him a superb choice for the transition team, the top tier in what will be an extensive network of contacts. The others are of the same high caliber.
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But I guess I’m not as fixated on titles as you are.
with interests.
Gloria Larson was a longtime GOP fundraiser, married to a Bush Ranger. She’s head of the Hynes Convention Center. I first met Paul Cellucci in her home.
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Her appointment as that head of the independent authority (think Massport, Turnpike) had NOTHING to do with her choice to back Deval. And I’m sure she will prove just as loyal to him as she has been to us.
In all seriousness it is important for Deval to appoint some high power folks from within government. In what other profession do we say, let’s get folks from outside to do it better? Hey…we’re setting up a new ER…let’s hire some really smart, well-meaning elementary school teachers to give us a new perspective! Come on! Running governments requires real, learned skills. And, all politics ARE local to a point. Deval needs some folks who know where the bodies are buried… Let’s not waste the first 3 months of the new terms with Deval trying to figure out what the acronyms stand for and how to get a bilingual business card printed…
I read with interest and excitement about Governor-Elect Patrick’s first appointments to his transition team. As a local public housing official, I am concerned, bordering on troubled, by his appointment of Gloria Larson. Her history of republican activism aside, she was on Mitt’s transition team in 2002 serving as chair of the Transportation and Housing Committee. Having dealt with the Department of Housing And Community Development for more than 20 years, it is alarming that someone that had anything to do with the staffing of that department under Mitt Romney is in a similar position with the Patrick transition team. Her work with Foley Hoag, is in real estate development. This on the heals of a report by the Inspector General of developers reaping excess profits using Chapter 40B as a wedge into cities and towns. Much of this due to DHCD dropping the ball in their administration of CH 40B. Numerous “affordable” housing units have been lost due to the lack of continued monitoring of their status.
Another report released in the last month, by the State Auditors Office blasts DHCD and the Romney administration for severely under funding public housing in the Commonwealth, causing Local Housing Authorities to shutter up some units. A third report by a subcommittee of the House and Senate Committee on Housing details those and more problems in public housing funding and adminstration. To those of us in the affordable and public housing field, we cannot afford more staff appointments from the likes of Gloria Larson. I hoe that her position on the Transition Team is one that is kept in check and monitored closely.
Candidate Patrick asked those of us who had lost hope to “check back in”, well he got me to do that. He even addressed someone like me directly in his victory speech when he said,”You are the tired and frustrated public official, who just got your second wind”. Don’t let a wolf in sheep’s clothing in to the henhouse. Mr. Patrick promised us good government, Ms. Larson represents more of the same. That thought process would have elected Kerry Healey.
For women interested in a senior-level appointment in the new administration, check out http://www.massgap.org. MassGAP is a coalition of about 40 organizations that will be making recommendations to the transition team about top-level women for state government.
The choice of Superintendent Caradonio from Worcester is excellent. However, given the problems with local government, I would hope that we will see a selectman or mayor and a school committee member.