By Jon Prestage
Editor
7/24/08

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Patrick told residents it was important for them to have “a direct and unfiltered relationship” with their government. He told a story that he said illustrated why he decided to travel across the state and talk directly with people. The story has to do with a reporter from a statewide newspaper that focused on Patrick’s latest haircut rather than a policy achievement that Patrick felt was important to citizens. He said the reporter’s subsequent story never even mentioned the policy achievement but did go into detail about the haircut.
“The work we do is how policy touches people. So, I am here to listen to you. I’m looking for consensus points,” he said. “My job is to solve problems. It’s a hard job.”
The meeting was informal and candid. Several staffers handled wireless microphones and scurried through the crowd, handing them to people who had questions. Patrick also carried a wireless microphone that gave him the freedom to approach the crowd, respond directly to a questioner, and mingle unhindered.
Many of the questioners were from other communities and some of those were people who had specific policy differences with the governor, differences the governor was already aware of. The faces were familiar to him.
When responding to questions, even difficult ones, Patrick would ask the crowd, “Does everyone know what we’re talking about here?” A chorus of “no’s” would lead him to sum up the issue, ask the questioner if his summation was accurate and then respond to the question.
Marjorie Jeffries, a library trustee and avid biker thanked Patrick for his work establishing a bike path along Truman Highway and the multi-million dollar Neponset River Esplanade project, a three-mile park along the river.
Another resident, Marie Bernard, said she was concerned about her 21-year-old son, who did not have health care.
“This is an issue everywhere,” Patrick responded. He called the state’s effort to cover everyone a relatively “successful experiment” but added that not enough people know their options. He pledged that his staff would contact Bernard and her son directly to see what alternatives are available to her son.
One Quincy youth asked Patrick how long it would take to fix the roads and bridges in the state.
Patrick responded that previous administrations had not been honest with residents about the seriousness of the problems in Massachusetts because of their attempts to hide the true costs of the Big Dig project, which siphoned money from maintaining the state’s infrastructure.
“We have hundreds of structurally deficient bridges” in the state, Patrick said, explaining that the costs involved are enormous and a lack of federal money helps magnify the scope of the problem.
“The federal government,” he said, “is not in the domestic policy business.”
Patrick was also asked about MCAS testing, early childhood education, recycling and turnpike debt.
“Growing the economy and expanding the job base is number one for me,” Patrick said at one point.
When asked about his support of Barack Obama, Patrick said, “I think our country is at a very important and delicate moment. The challenges are as big as we have ever faced in our country’s history. Our government has a role to play in helping people to help themselves. We need real leadership. Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to offer this leadership.”