From today’s Globe. Mitt Romney, early 2003:
Although governors often appoint political allies, Romney has decried such traditions, declaring the day after he won the governor’s race in 2002, “I will look for people to get jobs based on what they know, not who they know.”
When Romney took office in 2003, he acted immediately to rescind 27 lame-duck appointments to state boards made by his predecessor, acting governor Jane Swift.
Romney, early 2007:
Governor Mitt Romney, despite his stated opposition to patronage appointments, installed more than 200 Republican activists, current and former state employees, and others to boards and commissions in December, including departing Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey….
The GOP governor removed onetime Republican stalwart Gloria C. Larson, who endorsed Democrat Deval Patrick, and replaced her with Healey on the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, where Larson had served for a decade. Romney also removed Cheryl M. Cronin, a lawyer who served as finance committee chairwoman for Democrat Christopher Gabrieli, from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board. Cronin was replaced with Republican real estate developer Gregg P. Lisciotti.
In addition, Romney appointed the wife of a Cabinet secretary to a foundation that funds artists, on Dec. 22; the state Republican Party chairman’s brother, to a panel that funds job training programs, on Dec. 19; and an aide to the governor, also selected Dec. 19 to oversee a domestic violence commission.
Others recent appointees include a member of the Republican State Committee to the board of a community college, a failed Republican House candidate to a board that maintains a historic schooner, and the brother of the politically connected Board of [Higher] Education chairman to the Board of Registration in Pharmacy.
No doubt, after nationwide searches, it turned out that Steve Tocco’s brother was the best qualified individual to sit on the Board of Registration in Pharmacy (did you know, by the way, that Steve Tocco himself holds a degree from the Mass. College of Pharmacy?), outgoing GOP chair Darrell Crate’s brother was the outstanding pick for the Commonwealth Corporation board, and an ex-GOP state senator outshone every other candidate for the PRIM board. Nor, we’re quite confident, did the replacement of Gloria Larson and Cheryl Cronin have anything to do with politics.
It just never stops around here, does it?
UPDATE: Deval Patrick says he’s going to “strongly consider” undoing some of these appointments, noting that “‘I need, we need, people who support our agenda in key places in order to deliver our agenda,’ the Democrat added, when asked what his first act as governor would be. ‘And I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to put the right people, the best people in place.'”
for the naughty word in the title! đŸ˜‰
Guess it will keep her out of the kitchen, but it’s a curious appointment for a criminologist…maybe she’ll help the local PD’s get some laptops?
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What crumbs did Hillman get? He’s been waiting for years for Mitt to set him up.
And we shouldn’t lose site of the fact that these are all real people, like anyone else, with lives and families to support. To be shown the door right before the holidays by a governor who hasn’t shown even a cursory interest in…you know…governing…around here in 18 months must really be insulting.
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I can’t fathom what national Republicans see in this guy.
who put a horse show organizer in charge of FEMA?
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I can easily fathom what they see in this guy.
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Patrick should issue a statement to all these appointees today: “Keep your coats on.”
at the moment, Mitt’s hack-a-riffic, but he never dressed up in women’s clothing and let Donald Trump sniff his bosom.
…and he never cheated on his wife the way McCain did.
These are important for South Carolina Republican primary voters.
But we’ll see if that’s enough for Mitt to win.
I am dating myself, but Dukakis used a little known law to fire last minute King appointees in 1983. It caused quite a kerfuffle at the time, seemingly catching quite a few folks off guard. Apparently it had never been used.
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Hopefully this option won’t get lost in all the transition mayhem.
Where can we find a complete list of these 11th hour appointments? There is no release on the State/Governor’s website.
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I know that most are non-payinh commission appointments but would be interested to see the entire list.
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Thanks
Muffy Healey never said a bad thing about the Mittster. Even though he completely screwed her campaign and supposedly had different opinions on choice she was silent. It’s the only way Muffy gets a job, if it’s a hack appointment. She did it here, why not go national?