Governor, there's no need to disguise the T-word

EVEN A committed liberal had to laugh at a recent Globe headline: "Patrick campaigns for new income sources for towns."

As everyone knows, "new income sources" are new taxes. Camouflaging the T-word doesn't change the truth.

Republican governors resort to their own word games; they call new income sources "user fees."

But the tax-and-spend stereotype still haunts Democrats, so a higher standard of skepticism is applied to their pleas for new tax revenue.

Patrick is Massachusetts's first Democratic governor in 16 years. He is pushing legislation to allow communities to add a hotel tax of up to 5 percent and a restaurant tax of up to 2 percent. Communities that choose to levy the hotel and meals taxes would be required to dedicate at least a quarter of the revenue to reducing residential tax bills.

It is what it is: a new tax. Some people will oppose it, period. But some people will consider the option, if it is honestly portrayed.

So, don't jerk the voters around with euphemisms. People are smart enough to see through them. Build the case with facts. Sell it with candor.

The Patrick administration got off to a slow start, due to the new governor's well-documented political missteps. Derailed by the resulting media furor, he never made a strong, public case for his budget proposal. That made it easy for the House of Representatives to ignore Patrick's plan and come forward with its own. A Senate budget proposal is due out soon.

This past week, Patrick launched a belated campaign for key parts of his tax plan, which is called the Municipal Partnership Act.

"There are all sorts of forces at work . . . on Beacon Hill," Patrick said at a press conference in Framingham. "I want to make sure people understand what's at stake."

Candidate Patrick spoke eloquently about exactly what is at stake: "your broken roads . . . your broken schools." But as governor, he has yet to connect the campaign rhetoric to a plan the public is clamoring to embrace.

He is trying to do so now, by firing up the grassroots that helped elect him. But even with true believers, Patrick is cautious about coming right out and saying his plan will raise some taxes.

A Friday press release announced his effort "to reduce communities' reliance on property tax" by promoting his own plan on his website, devalpatrick.com. The website defines the Municipal Partnership Act as "relief for homeowners through innovative solutions." It discusses the need for "Local Meals and Hotel Revenue Legislation to provide new resources to our cities and towns." The obvious intention is to discuss the proposed local-option tax, minus the T-word.

Patrick faces a tough sales job on Beacon Hill, where House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi came out strongly against his tax proposals. At the same time, the measure has broad support from mayors and local officials across the state. They should be strong, visible, and brave allies on Beacon Hill.

"He is the first governor in over a decade who has the courage and the vision to advocate for revenues," said Newton Mayor David Cohen, also choosing a word other than "tax" to describe Patrick's proposal. "He is the first governor to publicly link the need for revenues for the kind of services that have wide popular support -- good education, well-maintained roads, enough policy and firefighters to protect public safety."

If Cohen is correct and those are services his constituents truly want, they should be willing to consider local-option taxes to pay for them.

"It is about taxes," said Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, who also serves as president of the Massachusetts Mayors Association. "It's about how to redistribute taxes. It's about relieving the burden on the property tax."

However, this represents a small step toward the long-range goal of shifting the tax burden from homeowners. Patrick and his supporters need to be honest about that, too.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he still believes that the local option tax proposal "can fly."

"I think you have to respect Speaker DiMasi and his opinion," Menino said. "You have to work with him and give him the information we have."

In that case, playing straight instead of cute is Patrick's best hope.

After all, DiMasi already knows a shorter way to spell "new income source": T-A-X.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.