Elections Blog

http://www.mass.gov/Agov2/docs/111806_Project_Overview+Summary.pdf Mitt Romney just released the findings of the “stem to stern” safety review of the Big Dig Tunnel system. Click here to learn more.

Governor Mitt Romney today signed legislation to protect infants and children from shaken baby syndrome, a form of child abuse that is the leading cause of injury-related infant death nationwide. Nearly one-third of children who are injured from being shaken die, and those who do survive often suffer lifelong physical and mental damage.

“The victims of shaken baby syndrome are helpless to defend themselves from such violence,” said Romney. “Through better education, we will allow new parents to understand the challenges they face and help them to prevent tragedies before they occur.”

The new law, which takes effect immediately, directs the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Department of Social Services and the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide prevention initiative to reduce death and disability resulting from shaken baby syndrome.

In Massachusetts, the Department of Social Services confirmed 76 cases of shaken baby syndrome from 2001 to 2004. Of these cases, nearly half of the victims were shaken by their biological parents, not by caregivers.

The law adds a program to educate new parents about the dangers of shaken baby syndrome. Parents or guardians of all newborns in Massachusetts will receive, before leaving the hospital, education and materials developed by the Department of Public Health describing the dangers of shaking infants and children.

The law also authorizes the development of a program to support and serve victims of shaken baby syndrome and their families. The victim support program will also help state officials collect additional data to aid future efforts to combat shaken baby syndrome.

“We are grateful to Governor Romney and the Legislature for moving this crucial piece of legislation forward,” said Harry Spence, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services. “With this law, Massachusetts has decided to act to address shaken baby syndrome, the most frequent cause of death and injury among infants and toddlers.”

Over the past four years, the Romney Administration has been aggressive in combating child abuse in the Commonwealth. The Administration approved and implemented the Baby Safe Haven law, which provides mothers of newborns a safe location to surrender infants seven days old or younger as a last resort. The Governor also signed legislation in August of 2006 requiring emergency room personnel to become trained in spotting signs of sexual abuse in children.

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http://alabamaforromney.blogspot.com/ Romney state blogs can now start the alphabetical list off right! Karl Basham, who has recently helped re-vitalize Mississippi for Mitt, has started “Alabama for Romney” and has several excellent new posts in the last few days. Karl is a Captain (soon to make Major) in the Air Force and is going in less than two weeks for a 6 month deployment in Iraq.

Speaking of Alabama, I ran into an article titled “ALABAMA VOICES: Word thieves threaten richness of language” from the Montgomery Advertiser by Tom Fitzpatrick. It only mentions Romney periperally, but the writer laments that a literary rich term like “tar baby” has been hijacked by race-baiters and will become taboo in our vocabluary as a racial slur. This topic is near and dear to me, because, as many readers here may know, I asked the question to Romney at the Ames event last month that elicited his “tar baby” comment.

Fitzpatrick delves into an interesting history of the orgin of the term and laments about its apparent sailing into the sunset. Of Romney, the story mentions:

Gov. Romney referred to the Boston “Big Dig” tunnel fiasco as a tar baby he didn’t want to touch. Sounds apt, but critics across the nation, led by black activists, savaged him. Romney apparently didn’t know that “tar baby” in recent years has become a racist’s epithet for a black person.

Personally, I think it will be a disgrace and loss to both blacks and whites if “tar baby” is allowed to be pirated by word thieves, goes the way of “gay” and “intercourse,” and lives on bereft of its original meaning.

Well said Mr. Fitzpatrick!

Look at all the debate my simple question led to . . . who would’ve thunk it . . .

Jeff

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Work on reforming the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority continues today. Gov. Romney swore in Mass. Secretary of Transportation as the acting head of the agency.

I won’t congratulate Cogliano for inheriting a headache such as this. But I wish him luck.

~~~Thomas

Dave adds: This quote from Governor Romney sums it all up:

“Traditionally, this agency has also been run for the benefit of political outsiders. Those interests will undoubtedly fight change. They may take a run at you over the coming years to do things that would be more like the practice of the past. I’d acknowledge that more important than the decisions you will make during your tenure on this board will be your insistence that this agency rebuff patronage, self-interests and favoritism always in favor of the public interest.”

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http://www.lowellsun.com/editorials/ci_4176623 Realizing what a friend she’s had in Governor Romney, Barabara Anderson, Executive Director of Massachusetts-based Citizens for Limited Taxation wrote today an opinion piece praising many of Romney’s recent and ongoing actions.

. . . while other states are moving to prevent eminent-domain abuse, Romney had to veto an amendment to the economic stimulus bill that will allow developers to create their own little mini-towns-within-towns by floating bonds to pay for the infrastructure. As one legislative opponent wrote in support of the veto, this whole concept “would benefit from undergoing full legislative process, including public hearing, rather than enactment as a veto override of a Senate amendment to a spending bill.”

Trying to sneak in eminent-domain as a minor point on a big bill. Nice try, but Romney’s too swift for that! Later Anderson contrasted Romney and former Gov. Dukakis.

Fortunately, Mitt Romney is now in charge of the Big Dig, and is clearly in his element when addressing a crisis. And for contrast, we have former Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis, returned to rewrite history.

He is everywhere, on television, talk radio, in newspaper articles, insisting that the Big Digaster wouldn’t have happened if the Republican governors had listened to him: They should have kept his transportation secretary, Fred Salvucci, to run it right and for his estimated $2.4 billion cost.

Michael, you can’t rewrite history until everyone who actually lived it and remembers it is dead. And I’m not.

The detials that follow prove her point. Dukakis seems to be suffering from selective memory and an overly partisan mindset.

Jeff

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http://news.bostonherald.com/localPolitics/view.bg?articleid=152338 This, from the Boston Herald’s Dave Wedge:Just as he did after the fatal Big Dig collapse, Gov. Mitt Romney sprang into action yesterday following news of a possible terror attack, taking firm control while scoring praise from political pundits and even some Democrats.

The possible 2008 presidential contender was the first governor nationwide to launch the National Guard - even though none of the terror-targeted planes were headed to Boston. He also called a 10 a.m. press conference, beating even President Bush to the airwaves, and abruptly canceled a trip to Wisconsin for a Republican fund-raiser.

“I think the governor’s actions were most appropriate, under the cirumstances,” said U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Lowell). Asked how Romney’s take-charge persona is playing out on the national political scene, Meehan replied: “Anytime an executive makes the right decisions under pressure, voters respond.” Many doubters will look at this as they did the Governor’s response to the Big Dig tragedy and say he’s angling for political gain. What people fail to recognize is that this guy is simply wired this way. He reacts to difficult situations with superior leadership. Those are his natural instincts.

Dave

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http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/555ivsyw.asp?pg=1 The Big Dig and Romney’s response are featured in this week’s Weekly Standard:
“Early on, anyone looking at the Big Dig saw that it was a management horror show,” Romney told me. “It has been grossly under-managed, with huge cost overruns and extraordinary delays. What we began to find out was that it also had apparently cut corners and not been subjected to the kind of rigorous oversight that you’d expect in the world’s largest public works project.”

“When I learned that a ceiling panel had collapsed and killed a human being,” Romney went on, “it followed the same pattern, but the human cost had now reached a new level. What was before a financial embarrassment became a human tragedy.”

He described how he plans to handle the problem. “The best way to make something better is to expose it to the disinfectant of sunlight,” Romney says. “My approach in these kinds of settings is to open the doors, open the windows, let the light in, let the public see what’s going on. In my experience, people always feel better knowing about the real problems than guessing what those problems might be.” Taking the reins, without regard for the political consequences. Leadership and competence defined again by Governor Romney.

Dave

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http://iowansforromney.blogspot.com/2006/08/hear-mitt-speak-speak-mitt-speak.html A new Iowa political blog focused on the 2008 presidential race is being run by Kevin Schmidt. It is named “RealWorldPolitico.” I breifly met Kevin at Romney’s PAC event in Ames and he seemed like a nice guy. Fortunately, Kevin recorded Romney’s speech and the Q&A session (two seperate mp3s) and has them available at this link (the speech cuts out a few minutes early). In the Q&A session, mine is the second question about the political risk of taking over the Big Dig . . . yes, the question that brought forth the now famous “tar baby” comment.

Additionally, this link should get you to the streaming audio (about 13 minutes) of Gov. Romney on today’s “Morning in America” radio talkshow hosted by Bill Bennett . . . he states he has 2.4 million listeners/day and is the #9 radio talk show in the nation. Sounds like good exposure for Gov. Romney. Not sure how long it will be available online as free streaming audio.

Topics discussed:
The Big Dig
Welfare Reform
Immigration
War on Terror/Iraq/Afghanistan
Israel and Lebanon
China and Economic Policy

One thing that struck me from the interview . . . Romney said: “we under-communicate to the world and to the American people when we call it a “War on Terror.” Terror is the technique that’s involved by the others side. This really is a war against radical jihadists. And we’re going to have to recognize that, and see it’s breath and help the world of Islam reject the extremists, because they and we together are going to have to do this.”

Just after the interview Bennett said of Romney: “Clear, smart, an articulate voice thinking about the wider world as well as his own state of Massachusetts . He’s shown that he can work with Democrats; the question is can he work with Republicans–because there aren’t any up there . . . or at least not very many.”

Great showing, once again, by our man Mitt!

Jeff (cross-posted at Iowans for Romney)

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Stephen Moore, a member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, sat down recently with our fearless leader Gov. Mitt Romney to talk about the Big Dig. What it a treat it was to read what Mitty thinks of the Big Dig, the interview yielded several jewels.
When I sat down for lunch with Gov. [...]

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http://www.opinionjournal.com/cc/?id=110008742 A Wall Street Journal editorial today takes on the Big Dig, including a conversation with Governor Romney. A portion:Mr. Romney, one of the leading Republican presidential contenders, has arrived at a Rudy Giuliani-type moment that could elevate or ruin his political fortunes. He inherited this pile of political manure, and Massachusetts’s heavily Democratic careerist legislators “just don’t want him cleaning out the stables,” as Eric Fehrnstrom puts it, who focuses on transportation as one of Mr. Romney’s top aides.

But Mr. Romney scored his first significant victory when he forced the resignation of the independent Turnpike Authority head, Matthew Amorello. Mr. Romney is now empowered to put his own clean-up crew in charge. He seems well qualified for the task; after all, he first gained international renown for righting the scandal-plagued Salt Lake City Olympics.

Dave

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060802/ap_on_re_us/big_dig A little late (if you can call yesterday’s news late) on this one. Looks like Governor Romney is moving at a steady pace with the Big Dig, and this is the next step.

BOSTON - Days after forcing out the head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday moved ahead with long-held plans that he says will streamline the agency, make it more efficient and save tax dollars.

Romney announced he will ask board members at their Aug. 16 meeting to approve the creation of a task force that will scrutinize the agency and identify areas where it can be merged with the state Executive Office of Transportation or other state agencies.

The governor has for years wanted to consolidate the two agencies.

Click the link and read the rest of the story.

Ann Marie

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http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=150888&format=text Boston Herald columnist, Virginia Buckingham, wrote a peice today titled
“Mitt unduly tarred with Mel’s brush”. It represents a semi-apology to Romney, and, if not that, at least a well-reasoned defense of his use of the term.

It’s a coincidence that Gov. Mitt Romney is taking heat for what some see as a racial slur in the same news cycle as Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic rant.
But it would be a real shame if there was no distinction made by the guardians against discrimination between Romney’s common reference and Gibson’s disgusting tirade.
All slurs are not created equal.
Romney quickly apologized for his use of the term “tar baby” to describe his involvement in the Big Dig political mess. If unintentional bigotry loves company, Romney has plenty of it including Sen. John Kerry, The Boston Globe editorial board, the Boston Herald editorial board, White House press secretary Tony Snow and WBUR’s “On Point” host Tom Ashbrook.
In a June 2003 Boston Globe profile, Kerry described his leadership of a congressional committee on missing soldiers in Southeast Asia as a potential “tar baby.”
In a 1994 editorial, the Globe described U.S. dealings with Iran as resembling a “tar baby” and even articulated the term’s assumed meaning in a 1998 editorial on China’s censoring of the Internet: “The Communist rulers of Beijing ended last year tangling with a tar baby. The tar baby - passive, sticky and invincible - was played by the Internet, which the leaders want to censor.”
The Herald weighed in on Romney’s Turnpike merger proposal in a 2004 editorial noting “What lawmaker wouldn’t want to pass this tar baby to the guy who may be running for re-election in 2006?”
More recently, in May, the White House’s Snow colorfully refused to comment on a government surveillance program saying that doing so would “hug the tar baby.”
And Ashbrook, as well as Romney apparently, missed the resulting brouhaha since the WBUR host also used the term in a June 16 broadcast to describe the Guantanamo prison issue.
I personally have used the term tar baby, at least in conversation, if not in writing (though I’ve done that, too) plenty of times in my 19-plus year career.
And I confess not only did I not know of its racial implications, I also didn’t know of its origination as a literary trap for Br’er Rabbit. The Boston Globe’s language expert, Jan Freeman, filled me in on that in a June column.
Ignorance isn’t an excuse, it is only an explanation. I assume most, if not all, of those who were offended by Romney will accept his explanation and apology and, more, understand his comment in the spirit in which he offered it.

A voice of reason coming out of Boston? I thought Romney was the only capable of that!

Seriously though, Romney was immediately denounced by the “race baiters” community and painted as a racist for using the term. I commented before how they seem to give Democrats/Liberals a pass when they use the same term. Where was the public outcry when John Kerry used it? How can the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald use the term without even a ripple, but when Romney says it to a small group in Iowa, it’s major national news? How can the term be used in this Massachusetts Magazine article JUST TWO WEEKS AGO without any public outcry (Hat tip: Jason Bonham at Illinoisians for Mitt for this last one) . . . I mean Romney is NOT the first person to refer to the BIG DIG as a “tar baby”. To quote the article:

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: At first blush he appears to be a winner, as he calmly rolls up those white shirt sleeves and takes control — but not so fast. Mr. Clean may have gotten national credit for purging the Winter Olympics of scandal, but this ceiling panel thing could prove a tar baby for him yet.

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Here is a “guest blog” from one of the “Iowans for Romney”, Keith Steurer, an Engineer giving his take on the BIG DIG and Romney’s response to the situation:

ENGINEER’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE BIG DIG FAILURES

I am a structural engineer, licensed in 2 states, with 6 years design experience. The recent BIG DIG failures have been of great interest to me and to my co-workers. There is an unwritten rule in engineering, that when things go wrong, you read up on them as much as possible to make sure that it never happens again. There have been several historic engineering failures throughout history. Usually, the only thing that makes them historic the loss of life (IE Hyatt Regency catwalk failure), or the freak factor (Tacoma Narrows Bridge failure). The BIG DIG has both of these factors because there has unfortunately been a life ;lost due to the failure, and this project is freakishly expensive, large, and encompassing.

I have read up much about the BIG DIG tunnel ceiling failure, and how it happened. Basically, there were concrete panels, hung above the traffic with epoxy anchors. We use epoxy anchors all the time in construction because they are versatile, easy to install, and take very little training or expertise to install. HOWEVER, great caution should be used when installing them in a ceiling. This is known throughout the engineering world. They only perform correctly if installed correctly. As a designer, I actually have a rule that I never use epoxy anchors in a ceiling. WHY? Because the epoxy doesn’t tend to fill the hole completely, and while the epoxy is setting it can run out of the hole. Manufacturers of the epoxy anchors have plenty of testing to show that they are safe for use in ceilings, but sky diving is also technically safe, and I still do not take that risk either. Also the panel fastening system was not redundant. Meaning, if one fastener fails, the remaining will not have the capacity to support the system, and they will all fail, one at a time. They reported that many of the anchors were not tightened adequately either. This is a simple installation problem. Unfortunately, these anchors are most often installed by the least trained, least responsible laborers on a job site, and are rarely tested in place to verify correct installation. I deal with this on my own projects.
I read a great article in the Engineering News Record. See link : http://enr.ecnext.com/free-scripts/comsite2.pl?page=enr_document&article=netrar060731
This is written for engineers, by engineers. I feel it is very honest in exposing the back and forth of who was taking charge of the project and inspections, and what needs to be done. Governor Romney is quoted as having questioned all 1,150 epoxy anchors in that particular tunnel, which is exactly what any trained inspector would do. Unfortunately, it appears as if the previous inspectors (if any), and others involved in this massive project have too much money at stake, too much bribing, and corner cutting going on to take reasonable charge of their own work. No one likes to be the guy that shuts down a construction site to have things tested, but someone has to do it for this level of risk. I am impressed with Romney’s resolve to ensure every part of the project is safe, not just the immediate areas of concern. He has taken on much larger challenges that this, so I am sure he will not fail the people of Massachusetts. I look forward to seeing what type of system they come up with to replace the anchors, and hopefully this will never happen again. Are you listening, fellow engineers???

Keith Steurer, PE, LEED AP

Great stuff Keith! Glad to have you on our “Iowans for Romney” team.

Jeff

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http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/30/governor_vetoes_31m_for_greenway/?page=1
Governor Mitt Romney has vetoed $31 million for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the 27-acre ribbon of parks and development being built in downtown Boston, saying it is much more important to use the money to repair the Big Dig tunnels underground.

The move has surprised and angered supporters of the Greenway, who said the veto could delay construction of two highly anticipated cultural institutions — The Boston Museum, a history center near Quincy Market; and the New

Center for Arts and Culture, a forum for music, theater, and dance near The Boston Harbor Hotel. And tentative plans for a YMCA community center near the TD Banknorth Garden might have to be scrapped altogether, said John M. Ferrell, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Greater Boston.

Supporters fear that Romney is losing sight of the grand vision of renewal for Boston that Big Dig planners promised, epitomized by the replacement of the hulking Central Artery with an inviting green space and a walkway from the North End to downtown.

“You’ve got to take the long view, and the long view is the tunnel is going to be repaired, public confidence is going to be restored, and we have to create the Greenway that has been envisioned all along,” said Ronald M. Druker , chairman of the New Center.

The Legislature had approved the money to build covers over the ramps that connect Interstate 93 to streets near the North End, Faneuil Hall, and Rowes Wharf, where each of the proposed buildings is planned.

But Romney — having seized control of Big Dig inspections from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and forced out its chairman, Matthew J. Amorello — said the state must reserve the money for fixes to the project’s highways and tunnels.

I understand why some people want this beautification project to continue, but, I believe that Governor Romney is doing the right thing here. Sometimes being a leader requires that tough choices be made, oftentimes unpopular at that. He’s making a decision that is fiscally smart, and responsible. The project has already overrun it’s budget multiple times, and this $31 million should be used in making sure the infrastructure is sound. It just makes good budgetary sense.

Romney also argued that spending $31 million on Greenway ramps placed an unfair burden on the millions of taxpayers who live outside Boston.

“Massachusetts taxpayers throughout the state should not be forced to pay for the build-out and development of parcels that will benefit predominantly residents of the city of Boston and select organizations that are capable of accessing private funds,” Romney wrote in a letter to the Legislature accompanying his veto Friday. “It is more appropriate to rely on the private sector and the City of Boston for additional costs.”

Romney vetoed the $31 million as part of $56 million that he cut from an approximately $189 million spending bill passed by the Legislature.

This also makes sense. It could foster community pride if the private sector were to pay for it. They could possibly set up sponsorships for certain parts of the project (i.e. planting flowers, etc), and put individuals and corporations names on them. Also, maybe the community could come together and do some of the work in a volunteer capacity, thus bringing the cost down. Teams could be brought together, they could have competitions, and bring out a sense of community pride. Just imagine how much more it would be appreciated too if some of the communities sweat went into it?

Greenway supporters said they would push legislators to override the veto tomorrow, the last day of formal sessions.

“It’s not realistic to expect nonprofit organizations to pay for those ramps, and if you look at the record, it’s always been up to the government to do that,” Ferrell said. “And I’m surprised that the governor doesn’t see it that way because the legislative leaders in the House and Senate and the Boston Redevelopment Authority have been very supportive of this, and the governor is the only public official I know who is not.”

So, because “it’s always been up to the government to do that”, it needs to continue to be done that way? Just because something has always been done one way does not mean it’s the responsible way of doing things. If one wants to use that analogy then we my as well be using horses and buggies instead of automobiles.

The veto surprised city leaders because the state agreed to pay for the ramps in the early 1990s when it certified the Big Dig’s environmental credentials, said Richard A. Dimino, president and chief executive of A Better City, a coalition of downtown business leaders formerly known as the Artery Business Committee.

Well, I’m sure that back in the early 1990s it wasn’t expected that:
A ) The project would have gone so overbudget.
B ) The construction would have been so shoddy that it would have killed someone.

So, it’s a whole new ballgame. Tough decisions have to be made, and Governor Romney is making them.

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Gov. Romney went to Iowa today, resuming his traveling schedule after focusing almost exclusively on the Big Dig for almost 3 weeks. As expected, he had to respond to questions about him leaving the state:

“I’ve indicated there that I’ll be there any time I’m needed,” Romney said at the outset of a day of Republican politics in the lead-off caucus state. “I’m not an engineer, so I can’t do the drawings. I can’t screw in the new bolts. But whenever it’s time to make a decision or make an inspection, I’ll be there.”

He also addressed the question of whether taking over the Big Dig was the smart thing to do:

“The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can,” he told a crowd of about 100 supporters who gathered for indoor picnic at the Gateway Hotel on a sweltering day in Ames.

“I’ll get the blame for anything that goes wrong,” he said. “But I’m sure tired of people who are nothing but talk. I’m willing to take action.”

Boy I hope that he’s responding to outside critics and not relaying fears from his inner circle. Taking over the Big Dig was a no brainer both from a policy and political point-of-view. It’s something that just had to be done. For a politician to allow himself to be paralyzed by political fears in case something goes wrong would be self-destructive.

If all goes well, Gov. Romney will soon be subject to unimaginable scrutiny. When he’s president he won’t have an option to punt. If something goes wrong blame will inevitably (and often unfairly) fall to him.

Thank goodness his first instinct is to face the problem head-on.

~~~Thomas

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http://www.hubpolitics.com/archives/000812.php#comments This comes once again from Hub Politics. I will preface this post with the highest of compliments to Aaron Margolis. This is the absolute best commentary on the subject yet, this is commentary that only someone who lives there can give. I am including his entire post here, but please head over the actual site and make it part of your rounds in the blogosphere. You ready? Here’s the post. Absolutely steller Aaron, thanks for allowing me to post it in it’s entirety.

While your political party may influence your opinion, speculation is mounting on whether or not Mitt Romney’s taking over the Big Dig inspections will help or hurt him. The Boston Globe reports on some of the opinions out there.

“I think he is digging himself into a hole as big as the Big Dig,” said Dick Morris, a former top adviser to President Clinton. “He is now going to be held responsible for every delay, every cost overrun and every construction defect. Some things are best kept at arms length.”

Do we really expect that Romney will take heat for those delays, cost overruns and defects? I’m not so sure. We’ve already seen the governor close the eastbound lanes of the Ted Williams Tunnel when faulty bolts were found. There was no massive uprising, rather, I think the public was grateful. Clearly, Big Dig honchos have cared little for public safety (they did use duct tape to hold up concrete didn’t they?); it’s a breath of fresh air to see our Governor looking out for public safety. This is new to us, and despite any delays, or additional costs to ensure our safety, I think now more than ever, we the taxpayers and commuters are willing to deal with it to ensure no one else is killed in the tunnels.

With just five months left in his term,, Romney “must restore confidence in Massachusetts government,” said Julian Zelizer, an American politics professor at Boston University. “If six months from now there is still uncertainly (with the Big Dig), I think he has really shot himself in the foot.”

Again, I don’t think after 20+ years that people are expecting an overnight miracle. I think it’s also safe to say that the public is more confident know that someone is looking out for their safety than they were two weeks ago. Romney agrees.

“A new era of reform and accountability at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has begun,” he said. “Patronage will be replaced by professionalism, and secrecy will be replaced by openness.”

While you can sit and wonder with boat loads of partisanship the viability of Romney’s new burden, there is an undeniable truth, he has shown an essential characteristic this situation needs: leadership.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) praised Romney’s leadership in the wake of the tunnel tragedy, but said he fears there could be partisan efforts to wrest control of the project as the governor’s term ends.

“He’s taken full control, but I’m sure there will be some effort to curtail that at some point,” Brown said.

Even Christy Mihos, independent candidate for governor, often seen as a spoiler to Lt. Governor Kerry Healey and her quest to succeed Romney, praised Romney’s effort.

Former Turnpike board member Christy Mihos, who is running as an independent for governor, called Romney a “master at crisis management” but said he faces a “huge” task. “He has got to come up with a solution as quickly as possible,” Mihos said.

We’ve been watching the Big Dig debacle for longer than we’d like to admit. Does anyone really expect all to be perfect by the time Mitt Romney leaves office? He’s good, but the reality is that the Big Dig will be an on going problem for whomever sits in the corner office for years to come.

Posted by Aaron Margolis

Addendum by Jeff Fuller:

EXCELLENT commentary Aaron!

I wouldn’t worry about what Dick Morris says . . . this is a man convinced that Condi Rice will be the next president . . . I just don’t see it happening.

Also, they have some great local stuff about the Big Dig and Romney’s leadership over on a post at “Romney Report”.

Addendum by Thomas:

Don’t forget how invested he is in the Clinton juggernaut theory (based on what?).

As a political matter, Gov. Romney’s involvement in the Big Dig can’t hurt him because of a simple fact: He’s only got 5 months left in his term. By the time the public starts to get annoyed with the delays (and they will), Private Citizen Romney’s full-time job will be campaigning for the presidency.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/28/romney_amorello_prepare_for_transition_amid_big_dig_tests/ Governor Romney obviously is in charge of this situation. The thing that impresses me the most is that he means business. He’s not sitting on his hands waiting for someone to make a decision, or delegating things to other people. He’s in firm control of the situation. This is the kind of leadership this county needs, a “Chief Executive” who pardon the pun digs in, and accomplishes things. If you read the parts of this article before the following quotes (click the link, and read it at The Globe), it details precisely what is being done to inspect and test the tunnels. It is indeed what the Governor called a stem to stern review.

Back in the Statehouse, Romney huddled with his staff to review their options for seizing control of the Turnpike Authority.

A day earlier, Amorello yielded to weeks of pressure and announced he would resign Aug. 15 as the agency’s chairman and chief executive officer. At the same time, a justice on the Supreme Judicial Court ruled against a series of bylaw changes he pushed through during the most recent board meeting on June 29.

In the aftermath of the ruling, Romney is contemplating putting together a “SWAT team” of state transportation and finance officials to conduct an immediate assessment of the Turnpike organization, focusing on functions such as legal, accounting and public relations that could be merged with the state Transportation Department, said gubernatorial spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom.

The governor said Thursday he also planned to separate the duties of board chairman from the day-to-day responsibilities of chief executive officer, and to begin a nationwide search for that new CEO.

That search has been aided by his earlier call for a stem-to-stern review of the entire Big Dig following Del Valle’s death. Some of the engineers and inspectors applying to assist with that review may be considered for the CEO’s job, Fehrnstrom said.

While Amorello announced Thursday morning he was resigning effective Aug. 15, the bylaw ruling later in the day by Justice Francis X. Spina means Turnpike board members loyal to Romney could call a meeting immediately, as well as suggest agenda items.

The governor had not planned a meeting until Aug. 16, the day after Amorello left, but the Spina ruling would allow him to achieve the same goals earlier. Since Romney appointees now represent a majority on the five-member panel, Amorello would be powerless to prevent them from approving the new management structure.

It’s very clear that Governor Romney is not going to settle for anything but the best, the search is nationwide. So, whoever gets the job is going to be more than qualified to do the job. Plus, the other board members that are already loyal to the Governor are going to act to make sure everything goes smoothly even before that person gets the job.

Amorello spent Friday in his office at the Transportation Building, said spokesman Tom Farmer. Not only is Amorello being replaced, but his top echelon of managers — including Chief of Staff Marie Hyman, General Counsel Michael Powers, Chief Operating Officer Michael Swanson, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Tringale and Communications Director Mariellen Burns — may also lose their jobs.

The governor said Thursday he expected to retain Turnpike engineers and other professionals working on the Big Dig, a group that would include Big Dig project director Michael Lewis, but some turnover at the top should be expected. Romney said it will, in part, be attributable to redundancies eliminated by a planned merger between the Turnpike Authority and the Transportation Department scheduled for July 1, 2007.

“It’s not like there’s going to be an `everybody’s gone’ mentality,” Romney told reporters. “Certainly I would expect that there’s going to be some savings, and I would expect a new chief executive officer will want his or her own team. That’s pretty standard when a new chief executive comes into a position: they change some of the senior positions.”

Who else believes that it makes sense to bring in new people for those senior positions? The new CEO needs people that he or she can rely on, and know that they’re going to get the jobs that they are tasked to get done, done. Keeping the current people in those positions just reinforces what has already gone wrong. A fresh start needs to occur. To think otherwise would be like asking a new Presidential administration to keep on the previous ones cabinet level positions.

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http://www.hubpolitics.com/archives/000806.php#comments From Hub Politics, Thanks Matt for a great piece.

The Boston Globe reports:

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew J. Amorello agreed to resign this morning just hours before a scheduled termination hearing in the office of Governor Mitt Romney, sources said.

Amorello, who had repeatedly rebuffed calls for his resignation since a motorist died in the partial collapse of a Big Dig tunnel, will step aside on Aug. 15. On Thursday, the chairman lost a bid to block the today’s hearing before a state Supreme Judicial Court justice.

Amorello, who will talk to the media later this morning, accepted a six-month severance package with health coverage, sources said. The chairman makes $223,000 a year and will continue to be paid through February 2007.

Sources said that Romney signed a 1 ½ page agreement finalizing Amorello’s departure after a long night of negotiations. Amorello signed the document this morning.

The Boston Herald posts reactions to the news… and a timeline…details of the resignation agreement.

Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr writes:

Fat Matt Amorello was a complete boob to the bitter end.

Two weeks ago today, he had a deal on the table that would have paid him through the end of the 2007 fiscal year - $223,000.

Here it is, exactly 14 days later. The bloated fool spent upwards of $1 million on white-shoed lawyers, and he ends up with a deal by which he leaves the payroll on Feb. 15, 4 1/2 months earlier than under the first deal.

So Fat Matt is out $85,000 - and it cost him a million bucks to lose the money, and his job.

Of course, that million was just our money. What did Fat Matt care? It’s only the tollpayers’ dough.

Posted by Matt Margolis

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/27/under_fire_mass_highways_chief_resigns/
Image Courtesy of AP / Stephan Savoia

By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press Writer | July 27, 2006

His decision comes after pressure from fellow Republican Gov. Mitt Romney for Amorello to step down — pressure that has intensified since July 10, when 12 tons of ceiling panels fell from a Big Dig tunnel, crushing a passing car and killing the passenger.

Amorello’s resignation will be effective Aug. 15, but he will continue to receive his $223,000 annual salary through Feb. 15.

He announced his decision an hour before a scheduled hearing in the governor’s office during which Romney planned to seek his removal.

“This avoids a potentially protracted and costly process to remove Mr. Amorello from his position,” said Romney communications director Eric Fehrnstrom. “Ultimately, it is the right thing in order for the Turnpike Authority to move forward and regain the confidence of the public.”

More at the link. Once again, Romney leads.
Chris

Editorial Insert:

This just proves just how great of a job that Governer Romney has done with this. He’s taken a crisis, and taken the proverbial bull by the horns. His steadfast leadership and resolve proved too much for Matt Amorello, so he avoided the definite embarassment of going through a hearing on the issue and finally did the right thing in this matter. Had it not been for Governor Romney’s leadership, though we would have a drastically different scenario.

Ann Marie

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Many of our recent posts have highlighted Governor Romney’s excellence in crisis management. He took the Big Dig bull by the horns and has done what it takes to get the situation under control, clearly explaining it to the people of Massachusetts along the way.

We can always promote our candidate and say that his leadership is making a difference, but what do the people he serves think? Do they approve of his handling of the situation? Well, according to Survey USA, Governor Romney’s approval ratings in Massachusetts have jumped 9 points in one month, so the people of the Bay State are seeing a man of action lead them through a tough time, and more and more, they approve of what they see.

Dave

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http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/21/under_media_glare_romney_shines/ Globe Staff Photo / Suzanne Kreiter

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff | July 21, 2006

Who knew that undercut anchor bolts could make such gripping television? Ten cameras were trained on Governor Mitt Romney at the State House yesterday as he dropped the latest Big Dig bombshell: He had ordered an immediate shutdown of the eastbound side of Ted Williams Tunnel.

Brandishing photographs of faulty bolts for the cameras, he explained: “This section here should be flush against the ceiling, and it’s not.”

Showing a striking command of engineering lingo, he described a temporary fix as “an ARVA truck.”

“It happens to be about 11 1/2 feet wide when the stabilizing elements are extended,” Romney said.

Reminded by reporters that critics are questioning the independence of the Big Dig inspectors, he shot back: “I’m not quite sure who they have in mind as independent agencies, other than someone from Mars.”

Since falling concrete killed a woman in the I-90 connector 11 days ago, Romney has become the undisputed king of the news cycle. Yesterday was his seventh press conference on the crisis, not counting numerous press availabilities after striding into the tunnel for a look, clad in a hard hat and safety vest.

The former corporate titan has portrayed himself as the Captain of the Ship of State, exuding confidence and promising a “stem to stern,’ independent investigation of the tunnels. He has mastered the basic engineering concepts of the repairs, and he seems seized with an almost evangelical desire to explain it to the public.

For viewers, it may be somewhat startling to suddenly see so much of the governor, who has been traveling around the country exploring a presidential campaign for much of the year.

But the governor, who ran on his successful takeover of the scandal-ridden 2002 Olympic Games, clearly finds a crisis invigorating. He has not ruled the airwaves with such authority since last September, when he was marshaling contingents of officials and volunteers to receive Hurricane Katrina evacuees at Camp Edwards.

This time, his audience is not just concerned citizens, but furious taxpayers.

“At some point,” he said at a press conference the other day, “the pressure builds and builds and builds, and the public gets angry enough that they say, you know, this really is wrong.”

Romney is usually flanked by his transportation secretary, John Cogliano, or Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. Healey rarely speaks, and Romney only invites Cogliano to speak up after the cameras have been rolling for a long while.

The only other politician who has managed to grab some of the media attention is Thomas F. Reilly, the decidedly less flashy attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who is helping to oversee criminal investigations of the collapse. His prominent role in the story of the summer has given him a priceless quantity of free media.

Reilly has had at least two formal press conferences since the accident and has been a presence at the tunnel, as well. But in stark contrast to the governor, he operates in classic Joe Friday style. He has appeared in his shirt-sleeves by the side of the connector tunnel, somberly trying to describe the latest wrinkle in his case, without giving away too much.

Squinting into the afternoon sun alongside the I-90 connector at a press availability on Monday, Reilly looked every inch the prosecutor as he announced investigators had uncovered a dispute that arose years ago about whether the bolt system was safe.

As soon as he stopped speaking, the reporters cried in chorus: “Can you be more specific?”

“Not at this point,” he said soberly. “Not at this point.”

The contrast with Romney is striking, said Joseph Tecce, a professor of psychology at Boston College who analyzed clips of Romney and Reilly with the sound off.

Tecce found that Reilly blinked his eyes about 80 times per minute, 2 1/2 times the normal rate, suggesting that the attorney general “is very, very stressed,” Tecce said.

Romney, on the other hand, blinked about 30 times a minute, Tecce said, at the low end of the normal range, suggesting “that he was in control of the situation, that he felt comfortable in what he was saying.”

Eventually, the exposure has the potential to hurt both politicians.

Reilly is under pressure to produce culprits, and Romney has now taken responsibility for an infamously troubled collection of tunnels and the largest public infrastructure project in the country. Both men stand to lose valuable campaign time if the problem drags on and the public loses interest.

But for now, that’s not likely to happen. Maggie Hennessey-Nees, a spokeswoman for Fox 25 News, said this week that her station evaluates each news item on its own merits, but that the station has covered most press conferences live.

“It’s still a huge news story, and it will continue to be one,” she said.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

Yet again, Mitt showing what we’ve all known for a while now….
Chris

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