Related: Slow Saturday Special: No Purchase and Governor Patrick's Phibs
"Walsh pulls out amid uproar; Senator will not pursue $120,000-a-year state post" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | April 1, 2009
State Senator Marian Walsh abandoned her appointment yesterday to a $120,000-a-year position at a state authority, a decision that follows two tumultuous weeks for Governor Deval Patrick and was made amid what Walsh described as a "tsunami" of public outrage.
I had to have helped.
:-)
"I feel I have become the issue," said Walsh, appearing at Patrick's side after meeting privately with the governor in his office. Walsh said she reached the decision to decline the job as assistant executive director at the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority on her own, with no push from the governor or his aides. She said she called Patrick's chief of staff, Doug Rubin, on Monday night and informed him of the choice.
Well, seeing as y'all been caught in a lie already.... PFFFFFFFFTTTTT!!!!
"This is my decision," said Walsh, a six-term West Roxbury Democrat and one of Patrick's earliest political supporters. "This was not going any place that was healthy. I feel this is the best outcome," she said....
BULL!!! Is lying like an automatic reflex with you puss-bags or what?
Patrick's push to get Walsh hired at the authority would have faced another potential hurdle, and further media scrutiny and public anger, when the agency's board meets April 17 to confirm the details of her employment.
Patrick said he had "mixed feelings" about the lawmaker's decision and said, "I wish we had handled it differently." The governor has endured intense criticism from the public and political foes alike, and the administration's repeated attempts at damage control have only added to the negative fallout.
Walsh said last week that she would accept $120,000 a year for the job, instead of the originally planned $175,000, a concession that spurred more anger and criticism. The administration absorbed more criticism over the last three days after a Globe story, quoting internal e-mails, showed Walsh's appointment had been carefully orchestrated by Patrick's top aides - despite the administration's denials.
"I am relieved because we've been hammered," Patrick said yesterday, speaking to reporters. "I also feel disappointed about the harm that has come to the senator, who is a wonderful and capable person and, I am absolutely convinced, was the right person for this assignment."
He then put his arm around Walsh to demonstrate his support for her. "It's been painful for me, the senator, for a whole lot of people."
The guy STILL DOESN'T GET IT, the ELITE SNOB!!
Oh, it's been PAINFUL for YOU and YOURS, this getting CAUGHT in the LOOTING and LYING JAR!!! How do you think WE FEEL, guverner?
Seriously, can a guy really be THIS ARROGANT???
After the announcement, Patrick escorted Walsh back to the Senate, where a debate was taking place on pension reform.
What an IRONIC JUXTAPOSITION, wouldn't you say?
The assistant executive director job at the authority had been vacant for 12 years, and Patrick and Walsh were never able to put forth an argument that convinced critics that it needed to be filled now, at a time when the state and Massachusetts residents are reeling from the recession.
Walsh insisted yesterday that she had wanted the position in order to work on the governor's plans for reorganizing the authority and other quasi-public authorities by, among other things, "changing the culture so we can be more open."
QUIT BOTHERING MR. ORWELL in his grave!!!!!
This type of talk is OUTRAGEOUS!!
Just BALD-FACED FRIKKIN' LIES!
"Walsh, who was one of Patrick's earliest supporters in his long-shot bid to become governor in 2006, had hoped to become the $225,000-a-year executive director of the agency last year, according to private e-mail the Globe obtained between her political adviser, veteran Democratic political operative Michael Goldman, and the governor's chief of staff, Doug Rubin"
No wonder Walsh is always wearing a shit-eating grin!!!
"There's a whole theme here, which is why the reorganization was so central to having more economic development that is more fruitful in the near future and not waiting," Walsh said.
What did she just say? Whole lotta nuthin'!
But the way the appointment was handled belied her call for open government. The position had not been advertised and no search firm had been hired to compile a list of candidates. It was also not listed on an agenda for the March 12 meeting where it was unanimously approved.
Walsh's appointment was immediately slammed by opponents as a behind-the-scenes patronage move by Patrick to force the board of an independent authority to hire a political ally with very little notice. The state's Republican Party said yesterday that the episode undercut Patrick's claim to be a reformer.
"Senator Walsh has done the right thing by refusing the appointment," said Jennifer Nassour, GOP chairwoman. "This absurd process has taught us, once again, that we cannot rely on the Patrick administration to seek real, meaningful reform on Beacon Hill."
You can say that again! And again and again and again!!!!
Patrick continued yesterday to press the issue of reform, however.
This guy is not only arrogant, he's a tone-deaf, dumb, and blind idiot!!!!
He insisted that Walsh was the right person to make his case that the authority's operations should merge some of its operations with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, contending that their duplicate efforts cost taxpayers "millions of dollars."
He warned the authority that he would intervene again if it did not implement the changes he is seeking. "If they don't, we will be right back at it, inserting a change agent in there," Patrick said.
Is that a THREAT?
The authority, however, released a statement rebutting the governor's portrayal that it is inefficient. The agency issues government bonds to raise money for hospital and education construction projects in Massachusetts.
Translation: We are under attack and fighting back!!!!
Therefore, they REALLY DON'T NEED to KEEP a POSITION that has been VACANT for 12 YEARS, right?
That will save us about $250,000 dollars right there!!!!
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And this is NOTHING RECENT, readers:
"Patrick's farms secretary resigning; Environmental chief reportedly sought ouster" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | April 2, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick's agricultural commissioner, Douglas W. Petersen, a former legislator and early political supporter of the governor, has been forced out of his job, administration sources said yesterday.
The veteran Marblehead lawmaker, who gave up his seat to join the Patrick administration, lost a power struggle with Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, the sources said.
Petersen, who will leave his post on April 10, could not be reached for comment. Petersen had sought a meeting with the governor to appeal his ouster but was denied an audience, the administration sources said. The former lawmaker was one of Patrick's earliest supporters in the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.
Wow. NO LOYALTY, either!!!
So WHEN did DEVAL become an EMPEROR, huh? Didn't GRANT an AUDIENCE?
His forced resignation comes just after Patrick had to abandon his attempt to place another political ally, Senator Marian Walsh, in a high-paying job at a state authority because of the political controversy....
When he appointed Petersen in November 2007, Patrick faced opposition from some agricultural interests who were upset over Petersen's environmental record. Petersen strongly defended his record in the Legislature, saying he was friendly to farmers' interests.
Petersen also faced opposition from farmers who questioned his qualifications for the post. Jonathan Healey, a Charlemont tree farmer and former Republican legislator who switched his party registration to support Patrick in 2006, sharply criticized the choice of Petersen, saying at the time that the governor was reneging on his campaign promise to conduct a nationwide search.
Yeah, THAT IS FARM COUNTRY!!!!!
And BAD MOVE, Jon!!!!!
"The governor is segueing into a purely political appointment, which is putting a square peg into a round hole," Healey said. "It doesn't match the rhetoric of his campaign."
I'm not surprised; I've totally given up on the guy.
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