Less than three months into his term, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appears to be in serious trouble. Not criminal, but serious and hard to believe. Recently, he found himself pleading with the people of his state for another chance. “Don’t give up on me,” he said, “because I don’t intend to give up on Massachusetts.”
Unfortunately, the problems plaguing Patrick may sound familiar here in Connecticut.
First, Patrick was criticized for using a state police helicopter to travel around the state. This in itself is extraordinary since one of his predecessors, Jane Swift, was criticized for doing exactly the same thing. The Swift chopper controversy helped pave the way for Mitt Romney’s return to Massachusetts.
Gov. Patrick then decided to upgrade his Ford Crown Victoria to a Cadillac and spend $27,000 on new office furnishings, including $12,000 on drapes. In Boston, where the press loves to tweak the nose of the high and mighty, this was all too good to be true.
You would think that after the helicopter and the drapes someone on the new governor’s staff would have taken control and explained to him that he is not king. But apparently that did not happen, because his next blunder involved making a phone call to Citigroup on behalf of a company whose board he once served on. He defended the call by saying he made it as a private citizen. After thinking about it, he admitted he no longer was a private citizen.
Entitlement
Patrick was an official in the Clinton justice department. Governor of Massachusetts is his first and only elected office. Why do elected leaders quickly develop this sense of entitlement? Where does it come from? In part, it comes from us.
The truth is we want our congressmen, senators and governors to show up in shiny black cars, with security guards wearing bulky jackets, guns and dark glasses. We think nothing of it when a new president takes over and redecorates the White House. And we like to think our politicians can quietly make one phone call and save a company from going under. If the call is a little over the line, that’s fine, as long as the result benefits everyone.
Deval Patrick is not the only one. One of the greatest displays of black car envy occurs every February in Washington D.C. at the meeting of the National Governors’ Association. There you can measure the aspirations of the nation’s governors by how many cars with tinted windows they bring to town, how many troopers in the security detail and how many comically serious staffers with cell phones are in the entourage. And it is all paid for by you and me.
Gov. Patrick can recover quickly from these early ethical lapses by adopting his own zero tolerance policy. But don’t think that Gov. Patrick is an aberration. He learned this behavior by observing others. His staff put up no resistance to his lavish requests, because they believe this is how it’s always been done and to a certain extent, they are right.
Especially after a campaign, there is a desire by the winning team to take full pleasure in the spoils of war. The traditional perks of public office are very attractive and they are also a symbol of power. They are a way of communicating who is in charge.
There needs to be balance though, and at a time in history when people are cynical about the motives of those who aspire to public office, it would serve Gov. Patrick and others well to sacrifice the taxpayer-funded luxuries. n
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
