Cross-posted from Media Nation.
What was Gov. Deval Patrick doing during all those months when he was trying to make up his mind about casino gambling?
Well, here's one thing he wasn't doing: He wasn't consulting with outside experts, even though his own internal task force had urged him to do just that. Here's a key paragraph from Ken Maguire's Associated Press report:
The memo [from the task force] with the disclaimer about estimates states: “Realistic employment and revenue projections would be particularly important if the commonwealth wished to enter into any agreement with a federally recognized Native American tribe or a private developer to expand gaming in the state. To do otherwise would be to risk entering negotiations over license fees, tax rates, etc. on an uneven information playing field.”
(Note: You won't see Maguire's byline, but I found it elsewhere.)
Maguire also quotes Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy as saying that Patrick's economic team conducted its own review, and that no outside experts were consulted.
Pretty amazing, no?
Update: Then again, as Jay Fitzgerald reports in the Boston Herald, who needs to talk with experts when you can schmooze with Donald Trump's peeps?
