Here’s the Governor on the town hall tour:
And here’s his message, which includes a rundown of some recent achievements.
Friends,
Over the past 18 months, our administration has built a foundation for real, lasting change. We have delivered lower rates and more competition in auto insurance, an increase in jobs, 340,000 more people with health insurance, the protection of marriage equality, and a best-in-the-nation plan to help people facing home foreclosure.
I signed into law the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative–a 10-year, $1 billion investment that makes Massachusetts a world-leading center for research, innovation and healing.
We announced the final report of the Commonwealth Readiness Project, which many of you helped to craft. The report outlines the next steps in education reform, with the goal of creating a 21st-century education system that allows our children to compete in a global economy.
Today, I signed into law a comprehensive energy policy that will enable the Commonwealth to meet its energy needs through increased conservation while fostering the continued growth of our clean-energy sector. This comes on the heels of a first-of-its-kind oceans bill that will protect our seascape for generations.
The common thread that ties these policies together is a dedication to long-term, fundamental change, and this is just the beginning. We have an ambitious agenda, and there’s much work still for us to do.
This summer, I am looking forward to hearing from you. In July and August, I’ll be in every corner of the Commonwealth hosting a series of town hall meetings. This is my chance not so much to talk as to listen. I want to hear your concerns and your ideas. I want to continue the conversation we’ve been having about moving Massachusetts forward.
I hope you’ll join me. Weather permitting, we’ll be holding these town halls outside, early in the evening, often at your local town hall. Bring your kids. Bring your parents. Bring a lawn chair. Bring a friend or a neighbor, and let’s talk about what we can do together.
We’ve only just begun to change the way we govern in this state. There’s a lot of work left to do, and we have no time to waste. I am committed to working with you over the next two years, and if re-elected, over my next term, to see this through. It’s an exciting time for Massachusetts. I hope to see you this summer.
Warm regards,
Deval
in Webster?
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p>Oy….well, I’m impressed. Nobody goes to Webster and nobody admits they come from Webster, so say my inlaws, who are a “big” family in the Webster/Dudley area.
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p>Patrick is hitting real streets, then, where real (if not a little scary) people live. Good for him! Bravo!
When you wake up at the crack of dawn like I often do and go into the hallway to pick up the Globe and then get to read the headline “State starts a green era” I just can’t help but smile. Sal’s Green Communities Act is now law and he deserves a lot of credit for it. But from everything I’ve heard, the Governor gave this a real push – with EEA Secretary Bowles actively engaged throughout in shaping a landmark piece of legislation. This is what I voted for and I just love seeing the Bay State ahead of the curve on critical issues. The Governor certainly does as well.
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p>And as David says – Patrick is on a real winning streak right now and you can see that the hard work of the past year – once he got his sea legs – is paying off big time.
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p>What is great about it is that Patrick is leading for the long-term – putting in place laws that will help Massachusetts retain its economic strengths and stay a leader in innovation. If Patrick quit tomorrow, which he better not do (and he is not taking a job with Obama, being Governor is far better than any Cabinet post) – he could already point to a very strong legacy in the corner office -a legacy of renewed investment in infrastructure, innovation in economic development, a commitment to service and civic engagement, tax reform and ideas to take education to the next level.
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p>How all of Patrick’s many successes play with the general public remains unclear – although getting things done on important issues usually plays well – given the economic uncertainty the State and the nation are facing at current. A lot of people are focused on the here and now, looking at $4 buck gas, rising energy bills, property taxes on the increase and town and city layoffs, Many are thinking that things are headed in the wrong direction both here and nationally despite what is happening on Beacon Hill. And of course cynicism remains endemic and some of the early foibles of the Governor poisoned the well a bit with some. I’d like to think people will note all the progress made in the last few months but public opinion is a strange beast.
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p>That is why the Governor’s Town Hall tour is so important right now. He has governed very well but has to recapture some of the magic of his campaign and, with a strong record of success behind him, reengage people to focus on the challenges ahead. He is not resting on his laurels and nor should we.
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p>But, at least this morning, I’m gonna smile awhile about some of the good things happening. Politics often sucks, but when its good it can be really good. Today it feels good.
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That’s a really long piece to put on the front page.
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p>Constructive criticism of course
that’s not readily available elsewhere, unless you know to visit the town hall homepage.
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p>So … your criticism is duly noted.
Does DPH have some inside info that they are not telling us? We have something “catchy” down here. Pretty sad.
I’m sure you would be there with bells on. Maybe Hull might be the closest spot to drive to if you are really motivated. But thanks for the mock outrage.
Hull is on the South Shore. Between Hyannis, Hull, and Rehoboth, nobody on the South Shore is more than 20 miles away from any of these meetings. He actually has Southeast Massachusetts pretty well covered, a rarity for statewide Democrats.
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p>I’m hoping to be at the Rehoboth one.
Above and beyond anything else we are taxpayers and I mean BIG taxpayers. The new axiom is that the volume of your taxpayers voice in inversely proportional to the extremis of your tax burden?
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p>The governor needs a few hardballs now and again. Getting one softball after another serves no usefull purpose.
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p>Whatever—-why should things change. Christy Mihos just announced yesterday.
Anything at all? Just asking…
Gee whiz, Provicetown to Hyannis alone is fifty miles!
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p>The distances are a little great – and there are more people down our way than Boston realizes. It’s a good schedule, but don’t be huffy about it.
What to do. Road trip.
Intact as always.
since correlation does not imply causality.
The irony (of both the earlier rating and my comment) isn’t lost on me.
I live in Medford. I was disappointed that there aren’t any scheduled for Medford, Malden, Stoneham, Winchester, Everett,etc. In other words a large chunk of Middlesex County.
Jeez. You could at least get the pin in Hyannis and not West Barnstable! Oppposite sides of the mid-Cape, guys.
Has Boston moved to Greenfield?