Patrick's Cadillac raises some objections
In leasing a Cadillac instead of a Chrysler as his official car, Governor Deval Patrick got something else in the bargain: a fuel-injected political symbol that flies in the face of his image as grass-roots populist.
Like US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveling in an Air Force C-32, and Acting Governor Jane Swift riding in a State Police helicopter, Patrick accepted a trapping of political office that seemed logical to him but lavish to others, especially now that he wants to close a $1 billion budget gap.
While some have dismissed the furor over the Cadillac as trivial, it was notable for a politician who has shown sensitivity to the way even the smallest accoutrement of public office can speak to the voters. After taking office with a pledge to open government to the people, Patrick removed the red velvet rope that had separated the governor's suite from the people at the State House, and opened to the public an elevator previously reserved for Governor Mitt Romney.
On a grander scale, he moved his inaugural from the opulent chambers of the Massachusetts House to the front steps of the State House, an outdoor venue that he said would send a message of inclusion.
Patrick's choice of the DeVille departed from that message. The
"These things do have symbolic value and you have to choose carefully," said David Gergen , an adviser to presidents Nixon,
Cars, perhaps more than any other object in the American marketplace, speak to a politician's identity. On his last day in office in 1997, after making the traditional lone walk out of the State House, Governor William F. Weld climbed into a battered sport utility vehicle driven by his wife, Susan, solidifying his image as a Yankee not given to ostentatious displays of wealth. Arnold Schwarzenegger is famous for driving a Humvee, a vehicle that mirrors the California governor's muscular physique. And Michael S. Dukakis became famous for not driving at all: He took the subway to the State House, making the state's chief executive seem like any other workaday straphanger.
Patrick had the choice of two cars offered by the State Police: the $46,000 DTS or a $37,000 Chrysler 300C. He chose to lease the Deville for $1,166 a month. He has called the model "useful and appropriate," since it can be easily outfitted with security equipment.
Some said his choice of the more expensive option was awkward, noting that Patrick has recently called for the state to slash spending and allow higher local taxes to balance the budget.
"This is the imperial governorship," said Barbara Anderson, head of Citizens for Limited Taxation, an antitax organization. "We were all expecting another Dukakis, but you didn't have this level of phoniness from Dukakis. He was riding the T. This is a whole new level of absurdity, even for Massachusetts."
Some inside the State House said the backlash reflects the new governor's inexperience with Massachusetts politics, where even the smallest gestures are scrutinized.
"It's so new to Patrick, I don't think he understands that some people look so deeply into these things," said state Representative Brian Wallace , a South Boston Democrat. "He's not used to this incredible spotlight that's shining on him."
One Cadillac probably won't dent Patrick's image as reform-minded populist, Gergen said.
"It would only matter if it were a series of decisions that showed he was becoming an elitist after running a grass-roots campaign," Gergen said. "He has to be careful about the accumulation of symbols."
Some supporters said that it doesn't matter what kind of car Patrick rides, as long as he is getting out of the State House and speaking directly to voters.
"The citizens of Massachusetts really want a governor who moves around the state and they don't really care how he does it," said George Bachrach, a former Democratic state senator of Watertown.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. 
