The Boston Globe columnist weighs in on the 2010 race.
[GOP candidate Charlie] Baker has posted impressive fundraising numbers, making it clear he will be able to run a well-financed effort. His pick of Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei as his ticket mate was shrewd. Tisei is knowledgeable and well-liked on Beacon Hill, and the fact that he’s gay has helped anchor the team firmly in Bill Weld’s socially inclusive tradition.A further advantage for Baker, a business community favorite, is that this year’s election will likely be fought on the traditional GOP turf of how to improve the state’s business climate, jump-start the economy, and streamline state government. The Republican hopeful has already offered several interesting proposals in those areas.
That said, Baker faces some clear challenges. For one, the former state budget chief will have to explain what his call for tax rollbacks would spell for state services. Further, he’s had some brand-denting bumps, such as his recent brief but silly claim that Governor Patrick had inherited a $5 billion surplus. And though the issue is hardly central to state government, Baker’s too cute by half temporizing about global warming has raised eyebrows about his epistemological approach.
If Baker has done well overall, Deval Patrick has improved his situation markedly when it comes to government accomplishments. The Democratic incumbent deserves real (if not singular) credit for the ethics, transportation, and education reforms of the last year or so, plus an assist on the crackdown on public pension abuses. He’s now pivoting to focus more on the business climate, a move that is politically smart, if long overdue. That said, some of his proposed remedies look more like short-term political expedients than reforms truly designed to solve the underlying problems.
UPDATE: From Steven Syre.
SECOND UPDATE: From the Globe and Herald.
THIRD UPDATE: From the Boston Globe and Herald.