I think Team Blue hasn’t quite made enough noise about the new T station in Assembly Square. It’s fairly huge deal. The last time the state opened a new MBTA rail station it was 1987 and Mike Dukakis was the governor. It’s not a coincidence that we had to wait until another Dem occupied the corner office to get some attention paid to public transit. Political will matters. Without it, very little gets done.
This also goes to the economic vision that Massachusetts Democrats often espouse yet frequently fail to act upon: namely building out the infrastructure around which a thriving economy can take hold. Assembly Square looks to be a perfect example of Democratic economics in action. Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone just wrote a column that lays out why Massachusetts needs to be in business of transportation improvement.
One of the main questions that should be asked of the gubernatorial candidates is whether Assembly Square is going to be a one-off or, if not, how do you plan to keep the momentum going now that Deval Patrick has gotten the transportation ball rolling again?
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