Patrick to repay taxpayers for decor

Governor Deval Patrick spent more than $10,000 on damask drapes for his State House office as part of a $27,387 makeover that also included a new desk, settee, and other furnishings paid for with taxpayer money.

Yesterday, after an inquiry from the Globe, Patrick abruptly announced that he would repay the state for the draperies and furnishings.

At the same time, Patrick said he would contribute $543 each month to the lease of the Cadillac DTS he uses for state business, bringing the cost to the public in line with the more modest Ford Crown Victoria used by Governor Mitt Romney.

Patrick, who just days ago defiantly defended his lease of the $46,000 luxury car, said he changed his mind after a weekend spent struggling with the state's dismal finances and the budget cuts he has asked his agency leaders to make to bridge a deficit of at least $1 billion.

"I realize I cannot in good conscience ask the agencies to make those choices without being willing to make them myself," Patrick said in a statement released late yesterday.

Aides declined to permit a Globe photographer to photograph the new furniture or the draperies, hung at the enormous windows overlooking Boston Common.

Patrick's reversal occurred after huddling with advisers about how to deal with a rising political and media storm, the first of his seven-week-old administration.

In his statement, Patrick said he replaced items that Romney had personally owned and taken with him when he left office. But Romney left behind drapes, a desk, and other furniture, according to Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for the former governor. Kyle Sullivan, Patrick's press secretary, later said that the drapes left behind had fallen off the wall because of crumbling plaster.

The governor's aides declined to provide a breakdown of the costs of the furniture. An administration source who asked not to be named confirmed that the drapes cost $10,000.

Patrick's sudden change is a calculated shift to defuse the mounting criticism and ridicule he has been facing over the lease of the Cadillac. It occurred as many in the political world began to question his judgment, particularly his initial blithe dismissal of the criticism of his car lease. Some of his Democratic supporters were privately speculating that he was operating with a tin ear and with a staff that has little experience in shaping a governor's image or understanding the implications of seemingly insignificant decisions that can dominate the news.

His political opponents lost no time taking aim at his missteps.

"He's learning how important symbolism is," said House minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. , Republican of North Reading. "To be doing these things at the same time he's saying, 'My campaign made commitments I can't keep' -- like 1,000 police officers or property tax relief -- that doesn't sit well with the public. At a time of shared sacrifice, not sharing in the sacrifice personally is the wrong thing to do."

Jones, who praised Patrick for correcting his mistake, said public officials can lose sight of the power of symbols, particularly someone like Patrick who won by a convincing margin.

"You take on an aura of entitlement or invincibility or hubris," Jones said. "We all need to be mindful of that, each and every one of us."

Other critics of Patrick in the GOP were not so forgiving. Brian Dodge, executive director of the state Republican Party, called Patrick's decision to pay a portion of the car expense "a positive step."

"His reputation, however, is forever tarnished, especially as he continues to be chauffeured around the state in a luxury car with payments higher than most mortgages," Dodge said.

When he took over as governor last month, Patrick seemed initially sensitive to symbolism, seeking to emphasize that the State House belongs to the people, taking down a red-velvet rope that prevented the public from easily entering the governor's office, and reopening for public use an elevator that had been reserved for the governor.

The Cadillac lease proved his first major political misstep. According to one senior administration source, aides had told Patrick that after being elected as a populist, he should not lease a car that has long been associated with wealth and elitism. He had pledged during the campaign to convert the state car fleet to hybrids, but last week the governor said State Police wanted him to have a car with more power.

Last week, Patrick said he was leasing the Cadillac because Crown Victorias were no longer available. Later, aides acknowledged that was not the case and said the new Crown Victoria models did not meet security standards mandated by State Police. The aides declined to say what those standards were.

On Friday, as a political furor began to unfold, Patrick told reporters that he had "no regrets" about the $1,166-a-month car lease and even jokingly suggested that an Associated Press reporter take a ride in it.

His aides last week were also forced to defend the hiring of a $72,000 aide assigned to handle scheduling and interview requests for Patrick's wife, Diane, a lawyer at Ropes & Gray. No governor's spouse has had a staff member assigned as an assistant since Michael S. Dukakis hired an aide for his wife, Kitty.

Patrick's advisers, an administration source said, believed that the Cadillac lease, the hiring of an aide for his wife, and the inquiries about the new office furniture constituted a building public relations crisis that could have a lasting impression on his image.