Kirwan Returns to Ivory Tower

The word that always pops into my mind is incestuous.

Related: Mass. Budget Mess

And I believe one of my followers may know her:

"She was the budget chief for the Massachusetts Port Authority, where in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, she helped Logan International Airport regain its financial footing."

At whose expense, 'eh, Bonnie?

Btw, thank you for sticking with me.

"State’s budget chief leaves for Harvard" by Matt Viser and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | September 26, 2009


Leslie Kirwan is taking a top finance post at Harvard. (Associated Press)

Governor Deval Patrick’s top budget chief, who guided his administration through the past 2 1/2 years of fiscal crisis, is leaving for a top post at Harvard University, the governor announced yesterday.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie A. Kirwan is submitting her resignation to become dean of administration and finance for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University....

Kirwan’s departure had been expected after 2 1/2 years in the toughest and most important job in any administration, made even more so by the recession and a series of severe budget cuts. Her time in the position is standard for most budget chiefs, who rarely make it through a full gubernatorial term. For example, Governor Mitt Romney’s initial administration and finance secretary announced his resignation after two years and five months....

Yeah, she is only leaving with blood all over the floor.

Kirwan, who has been in the job since Patrick became governor, has been a candidate for past jobs at Harvard. Previously she was the budget chief for the Massachusetts Port Authority, where in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, she helped Logan International Airport regain its financial footing.

Related: Massport's Chinese Connection

Did signing off on that help with the financial footing? I don't think so!

Her tenure has been marked by deep budget cuts and declining state revenues.

And I'll bet they call it "success!"

Her departure also puts her out of a politically difficult position. She had been a top deputy to Charles D. Baker, a former administration and finance secretary and a Republican who is now challenging Patrick in next year’s election. Kirwan has remained close to Baker but is also loyal to Patrick.

No, no, no!

See: Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Baker's Man....

The letters after the names change, but....

Kirwan, the state’s first female administration and finance secretary, played a key role in implementing Massachusetts’ landmark health care reform initiative through its formative stages. She cochaired the Payment Reform Commission, which made important cost containment recommendations to ensure health care reform’s sustainability. She fought for the funding needed for the health care law to succeed, even in face of one of the state’s worst financial crisis, her colleagues claimed.

They are claiming success on that? Sigh.

Related:

• The Massachusetts Model: Working Or Not?
• The Massachusetts Model: Comes At a Premium
• The Massachusetts Model: Screwing Small Business
• The Massachusetts Model: Going Out of Business
• The Massachusetts Model: Crazy Coverage
• The Massachusetts Model: Immigrant Insult
• The Massachusetts Model: Profit and the Paycheck
• The Massachusetts Model: Doctors' Diet
• The Massachusetts Model: By the Numbers
• The Massachusetts Model: Treasurer's Assessment
• The Massachusetts Model: Care-Keeping Costs
• The Massachusetts Model: Mass. Hospitality
• The Massachusetts Model: Lessons Learned

Patrick said Kirwan had guided his administration through tough fiscal times by making necessary budget cuts, but also “protected core services for the most vulnerable, and invested wisely in our economic future.’’

“Leslie is a stand-out in her field and a dear friend,’’ Patrick said in a statement released by his office. “Thanks to her exceptional leadership, our Commonwealth is set to emerge from the worst fiscal crisis in generations stronger than before.’’

He's not serious, is he?

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A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund

Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money

Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride

Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies

UBS Picks Up Pike

Massachusetts Democrats Keep Making the Same Mistakes

You know, how many times I gotta post 'em?

At Harvard, Kirwan will head the faculty of art and sciences’ administrative functions and will be a key member of the university-wide administrative team....

As any good globalist would.

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