Hope and cynicism collide
WHATEVER HAPPENED to Deval Patrick? As a candidate, he built a campaign of hope and promise into an unstoppable movement, won election as governor -- and then disappeared.
Wait. Before he disappeared, he chided the media for cynicism and for not understanding why voters flocked to him.
Actually, the media do understand why people voted for Patrick. The question is: does he?
They didn't vote for pretty words. They voted for change.
They didn't vote for inaugural parties. They voted for different priorities.
They didn't vote for business as usual. They voted for a man who said he would end it.
Forgive me for sounding cynical, but, so far, the governor-elect has been a bit lacking when it comes to his former forte -- the ability to inspire.
That's because it takes more than hope to run a government, or a successful transition. It takes good judgment, and Patrick's judgment to date is puzzling, if not disappointing.
Examples come in daily headlines: The commitment to a five-day-long, more than $1 million inaugural, partly funded by corporate donors. The decision, since rescinded, to dispatch incoming Lieutenant Governor-elect Timothy P. Murray to an invitation-only breakfast forum hosted by O'Neill and Associates , whose clients include Big Dig project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff . The requirement that volunteers sign confidentiality agreements was intended to prevent them from leaking information to the press and the public.
Faced with criticism about the festivities, Patrick is now asking party-goers to bring shoes and socks for needy children. But that misses the bigger point. His willingness to let corporate donors underwrite his inauguration flies in the face of campaign promises to end the influence of lobbyists and corporate interests.
The same conflict between campaign pledge and transition process is apparent in the confidentiality agreements he is asking volunteers to sign. So much for the transparent government he promised voters.
It's too soon to judge Patrick's first appointments. Joan Wallace-Benjamin , the head of the Home for Little Wanderers, could be a good chief of staff, even if she isn't known for playing politics. Massport CFO Leslie Kirwan , who will be Patrick's secretary of administration and finance, once worked for William Weld's administration. That doesn't necessarily mean she will zealously cut poor people out of Patrick's first budget.
But it's hard to tell where this transition, headed by Republican Gloria Larson and others, is taking Patrick in terms of policy.
How an incoming administration handles this transition period is a window into the future. The Patrick transition team seems flatfooted in terms of anticipating criticism and addressing it, much like the Patrick campaign team. You can call that cynicism, but it's reality. Politicians are judged early and often and Patrick should get used to it.
His first test involves spending priorities.
After touting budget surpluses, Romney recently declared a fiscal emergency and slashed $400 million from the state budget. Widespread criticism led Romney to restore $41 million to mental health services. But a decision about the remaining cuts will be left to the Patrick administration and that's where the new governor's priorities will get their first public airing. He can't hide behind confidentiality agreements, once he's governor.
Is he getting ready to pull a Romney? Did he say what it takes to get elected governor of Massachusetts, so he can then do what he perceives is necessary to get noticed nationally?
In his recent speech to the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, Patrick criticized the press for missing "it" when it came to his campaign. "It," he said, "is a bedrock democratic principle: To make any difference in our common reality, people must see their stake again in their neighbors'dreams and struggles, as well as their own. "
Seeing such a stake means little without a governor willing to fund it. That's where we'll find out what Patrick really believes in.
During the campaign, Patrick often quoted his grandmother for her inspirational call to "hope for the best and work for it."
I hope the next transition, from governor-elect to actual governor brings back an inspirational leader with an agenda for change.
Blame it on Deval Patrick. There I go, hoping again.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. 
