Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Marian Walsh: “never mind”

By

UPDATE: See Doug Rubin’s comment below.

Globe:

[S]tate Senator Marian Walsh announced today she will not accept a $120,000-a-year position at a state authority, saying the public outrage over her appointment has created a “tsunami” that has forced her to change her mind….

Patrick said he was “relieved” at Walsh decision because of the public anger that had been aimed at Walsh.

“We’ve been hammered,” he said. But he also said he regrets that Walsh will not take the job as the agency’s assistant director because she would have been a “change agent” at the agency.

“I wish we had handled it different,” said Patrick, who put his arm around Walsh at one point to demonstrate his support for her. “It’s been very painful.”

It certainly has.  And here’s a passage that leaves me with a sense of foreboding:

She denied that Patrick, who has been politically damaged by controversy, or his aides, had prevailed upon her to step aside from taking the position at The Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority.

Cue Frank Phillips’ next public records request … now!

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  1. …when the charge is tossed around in the 2010 election that Patrick promised reform and instead he gave his cronies high paying jobs…it will stick.  Few will remember that Walsh did not take the job, or even had her potential salary reduced.  They’ll just remember the 175,000 salary/payoff.

    <

    p>AND IF Patrick and company left any crumbs proving he was directly involved in having her step down (is there really any doubt?), then anyone who left the fingerprints/emails should resign based on stupidity (and that includes Patrick).

    <

    p>All and all this episode shows that Patrick is still not ready for primetime politics, even after 2 years in the job.

    • i’ve been surprised by reax to this whole episode.  

      <

      p>the outrage seems so selective.  every president gives away some jobs as ambassador which are nakedly political payoffs (not for the salary, for the glamour).  

      <

      p>pittsburgh steelers owner dan rooney to ireland….was there a peep of protest anywhere?  

      <

      p>i guess i’d thought as a political move, it was a 2 out of 10 to hire walsh, but on the who cares factor, it was just a 3 out of 10.  

      <

      p>u make a solid case that it’s really 8 out of 10 on who cares….i’m still having trouble believing it….

      • Part of the reason is, of course, that people are simply tired of patronage, further inflamed by the current economic climate.  Poeple understand this stuff.

        <

        p>What really magnified the situation was that the media knew they were being lied to, and that is unforgiveable. They kept the story alive.

        <

        p>There is also the hypocrisy factor.  Most people grow very angry when they see a wide gulf between what politicians say and what they do.  You could drive a Cadillac through this gulf.  

        <

        p>Finally, this was handled very badly from start to finish.  I have to believe that the Governor has uttered on more than one occasion recently that “your friends will do you in before your enemies.”  And, he is right.  He should “reform” his own staff before he reforms anything else.

      • Someday, lets sit down, have a cup of coffee and I will explain why, in my opinion which I will build a case for, THIS appointment got THAT reaction.

        <

        p>And why, for example, the appointment of Mike Festa to Elder Affairs did NOT get THAT reaction.

        • Sure, but I would venture to guess that a principal difference between the two cases is that in the Festa matter no one lied to the press.  That is a cardinal sin.

          • ..what if such appointments were vetted by “ordinary folk” who work or worked for the “stakeholder” who is about to be elevated? Or were impacted by the work that stakeholder did – or did not – do?

            <

            p>As long as the elite vet the elite, there will be a significant cluelessness factor.  After all, the data set is just limited and leaves out the real world.

            <

            p>What a revolutionary thought.

            <

            p>The “greatness” of Peter the Great may stem, in part, from the fact that he would dress in disguise and listen…and had others do so as well…to ordinary folk, rather than yest the Yes Beast Aristocracy by whom he was surrounded.

      • It’s well known that pale women with surreal bright lipstick elicit emotional reaction by the opposite politics.

        <

        p>i.e., Katherine Harris, Marion Walsh.

        <

        p>

        <

        p>

        • We on the left have a reaction to a person who is so obviously compromised on running an election I’m surprised she was even allowed anywhere near approvals for butterfly ballots and voter purging. Also, she was kind of a walking idiot, and still is.

          <

          p>THAT is why we don’t like her. I could care less what people look like, it’s what they act like and what they do that counts.

        • but this picture of Katherine Harris “elicits” an emotional response.

          <

          p>

          <

          p>I think they call it ROFLMAO… or is it wtfpwnd?

    • Deval patrick was foisted on us as the second coming. The guy who was going to straighten everything out. The guy that wasn’t in the tank with the state legislature. An outsider. Mr shrewd dollars and cents.

      <

      p>Good god—-was it possible for anyone to have done worse?

      <

      p>Deval Patrick will go down in the history books of this state and I venture to guess that I will never see another democratic governor elected again in my lifetime—- as short or long as it may be.

      • Sure.  But are ya sure you want to go there?

        <

        p>How about Paul “Ponyboy” Cellucci who was insisting fiscal austerity while owing $750K to creditors?  And that list of most excellent Republican appointments, folks that definitely aren’t going to be bringing the potato salad to the MENSA Society picnic….Peter Blute….Virginia Buckingham…Stephen O’Neill (replacement for Buckingham, Cellucci’s former driver)

        <

        p>How about Bill Weld’s Walrus Club?  And wasn’t Jim Kerosiotis Weld’s appointment?  You remember Jim, he was the one who hid the enormous cost overruns of the Big Dig.

        <

        p>http://tech.mit.edu/V120/N5/co…

        <

        p>I am sure I can keep going.  How about Mitt Romney, who used this state and his party as a stepping stone to a failed run for President?  Has the Republican party in this state recovered yet? God bless them, they can hold their caucus in a phone booth.  

        <

        p>My personal favorite was Kerry “let ’em eat cake” Healey, who when challenged about the impact of reduced local aid on elderly homeowners who couldn’t afford additional taxes, she suggested that perhaps they were “overhoused,” and taking up space better used by families.  
         

        • My personal favorite was Kerry “let ’em eat cake” Healey, who when challenged about the impact of reduced local aid on elderly homeowners who couldn’t afford additional taxes, she suggested that perhaps they were “overhoused,” and taking up space better used by families.

          <

          p>It’s this sort of vilification that prevents workable solutions.

          <

          p>Until we find trees that grow money, we need to prioritize. Every town that cries poor and demands more local aid depletes the amount that is available for state programs, specifically the HH&S and transportation sectors.

          <

          p>These precious state resources should not be used so that someone can stay in their 2,500 sq. ft. home. Many people do downsize as they age. There is nothing wrong with suggesting that the problem here is at the individual level, making the normal adjustments required as one’s circumstances change.

          • “eat cake dweir.”

            <

            p>Those  elderly do not all live in 2500 ft2 homes, nor are the smaller homes many of them do live in as cheap as you apparently believe. There is a lot wrong with blaming old people for their being unable to keep up with the cost of living.

          • Let’s talk about local aid in its proper context, particularly the two largest streams.  You have to be aware that Chapter 70 (school aid) is not a giveaway, but a means of ensuring that a minimum of funding is provided not only by the local cities and towns…but the state as well?  The ed reform act only leveled the playing field (somewhat) to prevent our federal government from dropping the hammer on the state for its less than equitable means of funding education.  While wealthier towns still have the edge in funding, the current systems provides at least a modicum of parity.  Believe me, the state wouldn’t be quite so charitable if the feds weren’t breathing down their backs.  

            <

            p>As for the Lottery: in 1971, the State Lottery was created to “provide local property tax relief and continued services at the local level,” according to MGL Section 10, Chapter 35, with the revenue restricted  (key word)  to three purposes, a)the payment of prizes, b) the expenses of administering the Lottery, and c) the purposes of the Local Aid Fund, to which the net balance would be applied.  While many legislators weren’t entirely comfortable with the diea of state-run gambling, the ends seemed to justify the means: it was a way to insure stability for municipalities throug the good times and bad with a dependable revenue stream.

            <

            p>But guess what happened on the way to the Cherry Sheet? Hmmmm, despite a state law that says otherwise, it started helping itself to a portion of the Lottery proceeds.  The cities and towns very rarely get the full stream of revenue to which they are entitled…that’s right, entitled.  

            <

            p>So, your statement that “precious state resources should not be used so that someone can stay in their 2500 foot home” is just so far off the mark.  Muffy made those comments when Mitt instituted 9C cuts in the middle of a fiscal year, and the cities and towns had to scramble to cover the gaping holes left by the cuts.  On her visiting tour, Kerry Healey kept pointing to over-ride capacity to explain how “wealthy” these cities and towns are.  What Mitt and Kerry were doing was balancing the state budget by cutting holes in the budgets of the municipalities.  Many of them still haven’t recovered.

            <

            p>BTW – your defense of Healey is just way too cute.  Most elderly do downsize, so how many elderly do you suppose are sitting in 2500 sq foots homes that they can’t afford? Talk about a strawman.  What the elderly can’t afford is the extra tax burden on their homes, along with the increases oil, gas, medicines, healthcare, food, and on and on.  So what’s your answer?   Pup tents?  Subsidized housing? (more state resources with that one)    

  2. If and when we get our next Republican governor who feels like rewarding friends with jobs. Or will we have lost our “allies” in the Howie Carr demographic with a conservative in the governor’s office?  

    • Trusted advisors as “in the governors inner circel”. After that any governor should be cut off at the knees for these blatant, bloated patronage jobs. The reason Massachusetts is coming aprt is that we have myriads of hacks at the helm of secratariats and important divisions that are clueless. The only thing they have done in their lives is be a coatholder and a sign holder.. I wouldn’t mind paying anyone 225K if they have a real job and they have a resume to back it up.  You wonder why people were outraged with Walsh—it was a makebelieve job that hadn’t been filled in 12 years for gods sake. 175K a year for a make believe job while a social worker is making 48K a year busting their hump! Deval Patrick is lucky he is not being impeached for incompetence!

      • Ok…time to tell the truth.

        <

        p>Actually, the position was NEVER filled.  Ever.  12 years ago it was given to an existing staff person who had been doing an outstanding job as an honorific title (you know, like a Kentucky “Colonel”). And given without a salary increase. When that person ultimately left HEFA the position title went back into the dust bin.  

        <

        p>So, it is not a question of the position being vacant for 12 years.  It was vacant for 41 years, the number of years HEFA has been in existence.

        <

        p>Just thought you all should know…

  3. the announcement came from Ms. Walsh, instead of from Governor Patrick. I’m even more disappointed that the Governor continues to assert the wisdom of the original appointment. Governor Patrick squandered an opportunity to own up to it and move on — compare his handling of this situation with President Obama’s handling of the similar event.

    • Obama will have to deal with another fraud by long distance. Is there any democratic politician that pays taxes—or is that just for schmuks like us?

  4. I don’t understand the Governor as he continues to not tell the truth.

    <

    p>For example, he states that “questions have been raised about salary levels at HEFA”.  No, they have not.  The only questions raised were about the salary for an unqualified State Senator filling an unneeded position.

    <

    p>Another example:  He states that “Walsh will not take the job…because she would have been a ‘change agent’ at the agency.”  No, that is not true.  His own people have stated that the only reason she was going to HEFA was to merge it with MDFA.  

    <

    p>The motto of the 2010 campaign will be “Change We Can Believe In (but only after an indepedent audit).”

    • I don’t really agree with the thrust of this but your closing line cracks me up.

  5. I am going to list the issues I see:

    <

    p>1.  Should any job that went unfilled for 12 years, with no apparent loss to the Commonwealth have been filled now?  [The identified problem is lack of executive orversight and organization with regard to personnel decisions as well as “timing” – timing is as important in politics as location is in real estate.].

    <

    p>2.  It is a given that any governor gets to “appoint his own team” and should do so and will do so.  [Issue:  at what level does an appointment stop being “building a team” and start being patronage subject to the charge of “hackarama entitlement”].

    <

    p>3.  Given that I continue to believe that Deval Patrick’s core values are good, what explains the resignation of Mike Festa, the Health and Human Services “cuts from the bottom” such as case managers and housing for the homeless, and the apparent disconnect from those core values in decision making?  [Issue:  Apparent disorganization in the actual management of the executive at times, so as to have  on an intermittent basis peculiarly dense-appearing decisions made as if not fully vetted]

    <

    p>I admit I had very high expectations of value driven well organized decision making, and thoughtful appointments.  I have seen some of what I had expected, but also, decision making that makes we wonder if good information and honest feedback is being received in every position, decision, and issue where good information is needed.

    <

    p>I will remind everyone that without good information [such as honest feedback even when the information is painful to receive] good decisions will not be made, and may even be impossible.

      • What appointee?  Almost the entire Board are Patrick appointees and the staff serves “at will”.  

        <

        p>And, by the way, this is an INDPENDENT public authority.  The Governor has not statutory rights to do anything other than appoint members of the Board.  Period.

          • This is pretty much what I was talking about, the inability of Patrick’s appointees on the Board to fire Ben Caswell (for philosophical differences, a change of focus, or whatever) without having to pay him $450 K in severance.

            <

            p>The Frank Phillips piece noted that:

            <

            p>

            A switch also could be expensive, creating a major hurdle for Walsh to get the job: Firing Caswell would cost the state $450,000, according to terms of his severance package.

            <

            p>I should not have suggested that he’s not doing a good job- he has better credentials than Walsh in “bonding” and I don’t know enough about the performance of the agency to make any sort of statement as to his competence. I apologize for that.

            <

            p>Also, I guess by “the state” Phillips meant HEFA, and not “the taxpayers”, as according to HEFA’s website they do not receive state funds.

            <

            p>In any event, with such a generous severance agreement in place, can Caswell truly be said to serve “at will”?

            <

            p>But all in all, I’m glad to see that the age of patronage has departed the Commonwealth forever. (Hopefully)

            <

            p>

            • You are right, being the only person with a contract they will have to honor it.  But he was not a Romney guy at all…he was simply a muni finance guy that they hired to run the place.  If anything he is very inexperienced when it comes to politics.  Don’t buy into the polemics.

              <

              p>And, you can see the real reason in Doug Rubin’s post later on this thread.  It has always been about getting their hands on HEFA money and allowing MDFA to raise fees for bond deals.

              <

              p>It is rather humorous, actually.  Finally, there is competition in government and it actually saves non-profits money.  As a Dem I am appalled that he is proving true a Rep charge that Democrats hate the free enterprise system…

        • Get rid of all these so called independent authorities, and run it all via existing departments of the state government. There has been little gained by their alleged independence and a ton lost as they run their budgets and finances like little fiefdoms. Dump them all. Dump their employees from the directors on down, and merge them into existing state departments, such as the Turnpike Authority in MassHighway.

    • I admit I had very high expectations of value driven well organized decision making, and thoughtful appointments.

      <

      p>What in Deval’s history, Curriculum Vitae, former employment, his life would ever have lead you to make that statement? The reason I opposed this guy as well as any empty suit is that he had zero experience. There are many folks in this commonwealth that would make wonderful governors, but who wants to deal with that cesspit in the state legislature? Until our state legislature become bicameral—no governor will succeed.

    • I think I know what I mean when I use it:

      <

      p>-lack of sense of political timing.
      -failure to know when and how to reward loyalty or show loyalty
      -misuse or clumsiness with regard to main stream symbolism
      -poor communication/failure to respond to constituent concerns in a meaningful, timely manner
      -surrounded by “yes men and women”, so as to not receive useful, meaningful feedback

      <

      p>Are THESE what you mean?

  8.  if he doesn’t hire someone to fill the position, then was there a need for the Walsh appointment in the first place?.If he does appoint someone to the position, what salary would that person be given – $175,000?, $120,000?, $80,000?, $60,000? And if not $175,000, why was the inexperienced Walsh offered that to begin with?

    <

    p>  I’m afraid that our “change for the better” governor is in a very sticky wicket  

    • As a matter of law the Governor has no right to appoint any staff at HEFA, other than appointing an unpaid Board of Directors.  

  9. Governor Patrick and Senator Walsh both believe strongly in the importance of the job that the she was asked to do at HEFA, and in the need to reform the agency to better serve the people of the Commonwealth.  Her interest in the job was to help lead a merger of HEFA and MassDvelopment, which will save the agency approximately $6 million a year and allow it to provide new services not currently offered by HEFA, like loans to community hospitals, micro-loans for small businesses in MA who are having difficulty accessing the credit markets, and help for non-profits.  

    <

    p>However, the current controversy around her appointment has caused the focus to be on her and not the important work she was asked to do, and she felt that could be a major distraction and negatively impact the merger efforts.  For this reason, she informed the Governor that she will remain in the State Senate.

    <

    p>Governor Patrick has been focused on reforming our quasi-public agencies for some time with some real results, as witnessed by the support a number of the quasi-public agencies provided at the Governor’s request during last year’s 9c emergency budget cuts, and his efforts to eliminate the Turnpike Authority and reform the transportation agencies.

    <

    p>In respect to HEFA, Governor Patrick remains committed to the original goal – to reform HEFA, making it more efficient and allowing it to provide help in new areas.  The Governor will continue to work with the board chair, Allen Larson, to implement the merger.  He will also work with the review commission chaired by Steve Crosby to review the compensation and benefit structure at all the quasi-public agencies. .

    <

    p>In these challenging times when the state is under pressure to do more with less, it is even more important that we effectively leverage and strategically coordinate all of the resources the state and its quasi-public agencies have at their disposal.  The merger of MDFA and HEFA will allow us to more effectively leverage their expertise and resources in a coordinated effort to support our broader economic recovery initiative.  

    <

    p>MDFA and HEFA provide subsidized financing to institutions of higher education, hospitals, small business manufacturers and others.  In some areas, their jurisdictions overlap and they compete with each other for business.  As a result, they offer discounted fees to the institutions that benefit from their financing services and they generate less revenue to support important public purposes and programs that could further our economic recovery efforts.  The lost fee revenue resulting from this competition in 2007 was estimated to be about $6 million.

    <

    p>The merger would allow MDFA and HEFA to stop competing and to start collaborating.  It will result in efficiencies and will end the competition that leads to the loss of desperately needed public revenue.  By strategically coordinating the work of MDFA and HEFA with the Governor’s broader economic recovery initiative, we will be able to make important investments with these additional revenues.  These investments could include helping community hospitals finance needed repairs or the acquisition of new equipment; making loans to small businesses that otherwise can’t access capital in today’s market; and providing financing to non-profits that sustain our communities, particularly in these difficult times.  

      • Hi All:

        <

        p>     I hope that the people of my state senate district remain disgusted by Senator Walsh’s actions. If $75K is not enough money for her, in 2010 she might try to look for employment in private industry to make more. If not, I hope that the voters of my district might be open to support someone with their singular focus on representing them and who will actually show up at community meetings.

        <

        p>Respectfully Submitted,
        Sincerely,
        Wayne J. Wilson, Jr.
        Roslindale

        • Do you have any reason to believe that she shows up at community meetings less than other senators? That has not been my experience so far. While I am disappointed (not disgusted) in her part of this affair, I think she has represented her district well and would not hesitate to vote for her again.

          <

          p>

          • Yes, I have seen that she fails to appear at community meetings on several occasions. Just ask the members of the Mount Hope / Cavalry Neighborhood Association in Roslindale. Neither Senator Walsh or Representative Willie Mae Allen ever show up there. I didn’t see Senator Walsh show up to the meetings of the Roslindale Community Center Council either.

            <

            p>Respectfully Submitted,
            Sincerely,
            Wayne Wilson
            Roslindale

            <

            p>P.S. It appears that Senator Walsh is chomping at the bit to do something else besides being State Senator, let’s help her along by not re-electing her.

    • It is unclear why a new assistant would have the actual clout or skill set that a committee of the CEO and CFO of each agency working collaboratively would have to merge these two agencies.

      <

      p>I will admit, I had never heard of either MDFA or HEFA before so much media activity focused on them.

      <

      p>However, the cheapest/most skilled working group to manage the merger of overlapping agencies should be the head of each, the CFO of each, and more likely than not, the HR head of each, functioning much like the conference committees do when the House and Senate appoints a Conference Committee to “merge” legislation and issue a single bill [where there had been two overlapping, but nonidentical bills].

      <

      p>Why reinvent the wheel as it were?  Create a working “conference committee” from the appropriate employees at MDFA and HEFA to merge themselves.

      <

      p>Why not?

      • Deb, not a bad idea.  In fact when the HEFA Board voted to appoint Walsh they did, in fact, announce the creation of such a committee.  I have suggested that it have representatives from the many non-profits that are affected by any merger.  It is odd that no one has yet been appointed to the group.

        <

        p>Of course, this is likely just mis-direction.  They really do not want to talk to the hospitals, colleges, museums, etc., because all that they would hear is that the institutions would think that this idea is nuts.  The current competition saves them money!  Why would they vote for the creation of a monopoly that could fix prices?  If anything, they should be pushing for more competition, not less.

    • but if you’re catching this much flak on a website that was instrumental in getting your boss elected, you have some problems (to say the least).  If you wanted to get someone in to bring these two agencies together as you outline, why her?  Get someone from a finance or an accounting background.  You’re just trying to change the argument, rather than admit that it was a bad move.

      <

      p>I do see straw men being thrown around about past administrations; of course they weren’t exactly operating in the present economic environment.  A profound gaffe, when you even have the Globe wondering why this happened.

      <

      p>Just admit that you screwed up; trying to dissemble is what has gotten innumerable politicians in trouble.

    • Marian Walsh was given a job by you and Team Patrick at $175,000 a year to help eliminate the job she was given?  A job that went unfilled for 12 years.  Wow that is really good spin.  

      • This sounds like a 4-month job, one that doesn’t count toward pension or give nice bennies.  Probably a job for an organizational manager, not a legislator.

  10. I hope that the administration will survey the many hospitals, colleges, and cultural institutions who have used MA HEFA over the years.  That agency has done a highly professional job of helping non-profits float bond issues.  It does so at no cost to the Commonwealth.  It has also engaged in creative, money-saving programs for non-profits, like the consortium that buys electricity at reduced rates, also at no cost to the Commonwealth.  This was a program which dozens of non-profits chose to join, and through which they saved millions of dollars in energy costs.  (Disclosure:  I was a consultant who, for a short time, helped organize that program many years ago.)  

    <

    p>It would be a shame to eliminate an agency that has done such a good job.  It has been one of the largest issuers of non-profit debt in the country and is highly regarded.

    <

    p>I can’t speak much about the other agency with which this might be merged.  I have no reason to think that it, also, does not do a great job.  It has always been my impression that the competition between the two, though, has been a healthy competition, causing both agencies to sharpen their pencils and otherwise consider the interests of their non-profit clients.  Why would we want to eliminate healthy competition like that?

    <

    p>I do not recall that the hospitals, colleges, and cultural institutions have been asked about this proposed reorganization.  Why not do so before things go further?  If it is a good idea, support from those institutions could help the Governor get past the current personnel issue and help focus on the merits of the issue.

  11. ..and he makes my point better than I did, although I respectfully come up with the opposite conclusion.

    <

    p>”MDFA and HEFA provide subsidized financing to institutions of higher education, hospitals, small business manufacturers and others.  In some areas, their jurisdictions overlap and they compete with each other for business.  As a result, they offer discounted fees to the institutions that benefit from their financing services and they generate less revenue to support important public purposes and programs that could further our economic recovery efforts.  The lost fee revenue resulting from this competition in 2007 was estimated to be about $6 million.”

    <

    p>Doug, the “lost fee revenue” might be “lost” the Commonwealth for other purposes, but it is direct savings to the hospitals, schools, and cultural institutions who have floated those bonds.  Why would we want to extract an extra tax from those non-profits who are already incurring thousands of dollars in bond issuance costs?

    <

    p>It would be a bad mistake to assume that those non-profits who are issuing bonds are so flush with cash that they don’t need to save this money.  If there is a need to appropriate funds for worthwhile and important public purposes, please ask the legislature to use the general tax system to do that.  Don’t put a hidden tax on other non-profits.

    • As a result, they offer discounted fees to the institutions that benefit from their financing services and they generate less revenue to support important public purposes and programs that could further our economic recovery efforts.  The lost fee revenue resulting from this competition in 2007 was estimated to be about $6 million.”

      <

      p>How is that possible?  The organizations are facilitating tax free bond issues.  They are each seeking private investors for the resulting tax free bonds.

      <

      p>Are you saying that because 2 organizations exist to serve a similar target, their fees are made larger?  ’cause that makes no sense.

      <

      p>Are you saying that because 2 organizations are selling bonds into the marketplace, the rates they have to pay are higher? ’cause that makes no sense either.

      <

      p>Where’s the $6 million “waste” come from?

      <

      p>Maybe you’re saying that they do redundant work.  If so, then shouldn’t the State simply eliminate the redundancy?

    • Nevermind my earlier comment.  I see we’re saying the same thing.  The lost fee revenue argument is questionable, and even if it is in fact lost, it’s lost to the benefit of the non-profits who save by (arguably) paying a lower fee.

      <

      p>The two organizations may compete here and there, but they do seem to be different: one seeking to facilitate non-profit lending; the other seeking to facilitate private industrial bonds and federal grants.

      <

      p>Seems that the merger argument was probably an afterthought to provide some rational for what was a lousy appointment.

      • You are right…they are now busily trying to cobble together some story that might hang together.  But, frankly, they don’t understand or care about HEFA or what it does. They only care about ending competition and raising fees.  That’s it, nothing else.

  12. History repeats itself.  Years ago, HEFA found itself competing for hospital bond business with the Mass. Industrial Finance Agency (MIFA) to issue hospital bonds.  When Governor Dukakis found out that both agencies had hired lobbyists, he went ballistic.  MIFA is a predecessor agency to MIDFA.

    <

    p>The barriers to merging HEFA and MIDFA are political, not technical.  That’s why you need a former senator or rep to get the job done, not a bond broker or a financial analyst.      

    • No, not really.  He went ballistic because he was running for President and he did not need the distraction.

  13. No one, not even a Deval Patrick loyalist like me, will say that this appointment at $175,000 was a good plan in the present environment or executed well.  But…

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    p>First, it is become increasingly clear that the Governor’s appointment was designed to accomplish something and, perhaps, something that many BMGers would support.  (See Doug Rubin’s post)  I remember the Governor talking in his January 2006 inaugural about bringing boards and commissions and quasi-independent agencies more in line with the Governor’s policies.  Several informed critics of Walsh’s appointment appear to acknowledge that there is a tug of war about HEFA and its mission, and a debate about whether merging it wth MassDevelopment is a good idea.  So having a loyal, politically savvy ally in a key position makes sense.

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    p>I’ve never understood the “rewarding” Walsh theory.  If Walsh was so valuable to the Governor in 2006 that he wanted to reward her, why would he do that now when he faces a re-election fight in 2010, her district is a likely battleground, and you don’t know in advance that her replacement will be helpful? Why would the Governor surrender an ally who just happens to be majority whip in the senate?  And wouldn’t we find reference to this motivation in the candid internal documents obtained by the Globe?  

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    p>Second, the media doesn’t let you dig out of a hole once you are in it (taking Scot Lehigh’s conclusion that the Governor was never able to dig out of the hole created by Walsh’s appointment). I listened to the NECN town meeting on Thursday night and the Governor was asked about Walsh.  He said explicitly that Walsh was filling this long-vacant job because HEFA and MassDevelopment were being merged and she would manage the merger. Nevertheless, the next day’s media reports (Globe, WBZ, NECN) repeated the accusations and omitted his specific explanation.  This is generally not political bias (though maybe with Keller) but the way stories get framed.  

    • I don’t understand why a basic concept is not better understood.

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      p>The state legislature created indpendent authorities for the express purpose of removing them from state government and, where possible as in HEFA’s case, making them self-sufficient in terms of funding.  NO state money at HEFA at all. None.  

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      p>And why are people not asking a basic question:  If HEFA was created by statute and MDFA was created by statute, who said that Governor could merge them by executive fiat?
      We do not live in a banana republic folks!

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