Daily Update 9/25: Governor Patrick Elevates Undersecretary Jay Gonzalez to Top Administration and Finance Position

Today: Friday, September 25, 2009

• Governor Deval Patrick today praised outgoing Administration and Finance Secretary Leslie Kirwan for an outstanding record of fiscal management and discipline during an unprecedented economic downturn. Secretary Kirwan has accepted the position of Dean for Administration and Finance for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. The Governor will elevate Undersecretary Jay Gonzalez to the top Administration and Finance position, and said Jay will “keep Massachusetts’ economic foundations strong and ensure we stay on course toward economic recovery.” Read the release here.

In the Press:

Paul Kirk and Governor Patrick met in the Governor’s office before yesterday’s announcement.

• Governor Patrick Appoints Paul Kirk to U.S. Senate – This afternoon in Washington, newly appointed Senator Paul Kirk Jr. will be sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden. Yesterday, Governor Deval Patrick appointed Kirk as interim United States Senator to fill the seat left vacant by the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy. Kirk will serve as interim senator until the results of the special election on January 19th. Governor Patrick said: “For the next few months, he will carry on the work and focus of Senator Kennedy, mindful of his mission, his values and his love of Massachusetts.” In a supportive editorial today, the Boston Globe wrote, “The Legislature and the governor have acted sensibly, and with commendable dispatch, in making sure that Kennedy’s death did not leave the state with just one vote in the Senate as it takes on momentous issues like health care reform and climate change.” Read the full editorial here.
  
  
  • Watch the Governor discuss why Paul Kirk is the right choice to temporarily fill Senator Kennedy’s seat and the importance of achieving national health care reform on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.

   

  • Read more about Senator Kirk’s appointment from the Boston Globe here and here, National Public Radio, the Channel 22, NECN, and the Cape Cod Times.

• Governor Patrick and Paul Kirk Attend Big E – Senator Paul Kirk Jr. accompanied Governor Patrick to the Big E fair in West Springfield yesterday, where they chatted with fairgoers and local media. At the fair, Kirk told 22News that he will try to serve on the same committees and sub-committees the late Senator Kennedy served on. He also said, “To be designated by Governor Patrick to fulfill, just for a few months, the important mission of public service in the United States Senate is an honor that I can only repay by pledging to you how hard I'll work for all the people throughout the Commonwealth.” Read and watch on Channel 22.

Governor Patrick and Senator Paul Kirk talk to fair goers at the Big E in West Springfield yesterday.

• Support for Hyatt Workers – Governor Patrick continues to urge Hyatt to rehire long-time workers it abruptly fired last month, and will direct state employees to stop doing official business with Hyatt hotels if the company fails to do so. In a letter to the hotel CEO, Governor Patrick said: “Surely there is some way to retain the jobs for your housekeeping staff, as other hotels have done, and to work with them to help the company meet its current challenges, rather than tossing them out unceremoniously to fend for themselves while the people they trained take their jobs at barely livable wages.”

• Read more in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Associated Press, and the Chicago Tribune.   

This Week:

• On Wednesday, Governor Deval Patrick announced that he will direct all state employees to stop doing official business with Hyatt unless the company rehires the housekeeping staff it fired from Boston-area hotels on August 31.  In a letter to CEO Mark Hoplamazian sent on Tuesday, the Governor again expressed his concern for the impacted workers, called the company’s treatment of its long-term employees “substandard”. Read the Governor’s full letter here, and learn more here.

• Also on Wednesday, Lt. Governor Murray announced that the Commonwealth’s comprehensive multi-year rail transportation agreement with CSX Transportation (CSXT), the national freight carrier serving Massachusetts, has been finalized. “Consistent with our commitment to improve transportation service throughout the Commonwealth, we have done more to deliver on the South Coast rail project than any other administration," said Governor Patrick. Learn more here. Read more in the Boston Globe.

• Yesterday, Governor Patrick announced Paul Kirk as the interim appointment to the United States Senate at the State House.

• Thursday afternoon, Governor Patrick joined other governors in a call with Vice President Biden relative to federal recovery funds.

• Governor Patrick and Senator Kirk attended the Big E fair in West Springfield Thursday afternoon. Later, the Governor appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.