Patrick uses annual speech to prod Legislature

He expresses impatience as measures linger

Governor Deval Patrick entered the House chambers before giving his State of the State address last night. Among the measures he called upon legislators to approve was his plan to license three resort casinos. (Evan Richman/Globe Staff)

Saying the cost of inaction is too high and declaring himself an "impatient man," Governor Deval Patrick used his first State of the State address last night to press the Legislature to act on his ambitious initiatives, which have lingered before lawmakers for months.

To drive home his case for improvements in education and other social programs, Patrick returned to themes that defined his 2006 campaign for governor: his own rags-to-riches experience, from the housing projects of Chicago's South Side to a professional life among the nation's elite and powerful.

The governor, whose first year in office was marked by an often strained relationship with the Legislature, expressed frustration with the pace of the political process. But he couched that frustration in terms of the impact of inaction.

"I admit that I am an impatient man," Patrick told a House chamber crowded with legislators, the state's constitutional officers, and his Cabinet members.

In addition to his $28.2 billion budget, Patrick called on the lawmakers to approve his plan to license three resort casinos; a measure to close what he calls corporate tax loopholes; a complex energy bill; a higher-education bond bill; and his $1 billion, 10-year life science initiative.

He also asked lawmakers to put in place his anticrime package and approve a plan to expand broadband service to the central and western parts of the state.

Patrick's appearance in the House chambers was a markedly different strategy from a year ago when he held such events outside the State House in order to promote his theme of challenging the arcane mores and politics of Beacon Hill.

He related his own life story to struggles that Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, and other lawmakers have faced. His impatience, he said, "has to do with the fact that for every one of us who has had the blessing of living the American Story . . . countless others still wait for their chances.

"My impatience comes from knowing all the other eager, ambitious, capable, and idealistic young boys and girls just like me and you left behind in the places you and I come from," he said, as DiMasi and Murray, both sitting behind him on the dais, looked on. "My impatience comes from knowing up close the costs of inaction.

"The people don't expect us to agree on everything," Patrick said. "But . . . they expect us to work together toward the best solution. They expect action. And they deserve it."

His speech found him on familiar ground. He reverted to the themes that played such a powerful role in electing him governor, a long two-year journey begun as a political unknown that ended in a historic landslide.

As Patrick entered the room, he blew a kiss to his wife, Diane, who was seated in the gallery. He received a polite reception from the legislators in the crowd, although DiMasi, who has been his political rival on Beacon Hill, received rousing applause from his colleagues. After the address DiMasi praised it, telling reporters he thought the governor had given a "very powerful speech, a very compelling speech."

"He basically called people to action here." DiMasi said. "What I was very happy about is that he focused mostly on the similarities we have, not the differences. He focused on the commonality of issues that the Legislature and he envision as being core issues for Massachusetts."

But Republicans said the event highlighted the tensions between Patrick, the first Democrat to win the office in 16 years, and the Democrat-controlled House and Senate.

"I was a bit taken aback by the amount of time members of his party sat on their hands during his speech," said Republican minority leader Brad Jones, a Republican from North Reading.

"It is the first time in the chamber that a Democratic governor has given a State of the State in about 18 years, and I was a bit taken aback by that. One of their own. I think that may be symbolic of the amount of separation there is on a number of issues."

Patrick also used the speech to deflect critics who question his plans for $500 million in new spending next year in the face of a potential recession.

He announced that he is creating a special advisory council of economists, headed by Cathy Minehan, former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president and CEO, to advise him on how best to invest the funds.

"Now is not the time to lose our nerve or our focus," he said.

Also in the crowd were Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, judges, and members of the state's congressional delegation. In addition, hundreds of his supporters filled the State House to view the speech on monitors.

Patrick outlined a list of accomplishments he said marked his first year in office: making investments in housing, bringing managed competition to auto insurance, pushing a $1.4 billion bond bill through the Legislature to repair roads and bridges, and defeating attempts to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage.

"Massachusetts is on the move," he declared.

But he also outlined what he said are the challenges facing the state: rising unemployment, struggling small-business owners, and escalating property taxes. He also pointed to economic strains on the middle class.

"The poor are in terrible shape," Patrick said. "And the middle class are one month away from being poor and deeply anxious about it. I understand that."