Columns :: Boston And Beyond
Lt. Governor Murray means business
by Kevin John Sowyrda
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Thursday Feb 5, 2009
It’s Grand Central Station at the governor’s office on a sufficiently frosty Friday last month, though the environs are a bit more palatable than a train station. Everyone’s running past me as I slum on the gubernatorial sofa; I am staring at the ornately decorated walls and wondering how in the world anyone ever approved that absurd portrait of Bill Weld, depicting the eccentric Brahmin dressed in jeans and flannel shirt, as if he had served as governor of Wyoming or the commissioner of buffalo hunts. The comings and goings include the governor himself, toting a laptop bag with a plainclothes state trooper in tow who hurries to keep pace with the man he’s assigned to protect. It’s the day after the State of the State Address, and Governor Patrick seems to be a man on a mission. For my part, I’m just happy to be getting some face time with the governor’s "Number One," as Captain Picard of Star Trek might put it. It’s my first chance to meet Lt. Governor Tim Murray and find out if he’s really the right hand man or just the second fiddle who can amicably fill the roll of the Commonwealth’s 43rd guy to be a heartbeat away.
Suddenly I’m summoned, but not by the usual coat holder or clip-board-holding assistant. It’s just Tim Murray, sleeves rolled up, as if he just unburied himself from an avalanche of briefing papers to welcome me for the scheduled interview.
"Good morning, Your Excellency," I say - that old royalist in me protruding just slightly.
But Mr. Murray will have none of that flummery.
"You’re thinking of the other guy," he says, softly, an obvious reference to Murray’s mentor, Governor Patrick.
I follow Murray’s fast-paced lead and I’m wondering if my cardiac veracity is being tested. Murray’s either in a real hurry or wants to see if I’ve been faithful with my treadmill. I’ll soon discover it’s neither. If Tim Murray’s in a rush, it’s because he’s busy keeping himself informed and playing a vital role in the first Democratic administration since that of Michael S. Dukakis.
Hailing from Worcester and landing on Beacon Hill has hardly diminished Murray’s simplistic charm as a local guy made good. There are few 50-cent words in his relaxed conversational style, and he doesn’t need to try too hard to communicate his knowledge of the front-burner issues. When hit with a variety of questions ranging from funding for HIV patients in Massachusetts to federal bailout money Murray shows an impressive command of the issues. His Excellency - I mean Tim - is no second fiddle but an engaged policy-maker who clearly has a seat at the table of government. Given the state’s fiscal situation, it’s a good thing he’s so engaged. Past policies, new challenges and the indisputable fact that the administration is not immune to rapidly declining tax revenues make governing the Bay State less than ceremonial or pleasant these days. The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University projects that state revenues will decline by more than six percent this fiscal year. For Murray, it’s increasingly more about telling people what they can’t have than what they can have.
But Murray’s visage takes on the glow of an eternal optimist when he speaks enthusiastically of the chance to save millions of dollars through the massive consolidation of transportation services now being planned on Beacon Hill under the leadership of the administration’s first openly gay cabinet member.
"We think there’s a lot on the table that we like about transportation reform," said Murray. "There has to be a consolidation because we have repetition and duplication in services and we believe there are savings to be found in collapsing many of those down. There’s a sense of urgency and it’s generated real conversation on proposals."
On Dec. 19, 2008 the administration appointed Jim Aloisi, a prominent member of the gay community and an expert on public policy initiatives, to the post of transportation secretary, where Aloisi is expected to supervise an unprecedented consolidation of public transit services in the Commonwealth, making him one of the most powerful political players in state government.
The state’s financial troubles would certainly be ameliorated by federal bailout funds for Massachusetts. Though specificity from public officials regarding how the money would be spent is a rare commodity at present, the lieutenant governor agrees that a candidate for help could theoretically be the $800 million Columbus Center project. When completed, the development would act as a remarkable bridge between the South End and the Back Bay, but its timely completion has been one of many economic casualties of late.
The conventional wisdom proves true when you meet Murray. Patrick has clearly given the state’s second highest-ranking official a lot more to do than proving his prowess at the rubber chicken dinner circuit.
"The governor’s been great at giving me a seat at the table. Having served as a mayor for five years and chaired the school committee and worked on public safety issues I think I’m able to bring perspective to the discussions on many issues, and the governor has been great giving me a meaningful role," said Murray.
One of Murray’s predecessors, the state’s third lieutenant governor, Sam Adams (not to be confused with the embattled mayor of Portland), once said, "We cannot make events. Our business is wisely to improve them."
Events aren’t in Murray’s control, nor are they under the control of the governor or even President Obama. But judging from his temperament, command of policy issues and optimistic demeanor, my observation is that Murray will be working wisely to improve events of the day, no matter how overwhelming they may seem.
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