Patrick's backers plan to spend $1m on inaugural gala

Governor -elect Deval L. Patrick's supporters plan to accept donations from corporate and individual sponsors to pay for an inaugural celebration that is expected to cost about $1 million, more than any in state history, and stretch over five days next month, organizers said yesterday.

In addition to the Jan. 4 swearing-in ceremony, the festivities are likely to include a pre-inaugural party for donors and an inaugural bash for more than 10,000 people, possibly featuring the Boston Pops, according to Steve Grossman, a top Democratic fund-raiser who is working on the events. Organizers are also considering an interfaith prayer service, an event for children that is being billed as a "youth inaugural," and a series of gatherings across the state in which Patrick will thank supporters.

"Deval really wants this to be a moment that touches as many people as possible across the Commonwealth," said Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for Patrick's transition team.

Another top Democrat said that the budget would be roughly $1.2 million and that organizers are discussing a cap on corporate donations of either $25,000 or $50,000.

Patrick is forming an inaugural committee that will help raise money through a nonprofit corporation. Besides Grossman, inaugural committee members include former Hill Holliday advertising executive Jack Connors and Nick Littlefield, a Boston lawyer and former aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Patrick also assigned three top aides to assist in the planning.

Patrick, who campaigned against the "Beacon Hill culture," has promised that his inauguration will reflect a more inclusive administration. Concerned that accepting corporate donations might taint his outsider's image, Patrick aides said there will be fewer corporate donors than helped sponsor Governor Mitt Romney's inauguration in 2003. They said Patrick will rely in part on his vast network of individual campaign donors.

Organizers said that many details were still being worked out and that the agenda could change. Roy said the governor-elect was adamant that the festivities include the youth event, where Patrick will talk to students about the importance of getting involved in civic affairs.

"We're extremely excited about the youth inaugural, bringing in our youngest residents into the state government," she said. "Details of the event are still being worked out, but it is one of the centerpieces of inauguration day."

According to Grossman, organizers hope to have Patrick host a celebration in Worcester the night before his inauguration. Under the plan, Patrick would participate in an interfaith prayer service on the morning of his swearing-in. That night, the new governor will celebrate with as many as 10,000 partygoers, probably at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston, where the Boston Pops may be the featured entertainment, organizers said.

The inauguration will take place Thursday, Jan. 4. On the following Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Patrick would probably travel around the state, with stops tentatively set for Pittsfield, Springfield, Cape Cod, and Southeastern Massachusetts.

"They're not meant to be an extravagant set of celebrations, but an appropriate way to say thank you to people and to engage the people of the state in a way that inaugurations rarely do," Grossman said.

"I don't remember a governor spending his entire first weekend going around the state having a series of celebrations," he said. "It's pretty unprecedented. That's what will make it special, the fact it's not Boston-centric. It's meant to be regional and meant to be the governor going out to the people, as opposed to making the people go to the government. It's all about the people. It's a community-building moment."

Privately financed inaugurations are nothing new.

When Romney took office, he paid with private donations for the inaugural gala, his swearing-in, and a private breakfast and luncheon. At $750,000, they were the most expensive inaugural festivities in Massachusetts history.

To pay for three days of activities, Romney formed a nonprofit corporation, which raised $1.3 million. Romney pledged to donate unspent funds to charity.

There are no rules regulating private donations to nonprofit inaugural committees, and the committee is not required to file any paperwork with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Romney disclosed the donors, who included several $25,000 contributors, among them Ann and William W. Bain, concessionaire Joseph O'Donnell, Reebok International Ltd., Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. , and the law firm of Ropes & Gray.

He placed a cap on donations of $25,000 and banned contributions from tobacco companies and gaming interests.

Some have questioned whether companies that donate to inaugural events are looking more to protect their own interests than to engage in civic affairs.

"When the amounts are substantial from individual donors, that's when we have the most concern," said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. "If he's doing fund-raising magic on the Internet, it's hard to object. Are the funds paying for broad public events or closed-door, high-stakes events for the rich and powerful? We have to look closely at how that money is being raised."

Patrick aides said ticket prices at many of the events will be low enough for most people to attend. They also said private donors may underwrite the cost of tickets for those who cannot afford them.

Patrick, the first African-American governor in Massachusetts and the second elected nationwide, has said he wants his swearing-in to capture the historical moment, but he has declined to be specific about the ceremony .

Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com.