It’s disturbing enough when powerful politicians use their influence to find sinecures in state government for unqualified political supporters. But steering such patronage hires into public safety jobs shows an utter lack of regard not only for taxpayers’ wallets but their physical safety as well.
On Monday, the Patrick administration announced the removal of Sheila Burgess from her $87,000-a-year position as state highway safety director following a Globe report on her abysmal driving record, which includes seven accidents, four speeding violations, and two failures to stop. Burgess is currently on medical leave after an August one-car accident in Milton.
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Governor Patrick has served himself long enough. He has given patronage jobs to some of our most important public dept's.
ie; BPS, DOT and both are questionable according to past performances. Patrick serves only himself, and his friend Obama.
The sooner he leaves office the better.
This is completely unacceptable and the Governor should assure that going forward that this will not be the status quo. What exacerbates the situation is that there are actually qualified folks out there who aren't being hired for these positions. It only hurts the Commonwealth.
It boils down to the fact that Massachusetts Democrat politicians really don't give a damn about the state: Their focus is on re-election & increasing campaign donors by sponsoring people for jobs who will reciprocate - with campaign 'help' and 'campaign donations.'
This is not rocket science - this is the core of Democrat politics.
How about getting rid of the agency and using the money to help those really in need? It sounds to me that this agency was created for patronage hires.
Patrick has been a good Governor, this incident doesn't change that BUT, there needs to be an independent review of all the positions in state government that fall under the category of political appointments.
This incident does mean that it's pretty much curtains for Tim Murray's hopes of political office here in the beautiful Bay State. Or it should. Any connection with a disregard for public safety in his case is just a nail in his political coffin. I say this with heavy heart as a Devoted Democrat.
I'm filing your post under "don't let the facts get in the way"...Murray did not recommend Burgess, or work with Burgess, or appoint Burgess. Congressman McGovern (who knew and had worked with Burgess years ago at Cong. Moakley's office) has told the press that he submitted her name for consideration by the new Admin. for a job...not this specific job. Murray had nothing to do with Burgess appointment, it was Gov. Patrick's to make and he did. (BUT don't let that stop the press from blaming Murray for it...) This incident has nothing to do with Murray and it would be a shame to allow the media to drive Murray out of politics because he can't drive on black ice.
Another long awaitied awakening on the part of The Boston Globe. In addition to an utter lackof regard for taxpayers (which is never a concern of the bulk of our politicians), these practices undermine the credibility of government. Is there any wonder why there is such a resistance to taxes and more government involvement?
The Boston Globe continues to support democrats in 99% of statewide races, just because ?
A ham sandwich would get elected in Massachusetts if they had a D after their name on the ballot.
I agree that the number of political patronage jobs in Massachusetts are ludicrously huge. This is true of both sides when they are in power. (After all Virginia L. Buckingham, Massport’s executive director during the disasterous use of our Logan airport for the 9/11 attacks, had been Governor Weld’s campaign manager and press aide, and was clearly under-prepared for the job, too.) The Democratic Party, being the party with the most power, does bear more responsibility for this than than the Republicans in this.
But Virginia L. Buckingham didn't crash planes before she was appointment as executive director.
But Virginia L. Buckingham didn't crash planes before she was appointment as executive director.
The truth that supports this article is the fact that Deval Patrick instructed the "MBTA Hiring Panel" to hire Scott _BEFORE all the other two finalists were even interviewed.
Massachusetts PATRONAGE: If you are a registered 'Democrat' with a political 'pal' - you have a 'job.'
Well she is an african american hire and clearly thats a priority we can all get behind. After all, lots of african americans ride the bus. We need more african americans on the public payroll in leadership spots. God knows the private sector won't hire proven knuckleheads. How will she get another pension??????
Its at least encouraging to see the Globe begin to both publish stories revealing the avarice and corruption in the public sector as well as voice, editorially, objection. Maybe the Globe is (finally) realizing that its value to readers is precisely this kind of work: shining a light on the dark world of public organizations. No doubt it is painful for the Globe to do so as these stories paint a completely different narrative than the one preferred by the Globe and liberal politicians; "more revenue is needed to help the needy". When a state or city lards its payrolls with worthless sinecures of all kinds it puts the lie to the "compassion" meme that politicians use to sell a further rape of the taxpayer. No adult kids themseleves that the public sector will ever be either productive or efficient nor "lean" in any manner. However, there's plenty of egregious abuse that, if not exposed, will only encourage MORE abuse of taxpayers. The Burgess story represents such a contempt for the taxpayer that it seems as though it was deliberately constructed to demonstrate just how powerful the state is now and how little regard there is, at any level of government, for honorable management practices.
Well said. I love it how when there's any talk of reducing taxes it's always the police, firefighters and teachers who would be laid off. What a bunch of nonsense. There's so much "lard" in the public sector that could be cut without having any impact on services that people expect government to provide, security and education. I don't need someone making $87,000 a year to tell me to wear my seatbelt. The only way to rid ourselves of this waste is to take away revenues and force our politicians to abolish useless agencies.
Right on, Ben! You could probably reduce the size of the Boston fire department by 50% with no consequences for public saftey.
Instead of writing editorials decrying the acts of those politicians you previously endorsed how about writing an something that speaks to how these acts are an outcome of a state dominated by one political party. The Globe has aided and abetted the Democratic Party's takeover of Massachusetts.
HUZZAH!!! The truth of the matter at its most essential.. Tell this to Boddy the Lion and Terry the Murray....
The Governor has show nothing but complete disdain for public safety professionals from day one. This is just another example of what he thinks about those that protect us.
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The Globe has lost all credibility with its ongoing campaign to discredit Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. The ONLY people who are promoting the myth that Murray is "a conduit of patronage jobs" are in the media, particularly at the Globe. FACT IS: There has been a patronge/appointments office at the State House for decades on end. An incoming Governor controls the appointments made. Dukakis, King, Weld, Cellucci, Swift, Romney..ALL had Patronage/Appts offices that handled the job seekers and their resumes. The Governor made the final calls...NOT a Lt Gov (ask Evelyn Murphy!) In EVERY one of these administrations, not every appointment has been good. For instance, the woman who headed the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau under Romney was a GOP stalwart named Nancy Luther, who rapped her car around a tree on the North Shore. We need not even go down the Matt Amorello road. The Globe could surely name many bad appointments made by many administrations over the last hundred years. So its holier than thou shock at the patronage system is suspect, not to mention late!
candleone misses the point - Deeval the federal appointee wannabe is trying to build a cprruption legacy equivalent to that left by an Irish guy named James Michael Curley (without the personal jailtime, of course). Maybe Deeval thinks somebody will cast him as three statues, another way he can outrun two-statue Curley for generations to come.
If this were the private sector, Burgess would have been toast; lights out. Deval Patrick ran an amazing re-election campaign, and once re-elected, it's been one slap in the face after another to the taxpayers of MA. I saw him on the news a few nights ago when this story was released, and he was rushing away from the camera, too mortified to face the camera, and he's refused to be interviewed by any of the local news outlets. He's fully accountable for this sham; the gig's not up for Burgess -- what will it take? Deval's days are numbered; don't let the door hit his backside too hard on the way out, you know? Great editorial.
I absolutely agree with the vast majority of what you write here. However ....
"If this were the private sector, Burgess would have been toast; lights out."
What are you basing that statement on? I've worked in the private sector my entire life and have never seen this to be true.
I probably should have said (and meant) that she would not have been hired in the private sector in the first place, as she was devoid of qualifications, let alone experience. I realize that the private sector can be errant in the vetting process, too, but it seems unlikely in this day and age that any private organization would have done more than glance at her resume, as that would be enough to see she met none of the criteria for the position; therefore, it was her resume that would have been toast. Hope this makes more sense than my original statement.
The Patrick administration is rife with corruption, and its leader wants to carry that practice into the federal ranks, where Deval obviously hopes to get a job from his fellow Chicago hack, Barry the President. Look at Patrick's administration, and its leader's crocodile tears of outrage over some of the publicly exposed rot it includes: a Probation Department stinking from the fish at its head downward to politically connected probation officers; a Public Health Department with look-the-other way chemists working on police drug cases and regulators whose lack of responsibility may be involved in more than 30 deaths; an attempt by Patrick to name a woman legislator to an expensive no work job; a public safety division chief in charge of half a dozen employees, useless slogans, distribution of public funds used as local police overtime and a personal driving record that would drive lots of teenagers out of cars for years, if not generations; a lieutenant governor with a suspicious crash while driveing a state vehicle, and links to corrupt individuals with strong fund raising "talents". If this doesn't fit like a cloak on Deeval the upwardly mobile governmental wannabe, what else does?
Deval is one of the worst Governors this state has ever had - yet, he had the audacity to travel the U.S. spouting off against former Gov. Romney!!!!
The public sector in Massachusetts is a cesspool of corruption. It's run primarily for the benefit of well-connected Democrats. Where else can a toll collector make $75,000 a year (and up), a Boston beat cop more than $200,000, a half-time firefighter more than $100,000. And yet the witless Massachusetts voters continue to elect only Democrats. I guess the explanation is that there are so many people who benefit from this corruption that they have become a formidable voting block.
Very well said. And isn't Massachusetts sadly lagging in EZ-Pass lanes ... yes, the toll-takers would be out of jobs so this inefficient and expensive solution continues. That's how it is done in Massachusetts.
Boston cops make less than Quincy Police, Cambridge Police, State Police. They make $15,000 a year less than Boston FireFighters. There was one Boston "beat cop" that made more than $200,000. He worked the equivilent of 2 1/2 full time jobs to do it. Find another example.
This is a great editorial, but I question this: Burgess was "rich in experience when it came to raising funds through her consulting firm." If she was truly an exemplary fundraiser, she'd be raking it in through her consulting firm or running a superPAC, not taking some bogus state job for $87K.
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Once again our great Governer proves he has no interest in really running this state and paying attention to the details.
What about the phony Registrar of MV? Her only experience was her drunken husband manipulating the system to skate on multi-drunk-driving charges. Another great Deval appointment
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I hypothesize, as I have before, that Sheila got more than one or more free passes along Massachusetts real highways and " Massachusetts' patronage highway" since she was appointed State Highway Safety Director. A really qualified individual would have, as some enlightened commentators have written below, advocated innovative safety programs regarding seat belts, not texting while driving, phone use, etc. Sheila has not. Furthermore this should be the end of the "road" for this non-qualified person. Get back to being that fierce fundraiser. Deval, I voted for you and I'm not the one who should be embarrassed, you are.