Dear Deval,My family hosted the first event in Gloucester for your campaign back in the spring of 2005. Back then you had to promise Nancy Stolberg that
you could muster a dozen people to hear you speak if you wanted to host a house party. One of the signature lines in your stump speech was, “I don’t think a lot of people are buying what either party is selling.” Five years later, I find myself to be one of those people.You’ve never commented on Secretary Paul Reville’s famous email to Commissioner Chester and all that it implies about how decisions are made in your administration. You are, however, willing to tell the newspapers that you think the process by which the GCA Charter School received its charter was sound (though you’ve asked twice for a “re-do” of that same process).
I can only come to one conclusion. You approve of Secretary Reville’s assessment that forcing our small city to open a charter school that
lacked educational merit was a “tough but necessary pill to swallow” in order to avoid being called names by the Boston Globe, and you approve of they way he and Commissioner Chester tried to carry out their plan.I’m at a loss for words here, other than to say that I won’t be voting for you next week.
Peter
Peter has been criticized locally for his willingness to stand up and speak of his disappointment with the Patrick administration. What a party of sheep it would be if everyone, especially those who actually expect our leadership to live up to the expectations they themselves set, sat silently in fear that criticism would turn the world upside down?
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p>Some might say that Peter is only viewing this election from a singular perspective however I’d argue that’s not the case for a couple of reasons.
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p>First of all, while there are many relevant issues in the campaign, this is our issue. The political and underhanded machinations that imposed this school on our community did so with great cost to our community. Even the passage of question 3 (which I oppose) would do less financial harm to our city.
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p>Secondly, instead of challenging the inequity of educational funding after repeatedly telling us that the system was broken he did nothing. After saying that he would NOT raise the cap on charter until that funding mechanism was fixed, he proceeded to do just what he said he wouldn’t.
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p>If it had just been that he failed to fix the problem I think we could forgive him, but twice he turned a blind eye to the children in our community… My kids, Peter’s kids and the thousands of other children in our community. It was done callously and with cold calculation.
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p>I will be voting for John Tierney, Ann-Margaret Ferrante, against Qs 1-3′ but I will not be voting for Deval Patrick or any other candidate for Governor.
Let’s face it the choice is either Patrick or Baker. Do you actually think Baker will be better for the schools in Gloucester? I agree with everything you said about the Gloucester school situation, and I have not contributed a cent to the Patrick campaign because of it. But I think blanking the ballot is foolishness. You’ll end up with a much worse situation.
how? We’re stuck with a politically motivated charter school that’s going to pull $2.5M out of our district schools — I’m failing to see how Baker or anyone else could make that any worse…. I’m no fan of Baker but I’m loathe to see why Gloucester needs to roll over and take one for the team… Patrick had ample opportunity to address this situation and he chose avoidance over action — “i tried to get them to reconsider” is a pretty fatuous response when it was his administration that pushed the approval in the first place… then to come out a couple of weeks ago and tell us that he thought the “process was sound”? Sorry…
By cutting the hell out of local aid. That’s what Baker will do, and it will make that 2.5 million cut even worse.
Baker can’t cut local aid without the Legislature. If they roll over and give Baker the power to make those cuts…then shame on them. Q3 doesn’t appear likely to pass, giving the governor (either candidate) emergency powers is abdicating their responsibility.
Are you claiming that who the Governor is won’t have any impact on how that deficit is solved? That’s dead wrong in my opinion. Even if 3 goes down, Baker wants the sales tax rolled back to 5%. He would probably get that. You can bet that Chapter 70 and local aid will be major targets for cuts in a Baker administration.
All I am saying is that the Governor can’t do any of those things without the Legislature. Oh sure, they can roll over and play dead. God knows, they’ve done that before and given the governor emergency powers to make 9C cuts.
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p>With regard to the deficit and how we fill that hole, the legislature has to vote on that. The governor can propose, but the Legislature has to vote to execute. And ask anyone in human services if it matters who’s the governor. Probably not. We’ve had pretty much the same outcomes we had with any of the Republicans.
The Governor has the power to make 9C cuts. Right before he left, Romney proposed a boatload of cuts that would have severely hurt the people I serve. One of the first things Gov. Patrick did was to restore those 9c cuts. I know you have a huge beef with him about the closure of the institutions but you are wrong when you say he doesn’t care about people with disabilities. He just has a different viewpoint.
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p>Not voting for him because you think somebody else, Baker, would be better on your issues would be a mistake IMHO.
only has the power to make emergency 9C cuts, ie in the middle of the fiscal year if the Legislature votes to give the Governor that power.
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p>And Romney left at the end of his term, no? That means, he left office in January. The budget for the next fiscal year wasn’t even out yet. So…please link for cuts he proposed before he left office.
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p>I do have a huge beef with him. And it’s not only a faux ideaology that benefits service vendors, it’s the whole privitization effort, his vendor department heads and taking jobs away state works beef I have with him. Perhaps if he had run on the “I will privatize human services in this state and put those contracts in the hands of vendors” platform, I wouldn’t be quite so annoyed with him.
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p>And I didn’t say I was voting for Baker. As I stated, perhaps downthread….it was between Patrick and Stein, as much as I hate rewarding bad behavior.
You’re saying that the legislature has to vote to give the Gov 9C powers every time? I don’t think that’s correct. There’s a statute on the books – c. 29, s. 9C:
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p>There have been occasions in which the lege voted to give the Gov “expanded” 9C powers – that is, it gave him the power to cut accounts that section 9C normally wouldn’t. But as far as I know, the ability to make regular 9C cuts always exists, as long as the condition of a deficiency exists.
http://www.massbudget.org/docu…
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p>So in order for the Governor to cut local aid….he needs expanded 9C powers.
Doesn’t the governor have so-called “9C” power, which allows him to unilaterally cut items within his purview, if there is a budget shortfall?
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p>I remember Romney’s 9C cuts back in 2003, and I don’t remember the legislature being involved with that.
has to vote to give him that power. And the Legislature voted in 2003 to give Governor Romney the power. I remember it well.
Jim, I think I understand what you’re saying, and I appreciate your taking a stand because of what happened here.
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p>For me, the actions of Reville and Chester, with what appears to be at least the tacit approval of Patrick, make this about something other than which candidate would be better on one issue.
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p>The way I see it, Reville and whoever else made the decision to do what they did, on some level determined that they could afford to risk some votes if they got caught. Now they are going to have to live with a consequence of that decision.
Don’t like taking one’s marbles and going home.
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p>Don’t like single-issue voting.
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p>Blanking IMO is almost unpatriotic.
Not voting at all is unpatriotic. Not voting for someone because you no longer believe in the person is called making an informed and considered decision.
I’m not taking my marbles and going home. I plan to vote; I’ll just be leaving the governor’s line blank.
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p>I’m not a fan of single issue voting either, and my decision here is not on the “issue” of charter schools. For me, this is about corruption, and it’s bad enough to trump any arguments in favour of voting for Patrick.
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p>This isn’t the Soviet Union. We don’t have to vote for what the party offers.
Blanking one line is no different than not showing up at all in terms of how votes are counted for that particular race. When percentages are recorded it is only percentages of votes cast. I really wish both of you would look at the totality of the record of the Governor.
Perhaps it’s time for that option… all or nothing is not really a choice.
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p>Do I hope Baker wins? No… Maybe I’ll take a harder look at Jill Stein if you’re that concerned that I fill in the blank…
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p>Look Chris… all politics are local and all politics are personal — when the Governor looks at you in the eye, two feet away, and says “[fill in your issue of concern] is broken and we’re going to fix it” then proceeds not only to do NOTHING, but actually inflicts intentional, calculated harm on your community and your children, because he wants to mollify another political lobby? When that happens to you, you can tell me how you’re gonna react to that guy’s name on a ballot.
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p>As Peter said, this isn’t about a charter school or even charter schools in general – it’s about owning your words, your promises, your actions — it’s about being what you pledged not to be…. You clearly feel differently and that is your right… but don’t you dare to presume to preach to me about my responsibility to vote. I know what my responsibility is and I know that I don’t need someone to question my patriotism thank you very much.
…unless we required people to vote like a few places do. NOTA can’t win and I wouldn’t want it too. He could have been, and almost was, primaried. I have been disappointed in the past, but if the person who’s disappointed me is still the best option I vote for that person in a heartbeat. Not voting because you’re sulking over someone being imperfect only increases the chances the even worse candidate may win. Yes, sometimes the lesser of two (or in this case least of four) evils IS the way to go.
“Yes, sometimes the lesser of two (or in this case least of four) evils IS the way to go.”
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p>that’s a hell of an endorsement…
In this case I see the Governor as very good for the state. On education specifically we’re first in student achievement so we must be doing something right. In other races it may not be much of an endorsement, but it is the way politics works.
We’re not sulking. We’re fighting back.
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p>Also, a calculation was made somewhere, by someone, that perceived political needs trumped educational merit. I’m assuming that my vote being expendable was part of the assessment of how the first charter ever granted after being rejected by the rigorous and independent review process of the Charter School Office (the school now owns the dubious distinction of being the first charter school put on probation at the end of its first full week of operation) would affect Gloucester. If you can prove my assumption is wrong, I’m open to reconsidering my decision.
and then give her your vote.
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p>Jill Stein on Education
I wrote to the Governor three times on the Gloucester charter school issue – once on a personal basis, and twice on a professional basis to communicate resolutions of the Gloucester school Committee. Responses? Zero.
Deval Patrick, without a doubt. As Leslie Kirwan said in her endorsement, “he was forced to find budget solutions, he did it in ways that reflected his values and priorities. Education is Governor Patrick’s top priority — one stemming from his own personal story — and under his leadership Chapter 70 education aid has reached its highest level ever.”
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p>He did try to fix the funding formula: by separating out charter school funding into its own line item in his first proposed budget. The legislature put it back, as is, because the charter lobby does not want their funding subject to cuts. Of course, since he did not toot his own horn on that attempt no one knows about it. Nor, to my knowledge, did he tilt again at that particular windmill.
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p>A major movement is underway, nationwide, that I believe will undermine public education. If the trend toward charters is to be stopped, people need to get seriously organized. Leaving a ballot line blank may feel like personal vindication on some level, but does nothing to advance the larger cause.
“A major movement is underway, nationwide, that I believe will undermine public education. If the trend toward charters is to be stopped”
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p>Unfortunately on this issue I don’t see a discernible difference — Patrick could have held the line on lifting the cap on charters and adhering to his promise of not doing so until the funding formula was fixed but he didn’t…
You are fetish-izing the act of voting. The larger, the important issue remains for us what it has always been–supporting the conditions in which democracy can work. Those conditions include measures of honesty, equality, and respect for public process and public goods. Yet the Governor’s behavior towards Gloucester has been coldly calculated to frustrate each of those values, all in the name of placating those in the Boston Globe and the Boston Foundation hell-bent on blugeoning public schools and the teachers’ union into rubble. If voting means attending to the larger agenda of promoting democratic action, it means withholding our vote from the Governor and his duplicitous, anti-democratic politics.
In my neck of the woods they keep promising the South Coast rail. It will never come but the governor comes here lies to us once every 6 months & we’re supposed to east it up like catnip. Not any more.
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p>I’ll vote for Jill Stein before I vote for Patrick again.
Pay go South Coast Rail my butt.
Such projects require years of planning and review. I am not sure that your expectations are reasonable.
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p>Note that South Station doesn’t even have the capacity to allow for more service currently and won’t until the Post Office building makes way for additional tracks.
This is a tough election, and to be fair to the Gloucester – the Administration and it’s knucklehead in Chief at the DOE did not wrap themselves in glory in managing the charter school process in that town. And I think it’s hard to vote for someone who has sold you one bill of goods in the 2006 election and delivered quite another while an elected official.
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p>The one quote I found so interesting this morning was from RG, on the conditions in which democracy can work:
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p>It is abundantly apparent that you haven’t followed the posts and news coverage on the debacle concerning the Gloucester charter school. This was not “the conditions in which democracy can work” – this was gross and disturbing display of “screw the rules” – we’re doing what we want for political purposes. The email from Paul Reville were absolutely killer. Go back – take a look. For your ease of reference – click here:
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p>http://www.gloucestertimes.com…
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p>And the lack of a response to three letters shows a breathtaking disregard for his responsibility to the voters and the people of Gloucester.
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p>There are some people who were huge supporters in 2006 who may have been disappointed and can hold their noses and still vote for Mr. Patrick. There are other, less pragmatic but principled voters who don’t think they should reward bad behavior with their vote. My family and I are still struggling at the 11th hour, between Stein and Patrick, given that Mr. Patrick has decimated services for people with disabilities and done more to close state facilities and privatize those services than previous Republican governors.
The two major parties won’t care about why you left the governor’s race blank or why you voted for Jill Stein, if that’s what you do. The message of doing either of these will get interpreted to suit the purpose of the interpreter.
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p>I’m disturbed about what happened to the Gloucester public schools. It could happen anywhere. The Governor has never provided a good explanation.
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p>In spite of that I plan to vote for Deval because he is better than Charlie Baker. That is the only comparison that counts at this point.
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p>I hope you won’t give up fighting for good public schools.
Will the major parties know who or how many voted for their candidates with enthusiasm and how many thought they were choosing the lesser of two weasels?
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p>Why hasn’t the governor provided a good explanation? Why is he going around telling people that the process by which the charter was granted was sound? Reville seemed to get the benefit of the doubt before he so kindly spelled out his reasons for granting this charter under the cover of darkness. For the Governor, as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
is yes, of course. All candidates will spin the results to their advantage. Do you really think that public spin always matches the discussions behind closed doors?
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p>The major parties will base their estimates of the electorate on the usual sources: electoral results, polls, and contacts from constituents and interest groups.
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p>In the end, what should matter is whether the winning candidate is better than the next likely winner, especially in a close race.
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p>I have never seen an example in which “protest votes or non-votes” have resulted in better government. I think instead of Nader in 2000.
was sent and delivered about 8 years ago when Shannon O’Brien lost the gubernatorial race, and this party went on a “listening tour.” Three representatives from the party came to my town and listened to not just the party faithful – but the voters. It’s high time for another listening tour.
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p>And I think the reason people are so angry – so angry, is because we were promised so much more than just “better than Charlie Baker” in 2006.
Although people claim that “economic downturn” is just an excuse, it very plainly isn’t.
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p>It’s hard to move forward when the budget is burning up year after year, which it has been for the past 3 budget years. I can appreciate that. I also know that when the budget comes back and a Republican is in office, the very first thing he will recommend is cutting sales, income, and corporate taxes, virtually ensuring that this cycle will repeat itself the next downturn. Although I think that the sales tax should be lowered once things improve, I think that we need to get ourselves back to 2000 levels on the local aid front before we cut other taxes.
but it’s the Legislature that makes it law.
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p>I just think this party has to start listening to people. That debacle with the Gloucester charter school is only a symptom of the problem.