Patrick and DiMasi try to put good face on a rocky relationship

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick and his political nemesis, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, did their best today to put a good public face on their fractured and increasingly acrimonious relationship.

Patrick referred to the speaker as "my friend and partner" this morning at a press conference about a transportation reform that marked the first time the two men had appeared together publicly since DiMasi orchestrated a crushing defeat of the governor’s casino proposal. They stood together in the Senate Reading Room on a day that Patrick called the speaker undemocratic and blamed him for his political losses in a front page story in the New York Times.

Patrick deflected a question from a reporter about the Times story and listed a series of projects that he said he and DiMasi has accomplished together, which included a $1 billion life sciences initiative and tax credits for filmmakers. As Patrick spoke, DiMasi avoided eye contact with the governor, nodded, and licked his lips.

"Obviously the papers are used to put a twist or bend on something," DiMasi said with a smirk when it was his turn to talk about the Times story.

The host of the press conference, Senate President Therese Murray, tried to get reporters back on subject and halted questions about the tiff between DiMasi and Patrick.

"We're here today to talk about transportation," Murray said.

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