Patrick vows inclusion in inaugural address

Deval Patrick took the oath of office yesterday as the state's 71st governor, and the first African-American, presenting himself as a symbol of optimism and change who will restore faith in government after 16 years of Republican rule.

It was the first inauguration held outside the State House, and Patrick promised the midday crowd gathered in spring-like weather in front of the building that he would open the government to the public and overhaul the culture of Beacon Hill.

"It's time for a change and we are that change," Patrick declared to the racially diverse audience that drew people from across the state and across party lines.

Patrick's 18-minute address echoed the themes of his campaign, which propelled him to a landside victory. He spoke of inclusion, bipartisanship, and the deep history of a state that "invented America."

"For a very long time now, we have been told that government is bad, that it exists only to serve the powerful and well-connected, that its job is not important enough to be done by anyone competent, let alone committed, and that all of us are on our own," he said. "Today, we join together in common cause to lay that fallacy to rest, and to extend a great movement based on shared responsibility from the corner office to the corner of your block and back again."

As a candidate, Patrick rarely emphasized his race, but yesterday, he took note of the significance of his elevation to the highest public position in the state -- and connected it to the state's history of ethnic diversity. He took his oath on the Mendi Bible, which 36 captives from the slave ship Amistad sent to John Quincy Adams after he had helped to secure their freedom.

Patrick's wife, Diane, held the book, named after the freed slaves' tribal homeland.

"Our founders came on the Mayflower, the Arabella, and the early clipper ships. But there were other boats, too," said Patrick, 50, who grew up in tough neighborhoods of the South Side of Chicago, won a scholarship to Milton Academy, and rose to run the Justice Department's civil rights division under President Clinton.

"I am descended from people once forbidden their most basic and fundamental freedoms, a people desperate for a reason to hope and willing to fight for it. And so are you. So are you," he said.

Patrick offered no specific programs or agenda, other than to suggest that he would restructure his government agencies. But he outlined some of the challenges the state faces: an exodus of young workers; violence on the streets; a struggling middle class; the scourge of drugs; failing schools and the rising cost of public colleges; soaring healthcare costs and property taxes; and crumbling bridges and roads.

"Quick fixes, gimmicks, and sound bites are not enough," Patrick said. "That's not in the spirit of what built this country."

Crowd estimates for the ceremony varied widely. An official at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation estimated it at a couple of thousand. Patrick's aides put it at 13,000.

The streets around the State House were filled with spectators. Onlookers hung out of windows of nearby buildings; some stood on rooftops. An American flag was suspended from two fire ladders, and members of the crowd not fortunate enough to get a street-side spot craned their necks to see Patrick on a giant television screen.

In the crowd spread across a corner of Boston Common, members of the audience nodded along as Patrick promised inclusion and proudly retold the state's history.

"I think that it was time for a change and voters said that exactly with their vote," said Jacquie Cairo-Williams, 56, of Roxbury. Asked what she meant by change, Cairo-Williams said "an economic equality."

"He's very good at making everybody feel that they're involved," added Kay Menand, 78, of Back Bay.

Several hundred legislators and advisers and friends close to Patrick sat in a gallery set up behind the podium where Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray were sworn in. Among the invited guests was former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder, the first African-American elected governor in the nation.

Also on the stage were four former Massachusetts governors -- William F. Weld, Michael S. Dukakis, Paul Cellucci, and Jane Swift, all of whom had met privately Patrick before the ceremony. Mitt Romney was not at the State House yesterday, having taken the traditional "lone walk" out of the State House the night before.

"All good things must come to an end," Weld told reporters, referring to 16 years of Republican rule. "For any given officeholder, I'm one who thinks two terms is plenty, maybe even a little bit too much." Weld resigned as governor just over halfway through his second term.

Cellucci said he was saddened by the Republicans' loss of the governor's office.

"Republican governors got rid of the label 'Taxachusetts' and that was good for our economy and good for our families," said Cellucci. "I think we really made sure the standards stayed in place in our schools, which is so important for the future of our economy because we need skilled workers."

Nevertheless, he called Patrick's election "a historic day. Deval Patrick is certainly breaking a barrier today. It's not just good for Massachusetts, it's good for the country."

Former attorney general Scott Harshbarger, a Democrat who supported Patrick and was the 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, losing to Cellucci, called Patrick's inauguration "a watershed."

"This is now about the future," Harshbarger said, standing on the State House lawn as the event unfolded. "To some extent, the rest of us are in the past. Look out, you see diversity, you see energy, you see passion."

Among the invited guests standing in a special section of the State House lawn was Marc Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, a group supporting same-sex marriage. By contrast, one of the first to shake Romney's hand as he took his long walk out of the State House Wednesday evening was Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, who has embraced a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

After making history by holding his inaugural outside, Patrick made history inside the building by opening its doors and receiving members of the public, who stood in line for an hour or more to shake his hand. In line were members of a choir from Berkshire County and firefighters from Westwood. Many were state workers, who took the afternoon off to get a chance to meet their new boss.

Later in the afternoon, Romney, speaking to reporters outside his new presidential campaign headquarters in the North End, said he saw Patrick's inauguration on television.

"I thought the governor's address was fine and moving. I'm delighted with his optimism and his hope to bring improvements to the Commonwealth. There's a lot that can be done to make our state even better, and I wish him the very best and hope he'll be highly successful in his years as governor."