According to today’s Globe, Governor Patrick has asked for the resignations of his entire cabinet so as to put everyone on notice that complacency won’t be the order of the day as he starts his new administration.
http://www.boston.com/news/pol…
I think this is a good move – it’s a perfect time for re-evaluation and introspection on where the administration is going to go for the next four years. I expect most of his cabinet will probably return to work, but it’s also a good way to allow some to exit gracefully to “pursue other opportunities” or “spend more time with their families” – all the usual euphemisms…
With luck the Governor will accept the resignation letter Secretary of Education Reville wrote over a year ago, albeit not to the Governor, but rather his Commissioner of Education:
From: Reville, Paul
Sent: Thursday, February 5, 2009, 11:54 p.m.
To: Chester, Mitchell D. (DOE)
Subject: charters
Mitchell,
Hope all’s well and warm in AZ. I appreciated our talk today and your openness and flexibility. This situation presents one of those painful dilemmas. In addition to being a no-win situation, it forces us into a political cul de sac where we could be permanently trapped. Our reality is that we have to show some sympathy in this group of charters or we’ll get permanently labeled as hostile and they will cripple us with a number of key moderate allies like the Globe and the Boston Foundation. Frankly, I’d rather fight for the kids in the Waltham situation, but it sounds like you can’t find a solid basis for standing behind that one. I’m not inclined to push Worcester, so that leaves Gloucester. My inclination is to think that you, I and the Governor all need to send at least one positive signal in this batch, and I gather that you think the best candidate is Gloucester. Can you see your way clear to supporting it? Would you want to do the financial trigger even in light of likely stimulus aid?
Thanks for not seeing this as an independence issue. It really is a matter of positioning ourselves so that we can be viable to implement the rest of our agenda. It’s a tough but I think necessary pill to swallow. Let’s discuss some more tomorrow.
Paul
It’s time for Reville to exit and allow the Governor the opportunity to begin to heal that gaping wound.
