Romney, GOP switch gears after Finneran departure

For Governor Mitt Romney, House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran was the perfect foil, the embodiment of entrenched power on Beacon Hill. When Romney ran for the corner office, he labeled Finneran the leader of "The Gang of Three." In a recent GOP fund-raising letter, he was "the Democrats' most feared, controlling, and vindictive party boss."

Now, suddenly, Finneran is gone.

Romney quickly switched gears yesterday, suggesting that Finneran's probable successor will offer more of the same and that GOP legislative candidates can still run effectively against Democratic incumbents by portraying them as obstacles to the governor's proposed changes, which include merging the state's two highway agencies and cutting the state income tax rate.

"The challenge on Beacon Hill to reform is not resident in any one person, and it certainly wasn't resident in Speaker Finneran alone," Romney said yesterday. "I want real reform. I want real change. My guess is you're not going to see a dramatic change in the nature of the way the building works. It's going to have the same forces that will be trying to protect the status quo."

Romney's remarks reflected the official Republican line toward Finneran's departure. Last month, Tim O'Brien, executive director of the state GOP, called Finneran the "poster child for patronage, waste, and blocking the governor's reforms at every turn" and welcomed his involvement in fund-raising for Democratic candidates. Yesterday, however, O'Brien said that Salvatore F. DiMasi's expected election as speaker will make little difference.

"Sal DiMasi is an inside player, who is going to fight to preserve the status quo; it's 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss,' " said O'Brien, saying that DiMasi voted with Finneran more than 99 percent of the time. "This doesn't exonerate those legislators who have been Finneran cronies and blocking reform. We will certainly make that an issue, as we get closer to November."

Romney acknowledged that he will miss Finneran, because he was "unusually charming, humorous, good to work with." But Democrats said those gracious words do not convey how much the governor and his party will miss the controversial speaker, especially with elections just six weeks away.

In his campaign for governor in 2002, Romney portrayed Finneran together with Senate President Robert E. Travaglini and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Shannon O'Brien as a potential "Gang of Three" that would dominate Beacon Hill in the event of a Romney defeat. The governor planned to employ a similar strategy for the legislative races, with a heavier emphasis on Finneran.

"I think the Romney playbook was designed for and focuses squarely on the personality of Tom Finneran," said Representative John H. Rogers, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and DiMasi's expected replacement as majority leader. "The Republicans will have to go back into a huddle and renew their plan with a relatively short time left in the campaign season."

A University of Massachusetts poll conducted last spring indicated that twice as many people had an unfavorable view of Finneran as had a favorable one, and the Republicans hoped to capitalize on his negative image in this fall's elections. Finneran's autocratic style and behind-the-scenes dealmaking earned him a prominent role in GOP fund-raising appeals.

The fact that federal prosecutors are investigating whether Finneran lied under oath in a redistricting case made him an even more attractive target.

"Speaker Finneran has made it his personal business to co-opt any reform efforts I put forth," Romney said in a recent fund-raising letter. "From legislators who owe him their careers, committee chairmanships, and chairman salaries . . . to special interest groups who fill his campaign coffers in exchange for political favors, Finneran uses his power to maintain the status quo and stop our reform efforts."

Privately, some Democrats said that Finneran was well aware that his sudden departure might complicate the Republicans' election strategy.

Philip W. Johnston, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said, "Tom Finneran just cost Mitt Romney a million dollars."

"The governor has personalized these contests in foolish way, which is bound to boomerang on him now," Johnston said. "Presumably, the whole Romney advertising effort was built around an effort to demonize Tom Finneran. The fact that he will not be in the speaker's chair any more is a big problem for the Republicans."

O'Brien said Republicans were not planning on featuring Finneran in televised campaign ads.

Though Finneran was helping to raise money for Democratic candidates, some party insiders suggested that it might be easier to galvanize Democrats without him. Finneran, a staunch fiscal conservative who blocked the public financing of elections and opposed same-sex marriage, is viewed by many liberals with antipathy.

But Charley Manning, a leading GOP political consultant, said DiMasi cannot match Finneran's fund-raising prowess. Manning also suggested that for Republicans, DiMasi also has vulnerabilities that Finneran didn't have. Though he pushed through a $1.2 billion tax increase in 2002, Finneran was a fiscal conservative who resisted calls for further tax increases and sought to replenish the state's rainy day fund. DiMasi is considered to be much more liberal.

"He's perceived as a much bigger spender and more fiscally reckless than Speaker Finneran was," Manning said.

Globe correspondent Elise Castelli contributed to this report.