Deval Patrick must really like Jimmy Buffett. But he seems to get the words mixed up. Ya see he’s “Wa$ting away again on Beacon Hill”. That’s not exactly how I remember the words but hey it’s our guv.
Despite a slumping economy and looming budget crunch, Gov. Deval Patrick has hiked his office budget by an astonishing 80 percent, adding questionable new staff positions like “director of grassroots governance” and pumping millions into an extravagant “civic engagement” program.
“We know the governor had a goal of creating 100,000 new jobs in his first term, we just didn’t know he was going to create them all in the Corner Office,” said Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield).
Added State Sen. Scott Brown (R-Wrentham): “People in my district are asking, ‘What is this guy doing?’ They get 1 to 2 percent increases for their schools, and he gets almost 80 percent? How do you explain that?”
Patrick’s office budget has skyrocketed to $9 million this fiscal year, a boost of nearly $4 million from fiscal 2007, Republican lawmakers said. Much of the increase is due to a $3 million appropriation for Patrick’s new Commonwealth Corps, a volunteerism program aimed at promoting “civic engagement” across the state.
Patrick has also increased spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars on internal staff.
Among the new positions and their salaries:
Director of grassroots governance: $50,000
Grassroots goverance liaison: $39,000
Director of new media and online strategy: $68,000.
What’s more, Patrick is spending more than $450,000 on an office in Washington, D.C., to help lure federal dollars to fund Medicaid, transportation, housing and other priorities.
Together we can enrich our buddies……..
How’s that Municipal Partnership coming along Governor?
Enriching his buddies — at $39,000 per year.
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p>How is the weather on your planet?
80%, eight zero per-cent. Those are a few line items. In these supposed tight budgetary times he finds it necessary to hire people to do grassroots work on the governments dime. isn’t that the purview of his campaign?
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p>In Congress there is actually a provision against using government funds to get grassroots support for proposals. This comes dangerously close in my book to blurring the line between his campaign and governance. But then a goodly amount of what he does seems to do that doesn’t it?
The op-ed seemed to have the perspective that the Governor Patrick was getting more money spent on Governor Patrick.
That’s just absurd. Patrick is not enriching himself by 80% more. He is not nearly doubling his own salary.
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p>Your quotation doesn’t begin to ask whether, for example, the $450,000 spent on the DC office was well-spent or badly spent. Nor does your quotation raise the question you’re asking.
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p>You have a fine question surely. But there’s another side to it. Surely we want the governor to listen to the citizens. That doesn’t happen magically. It takes some doing. Further, we want Patrick to advocate for some useful changes in how things are done. That requires public advocacy. Listening and advocacy seem to be lie on the correct side of the line. Is there evidence that his office is crossing to the other side of the line?
Speaking of politicizing the executive, what about the following:
If you are worried about improper politicization, you’re looking at the wrong executive.
I think Eabo is on the right track here, if only because this sort of crap is just such bad, bad politics.
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p>The state is broke, we need to raise taxes. The state is broke, so never mind about those local aid and property tax relief promises. The state is broke, we need three large casinos. The state is broke, we need to raise taxes on university endowments.
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p>The state is broke, we need to nearly double the budget for the governor’s staff.
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p>Have there been any other items in state government that have been increased by 80%?
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p>This comes across as a big eff-you from the governor’s office. Even if not so intended, that is how it plays.
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p>Liberals seem to love Patrick because he has nice ideas, and proposes nice policies. At some point they are going to realize that nice ideas and policies don’t stand a chance because their proponent is lousy at politics.
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p>Caddys, drapes, office assistants, book deals. If if the office director of grassroots fertilization is unassailably wonderful, this plays badly. All self-inflicted wounds.
I’m more interested in learning whether it is bad before discovering how it “plays”.
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p>Why must we be governed by whatever actions produce the best soundbites? It’s insane.
That is his job. It involves politics.
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p>It’s opportunity cost. He blows political capital on BS like this and his fancy car, and then we’re shocked that when it comes to actual legislation, he is reduced to complaining about what a meanie Sal DiMasi is.
but the Governor thanks you for trying.
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p>This goes up there with the arrogance of the caddy and drapes.
“This goes up there with the arrogance of the caddy and drapes.”
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p>The Cadillac and drapes were among the silliest molehills to make mountains out of. To me comparing anything to those two non-issues suggests that it is much ado about nothing. It appears the spending reflects the Governor’s priorities and methods of governing and neither surprises nor upsets me.
and I cannot tell you how many people are still mentioning the drapes and the caddy to me— there have been too many. And to those people, who see their local schools suffering, it is not a molehill. They see it as the tip of an iceberg. Perceptions matter in getting things done, and really good politicians understand that.
But by the way, I need a fancier car to befit my exalted station in life.
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p>That wasn’t so much of a molehill as it was (along with the weeklong inauguration) a “ruh-roh” moment when we should have realized that the administration was going nowhere fast.
…is that the Governor is given a budget for expenses like this. Let’s cut the Governor some slack; this state doesn’t even use its Governor’s Mansion. By the way, this is completely non-partisan for me; I also rolled my eyes when a big deal was being made about recent GOP Governors using state police helicopters to avoid traffic. The highest office in the state can have its perks as far as I’m concerned.
to the teachers with pink slips in hand.
…retaining teachers and increasing their pay more than I do. If you object to budgeting this money talk to the legislature.
One of the prevailing tenants of our town’s budget process is “share the pain”.
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p>I have written previously about municipal partnership and support for the MMA’s proposal on revenue sharing.
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p>There are some lovely programs being developed by the Administration: Commonwealth Corps, Youth Council and the Western MA office come to mind. It is hard to support volunteers being paid stipends for example, when core services are cut.
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p>Of course I communicate my concerns with legislators as well the Administration.
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p>It’s a matter of priorities.
Half of the things in the diary struck me instinctively as something that should be paid for out of his campaign fund, not the governor’s office. Grassroots outreach is political, not administrative.
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p>Now, some of it might be good spending. Commonwealth corps could generate reform and social good far in excess of the money being spent by getting energetic, educated kids into public service. And an office in DC to pursue more grant money, if we weren’t doing that already we should have been, we get killed by the federal gov’t when you look at the taxes we pay and what we get back. But some of this stuff is him running a campaign with public money and he should not be doing that.
The rich aren’t like you and me.
Now we know why you won’t use your real name. Too afraid to mingle with us down here in the mob.
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p>Elitist.
Like 100,000 for the Westover Air show
BTW – did you know the HOUSE Gop submitted zero earmarks?
His remarks and what he wants to spend our money.
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p>That’s not an earmark war, that discussing specifically what a senator is saying and doing.
voters the Republicans represent in the state.
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p>And are you implying that the R’s would take more earmarked dollars if they could, instead of opposing them?
How does one run for a seat on that board and where do they meet? Mars?
$300,000.00
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p>Wonder how far that will go and what Judge Garinger plans to do?
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p>Protecting children from abuse requires more than spare change.
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p>That office is also within the Executive – is that within the increase [not sure how it works].
If Deval’s nearing 100K spent on “grassroots governance” and those people are telling him that high priorities are national travel on behalf of Obama and promoting casino gambling, he’s not even getting his money’s worth.