It's always nice when someone sees the light...
He was once a key member of Deval Patrick’s team - the communications director in the early months of the 2006 campaign. But now Kahlil Byrd, who also served as Patrick’s appointments secretary once Patrick won office, has broken with the governor. He has become a devotee of Charles D. Baker, the Republican former health care executive looking to unseat the man Byrd once called boss.“The governor’s a great man in the wrong job,’’ said Byrd, who now works as a senior fellow at a Washington think tank and runs his own strategy firm. “The governor could have led us through tough times by tapping into the spirit of innovation that is much of a part of Massachusetts. He hasn’t succeeded, and unfortunately he’s lost the promise of his 2006 campaign.’’
Byrd is a Republican. He worked for longshot GOP candidate Jeff Beatty in his bid to unseat Senator John F. Kerry in 2008.
Byrd gave the maximum allowable amount, $500, to Baker’s campaign in 2009. He said he was drawn to Baker because he’s been “deeply involved in public policy and government in Massachusetts for a long time’’ and has also been “a successful leader in the private sector. He’s excited about becoming governor when our problems are at their deepest.’’
UPDATE: More from the Globe, State House News Service, Howie Carr and David Kravitz.
SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and the AP.
THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.
