A record hard to beat
Now that the primary election is over and the parties have chosen their candidates, the political campaign will intensify. Over the next 45 days, voters will be barraged with information in support of one candidate or another. Unfortunately, much of the information will not help voters to decide which candidate is most likely to represent their interests when in office.
Anyone trying to unseat an incumbent has the onerous task of persuading the voters that his or her proposals are realistic and would be superior to what the present office holder has accomplished. When the incumbent has been dynamic, that task becomes overwhelming.
Candidates for governor have the burden of running against Deval Patrick’s record. So far it seems like a mismatch. While no political administration is perfect, Patrick’s record is so extraordinary that the press is often at a loss as to how to show impartiality in the race. The strategy seems to be to ignore Patrick’s great achievements when publicizing the theoretical ideas of his opponents.
The most important issue confronting all Americans today is recovery from the global recession. According to MassBenchmarks, a quarterly journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, the state’s economy has grown for four successive quarters at a pace faster than the national rate. About 45,000 jobs have been added in the last six months.
The governor has been aggressive in getting federal awards from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for state agencies. The state has received $5.7 billion in stimulus awards since the start of the program in February, 2009, and has met all spending deadlines.
Patrick has been equally assertive in obtaining federal funds to improve the state’s public education system. A $204 million grant from the federal Education Jobs Fund, together with state appropriations, will assure that all school districts will receive more state aid than they did last year.
Also, Massachusetts learned last month that the state has won the federal Race to the Top which assures that the state will receive $250 million over four years to improve the quality of public primary and secondary education.
As a candidate, Patrick promised to change the way business was done on Beacon Hill. He wanted to establish a more rigorous ethics law, reform the pension law to eliminate excesses, and to curtail the expense of managing public transportation. In his first term as governor he has fulfilled all of those promises.
The new ethics law, among other provisions, expanded the definition of lobbying and increased penalties for failing to register as a lobbyist. It also restricts the receipt of gifts by government employees. The new pension law prevents pensioners from working as state consultants, eliminates voluntary service from pension consideration, and eliminates the value of perquisites from pension calculations. Restructuring of the transportation administration is still a work in progress.
Much is made of the opposition to these changes. That was to be expected. Those who benefited from loose practices on Beacon Hill were not too happy. They would like to see things return to the old ways.
Gov. Patrick had the courage and the ability to lead the Democrats to a higher level of public probity. It is unlikely that a Republican could do that in this state, where the legislature is so overwhelmingly Democratic.
Now is the time for voters to consider these successes carefully as they decide who they want in the corner office.
