Topic: Berkshire County's Politicians - - - - Local, State, and Federal.
Who's good? Who's not? Who's hardworking? Who's smart?
Who's responsive to constituents? Who's a hack?
Who's way too Liberal? Who's way too Conservative?
Who's phony? Who's boring? Who's inept? Who's lackluster?
Who should go on to higher office? Who should be voted out?
Your Feedback:
Who's responsive to constituents? Who's a hack?
Who's way too Liberal? Who's way too Conservative?
Who's phony? Who's boring? Who's inept? Who's lackluster?
Who should go on to higher office? Who should be voted out?
Your Feedback:
posted by G.M.Heller at Wednesday, March 30, 2005
28 Comments:
Omigod, where does one start!?!
I can understand that it is busy right now down in Washington, but every so often I wouldn't mind reading a quote or two in The Eagle or the Transcript commenting on some national news event from Congressman John Olver. I have been away at college for the past few years and have not paid very much attention to where the congressman is and what he has been doing, but with the recent Social Security news and daily antics of our president and Tom DeLay, I think that seeing the congressman's name in the paper either opposing or agreeing with anything would be nice.
Maybe some of the fault of not seeing Olver's name in the paper lies on the shoulders of the local newspapers, but if the congressman was speaking out more then maybe his name and comments would be in the paper more. It seems as though every day I see Rep. Ed Markey of the 7th District on CNN or MSNBC speaking his mind and making his views heard.
Maybe it is asking to much, but could you speak up more, congressman, and bring the attention that the 7th District and its representative receives to the 1st District?
In the real world, people are given raises for production, improving the company, hard work, and, most of all, results. The raises tend to follow the cost of living, with bonuses given in extreme cases, and in some of those like Enron, the price was too high for some big-time executives. However locally most small businesses have realistic goals, with practical rewards given, and a 9.2 percent raise would be an extreme case.
The town of Great Barrington has not done well under the present board of selectmen or the present town manager, Burke LaClair. Many projects are over budget, incomplete, or not even started and there are no long-range or realistic short-range goals, negotiations with unions have not gone well, and there are problems in the police department. Yet despite his shortcomings, the town manager is due to collect a 9.2 percent raise.
Most people in the private sector don't get 9.2 percent in three years, let alone one, and those are the people asked to dig into their pockets yet again, for mediocre production. Why pay $85,000 for a mediocre town manager?
Great Barrington can find a replacement for Mr. LaClair at less money, there is always someone starting out who wants to make his or her mark, someone right out of college. Small towns don't have the same needs as large cities or for that matter big towns, especially when department heads are so generously compensated.
Since Great Barrington has not improved after two town managers, perhaps it is time to go back to three selectmen, and no town manager. At least things got done back then, with fewer excuses.
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, News Media, Politicians, & the People:
My mom, dad, and I spent the day together yesterday. When we went out to eat, my mom, who is an artist, and I drew political cartoons of all of the Berkshire Pols on the disposable paper table covering. It was fun! We drew pictures of Dan Bosley with a file folder, Smitty Pignatelli with a big nose and skinny body, Luciforo with a devil's pitchfork, another picture of Nuciforo saying "insurance", George Bush with a sign in each hand stating "tax cuts" and "war", Deval Patrick with a sign saying "Legislative pay raises for sale", Peter Larkin saying "C'mon", and the like. My mom's drawings were far superior than my own. It was a good way to laugh at our frustrations with the Pols.
When we got home, Cliff Nilan left a voice message on my parent's answering machine. He sounded very sincere and nice. At one time, I liked Cliff Nilan, too. My dad reminded me that while Dan Bosley, Smitty Pignatelli, Peter Larkin, Carmen Massimiano, and the like would not have the decency to sign my nomination papers in the early part of 2004 when I wanted to run for Berkshire State Senator, Cliff Nilan bucked the political machine's will and put his signature on my nomination papers. I said to my dad that he is right that Cliff is part of the Good Old Boys Network, he is also not afraid to go against their group think mentality. My dad was right to tell me that Cliff Nilan has always been a friend to me and our family. My dad told me to give him a chance again, unlike some of the other lousy Pols who persecuted both my dad and I when my dad was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 - 2000. I don't like Cliff Nilan anymore, but I am glad he is still friends with my dad. I just hope that Cliff Nilan is sincere in his friendship to my dad.
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, Politicians, News Media, & the People:
Re: "Return Nilan to parks board" (Editorial, The Berkshire Eagle, 5/8/2007): I feel that while Cliff Nilan is a good person, he would do the bidding (or dirty business) of Pittsfield's good old boy network if push came to shove. What I mean is that Cliff Nilan is a good person with the caveat of having a M.O. He does love Pittsfield and her parks, but he is NOT a leader and I do not believe he should be put in any position of authority because when pressured, he will follow the perversely incentivized agenda of Pittsfield's good old boy network.
This last piece of analysis of Cliff Nilan's flawed political style leads me to the reason why Cliff Nilan was nominated in the first place. Pittsfield's Mayor Jimmy Ruberto has demonstrably proven himself to be a good old boy politician and play the role that makes Pittsfield into a "SMALL" city. It is more important for Mayor Ruberto to have loyalty and be part of the good old boy network and win old grudges against past and current political opponents than it is for him to have a free and open government, a constituency that does not live in fear of political persecutions, and a diverse, fresh and new make up to the community's government. To illustrate, in Nazi Germany, it was more important for the fascist government to expel Jewish People and other minorities. The Allied nations, such as the USA, took in scientist like Albert Einstein, who gave us new technologies and scientific tools to win World War II and better our way of civilian life after we won the war.
I had long talks about Cliff Nilan and his good old boy network Pittsfield Insider buddies with my dad. My dad disagrees with my negative feelings against Cliff Nilan. I explained to my dad that while Cliff Nilan never did anything to me, it is his M.O. that I fear. If this makes any sense, I told my dad that some people think differently than my dad and I. To illustrate, before the media fixated on Monica Lewinsky to hurt Bill Clinton, the media went after a then young Chelsea Clinton, who was born in 1980 and was all of 14 years old at the time. The M.O. of the media was always to hurt Bill Clinton by going after the women he loved in his life, including his then teenage daughter.
By Cliff Nilan's many past and most recent phone calls to my dad, I am at once happy that my dad has a good friend in Cliff, but again I wonder if Cliff Nilan is also doing the bidding of the Pittsfield Insiders who tried to (a) ruin my dad's then career at the Pittsfield Courthouse and put his son (me) in the Pittsfield Jail in the Spring of 1998, and (b) relished in the hurtful and slanderous rumors that Denis E. Guyer spread about me to the good people of the Pittsfield area from the Summer of 2004 to the present day. I wonder what Cliff Nilan really wants out of his friendship with my dad?
Maybe I am paranoid, but I have been through a lot of unnecessary bad stuff at the hands of Cliff Nilan's best friend: Carmen C. Massimiano, Jr. over the years. Cliff's buddy Carmen was in on many, if not all, of the negative Pittsfield Political entrapments laid at my feet. In the Spring of 1998, when Luciforo made secret plans with the Pittsfield Police Department to have me jailed without apprising even my father, the ultimate outcome was for me to be in the hands of Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano, Jr., who would have saw to it that his Jailer Staff and Inmate Population had abused me.
Just think of the perverse incentives against the good of society? My dad fired from his long-term state job and the loss of his state pension, his son (me) rotting behind bars for practicing my Constitutionally protected rights to FREE SPEECH, and the rise of the Hitlerian, Jew-bashing Denis E. Guyer, without anyone knowing that a gold-digging, neo-Nazi, fascist now represents the people of Massachusetts in the State Legislature -- just as Adolf Hitler came to power through democracy, so may not Hitler's second-coming of hate and racism: Denis Guyer! BUT NOW, I am free and living in southern N.H., and with the Internet and a few good friends from the Pittsfield area, I will stop Denis Guyer's path to political power, hate and racism at every turn before Denis Guyer is able to hurt people(s) on a large scale basis!
That last point is the very trouble that I have with Cliff Nilan! Cliff Nilan is in the know. Cliff Nilan is well aware of all of the bad things that have happened to me and others like me in Pittsfield. While the Eagle is right to say that he does not rise to the bait of indecency even to retaliate against those who don't get their way, the Eagle omits or overlooks the fact that Cliff Nilan does not do anything to stop the indecency either. Cliff Nilan holds onto his power in the Pittsfield area by being a "behind the scenes" player. Cliff Nilan knows what is going on in Pittsfield, and if called on, he will do the bidding (or dirty business) of the good old boy network. Now that Mayor Ruberto is placing him in the position of Chair of the Pittsfield Parks Commission, Cliff Nilan will do his part to stay in the good graces of the good old boy network that he, Luciforo, Massimiano and Ruberto are all a part of.
In the end, Cliff Nilan is a good person, but what good is a good person who always caves to the demands of the insiders at the expense of the social and economic benefits of a community and society? I am glad for my dad that Cliff Nilan is his friend and they talk on the telephone on a regular basis. I just hope that Cliff Nilan doesn't corrupt his good will to my dad by meeting the unethical demand of Luciforo, Massimiano and Ruberto that I become cut off from my dad's care, become homeless, or even worse, put in Jail. While I realize that Cliff Nilan is a good person and would never want to see harm come to me, I know all too well that Luciforo, Massimiano and Ruberto all want to see me suffering in inhumane, base condition where abuse and neglect are my only ways of life. I also know that if push came to shove, Cliff Nilan would line me up in the line of sitting ducks for the Pittsfield insiders, good old boy network, guys to politically, socially and economically persecute until I was either homeless, jailed or totally controlled by their perversely incentived view of community and society.
My feelings on Cliff Nilan are long and complex, indeed. I write about them to you all so that if the day comes when you see me -- a good person -- suffering at the hands of a few lowlife political persecutors, you all will know the backstory. BUT, I stood by my dad when Luciforo tried to ruin him and Jail his son in the Spring of 1998. My dad knows full well that if I go down, it is only an insidious method by the good old boy network in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to then have the advantage and excuse to take him down with me.
My dad's only intent was to serve the people of Berkshire County as one of the last truly elected Berkshire County Commissioners from 1997 - mid-2000. Unlike the career Pols like Luciforo, Massimiano, Guyer and Ruberto, et al, my dad only wanted to help people with a short-term participation in state and local politics. But in the perversely incentived world of Pittsfield (and elsewhere) Politics, the good old boy network frowned upon my dad's outspokenness against corruption, fraud, waste, abuse and top-down, closed door governance that served only the special interests at the all too great expense of the common people.
In closing, I hope all of my writings and Berkshire Blog postings will be enough to hold the Pittsfield, Massachusetts good old boy network in check. I do not want to hurt anyone, including Luciforo, Massimiano, Guyer and/or Ruberto, but I will continue to stand up for myself and my dad if they try to hurt one or both of us, and that stand includes standing up against Cliff Nilan and his good old boy network M.O.!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Return Nilan to parks board
Editorial
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Clifford J. Nilan's 26 years of experience on the Pittsfield Parks Commission and his obvious love for the city and its parks make him an ideal candidate to replace Michael P. Filpi, who resigned from the commission for health reasons with six months left on his five-year term. The manner in which Mr. Nilan comported himself as commission chairman during the contentious debate about bringing an independent league baseball team to the city in 2003 speaks well of his candidacy. When Mr. Nilan asked tough but fair questions of suitor Jim Bouton, Mr. Bouton responded with personal attacks that Mr. Nilan did not lower himself to respond to in kind. His professional demeanor and institutional knowledge will benefit the commission, and we hope the City Council tonight will support Mayor Ruberto's nomination of him to rejoin the board after a four-year absence.
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RE: "Bureaucrat" Bosley's HYPOCRISIES! Open letter to the "Bureaucrat" impostering as a Legislator!
TWO NEWS MEDIA CITATIONS…
Re: "House lawmakers toss Patrick's plans" (The North Adams Transcript Online, 4/12/2007): State Representative a.k.a. “Bureaucrat” Bosley rejected adding 250 new police officers because it would primarily benefit urban areas of the commonwealth. Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, said the 250 additional officers would likely be put in urban areas and therefore would hurt suburban areas. Patrick had drained funding from the community police officers' account to pay for the new officers' salaries. "We shouldn't suffer because of what's happening in urban areas," ["Bureaucrat"] Bosley said.
THEN, ONE MONTH LATER…
Re: “$11 million plan focuses on gangs” (The Springfield Republican Online, 5/11/2007): Gov. Deval L. Patrick and top state legislators yesterday unveiled a plan that will provide $11 million in anti-gang grants. Governor Deval-“uator” Patrick yesterday filed the $88.9 million spending bill that includes the money for grants to fight gang problems and for hiring police officers and helping dairy farmers. State House Speaker DiMasi said the bill would be approved as quickly as possible.
OPEN LETTER TO "BUREAUCRAT" BOSLEY…
Dear "Bureaucrat" Bosley:
Last month, you rejected Governor Deval-“uator” Patrick’s call for new police officers because it would have benefited urban areas of the commonwealth at the expense of the suburban areas. Moreover, you then called on the “Devaluator” for several million state dollars to bail out the financially constrained and hurting dairy farmers in the rural areas of the commonwealth. Now, the “Devaluator” proposed spending triple the amount of money on urban police officers than on the rural dairy farmers in the same nearly $90 million state spending bill.
So, I ask you this question, “Bureaucrat” Bosley: Are you going to continue to stand by your convictions that state money for urban police officers is wrong because it would likely hurt suburban areas of the commonwealth, OR, are you going to cave into supporting more state funding for urban police officers at the expense of suburban areas in order to get the several millions of state dollars to the needy rural dairy farmers?
I believe that you are a clever bureaucrat, and because your superior, Speaker DiMasi, endorses the “Devaluator’s” spending proposal bill so will you in order for you to stay in the Speaker’s good favor!
Indeed, Dan Bosley, YOU ARE A "BUREAUCRAT" IMPOSTERING AS A LEGISLATOR!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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THE SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN
$11 million plan focuses on gangs
Friday, May 11, 2007
By DAN RING dring at repub dot com
BOSTON - Gov. Deval L. Patrick and top state legislators yesterday unveiled a plan that will provide $11 million in anti-gang grants.
During a Statehouse press conference, Patrick said the money for the grants and the police officers should help keep streets safe. "The combination ... is the right approach to help communities with gun and gang violence that may occur this summer," Patrick said yesterday in announcing the plan with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
The grant money goes to programs for prevention and intervention of street gangs.
Last year, Springfield received $1.4 million and Holyoke and Chicopee shared $890,000 in "Shannon" grants to tackle gang problems. The grants are named after the late state Sen. Charles E. Shannon, of Winchester, a former police officer.
The cities in Western Massachusetts and other recipients would need to apply again for grants from the $11 million, which would be awarded in a competition.
Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott said last night that he supports the $11 million in grants, but he is skeptical of Patrick.
"He's said a lot of things," Scott said. "I'm going to wait until I actually see it."
Scott said that if Holyoke receives another grant, he would use the money to pay for overtime for up to six police officers in a gang-suppression unit.
Separately, Patrick called for approval of $3.6 million to help bail out struggling dairy farmers in the state. The farmers are suffering losses as they compete with giant dairy farms in Texas, California and other western states.
The money, which needs legislative approval, would be divided among 167 dairy farmers via a formula. The formula would pay each according to the amount of milk they brought to market from April to December of last year.
"It's going to help a great deal," said John F. Wholey, of Conway, a dairy farmer for 29 years. "It isn't going to make us whole ... but it's a nice thing for the commonwealth to do to preserve a business that means a lot economically to the state."
Patrick yesterday filed a $88.9 million spending bill that includes the money for grants to fight gang problems and for hiring police officers and helping dairy farmers. DiMasi said the bill would be approved as quickly as possible.
The $4 million for police officers will mostly go to Boston, which plans to use a share of the money to put 70 new officers on the streets by July 1.
Coakley to fight for gay marriage
Vows challenge if amendment OK'd
By Megan Woolhouse, [The Boston] Globe Staff
May 12, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- Attorney General Martha Coakley said last night that if Massachusetts voters were to approve a ban on same-sex marriages, she would back any efforts to challenge the measure on constitutional grounds.
A constitutional ban could go on the ballot in November 2008 if it receives a second vote of approval from the Legislature.
"I think we can easily anticipate that if the proposed amendment was successful, there would be protracted, hard-fought litigation about the constitutionality of such a provision," she said in a speech at the annual dinner of the Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association. "If that battle is necessary, you have my support."
She said she has asked lawyers in her office's civil rights division to be ready to respond, if necessary.
The remarks, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, were the strongest Coakley has made on same-sex marriage since becoming attorney general in January.
Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing whether to put the proposed ban on the ballot. On Wednesday, the House and Senate met in a Constitutional Convention but recessed until next month without taking a vote on the amendment.
After a 2003 decision by the state's highest court, Massachusetts became the only state in the nation to sanction same-sex marriage. In May 2004, those marriages became legal.
In her speech, Coakley said that despite warnings by opponents of the decision, "the sky has not fallen, life goes on."
"The institution of marriage is alive and well in the Commonwealth," she said, adding that more than 8,500 same-sex couples have married in the state. "It has been made more inclusive. I think a seamless integration of an ancient institution with the modern but welcome recognition of the reality of the diversity of sexual orientation has made our state stronger."
Lisa Barstow, an opponent of same-sex marriage and spokeswoman for the group voteonmarriage.org, which is advocating for the ban, disagreed with Coakley and asserted that same-sex marriage has set the state back.
She cited the decision by Catholic Charities in Boston to close its adoption service last year because the church does not condone same-sex adoption of children. "That is one clear example," Barstow said. "And who pays the price? Children."
Those who believe marriage should be legally restricted to a man and a woman have demonstrated broad support for their position. For example, the Massa chusetts Family Institute has collected tens of thousands of signatures in support of the amend ment to ban same-sex marriage. Barstow said yesterday that number is up to 170,000. "These are the citizens of Massachusetts that she has been elected to serve," she said, referring to Coakley.
Throughout her speech, Coakley received several standing ovations from the hundreds of lawyers in attendance.
Alan Minuskin, a professor at Boston College Law School, called her remarks "wonderful."
Coakley's support of same-sex marriage remains important even if the amendment fails, he said. "There's always a threat of backlash," creating new challenges to same-sex marriage.
He noted that the college's law school -- rooted in Catholic Jesuit tradition -- has had a policy forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1982. There is no similar policy in the undergraduate school, he said.
Coakley said supporters of same-sex marriage must rally to fend off the challenge. "We must do everything we can to avoid this. . . . We want our future to progress, not regress. And it is why we want to try and ensure that when the Legislature reconvenes, it rejects this antigay, antimarriage amendment. It can and should do it on the merits and end this debate once and for all."
She spoke of the state's "proud tradition of championing and expand ing civil rights," calling it a travesty for the state constitution to be used to erode rights.
"We cannot allow hate to occupy any legal space in Massachusetts. We cannot legislate hate away, but we can hold those accountable who act upon it, and that's why it is important to develop and implement effective civil rights programs in our schools."
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, Bureaucrat Bosley, Pols, News Media, & the People:
Does anyone understand the perverse merits of Dan "Bureaucrat" Bosley's hypocritical public policy argument for and against gambling? I do:
(a) The Massachusetts State Lottery is a monopoly and inequitably raises revenues on the backs of the poor, uneducated and addicted gamblers and others in great financial needs for a variety of different and sometimes interconnected reasons. In short, the public lottery system is a tax on the poor, marketed to the poor, and sold as a charity to the municipalities in the form of increased state aid to local governments. The public lottery is gambling and is a regressive form of taxation! The public lottery is a perverse incentive because it makes the SPECIAL INTERESTS wealthy under the false pretenses or in the phony name of public education and local aid while making society worse off.
(b) Dan "Bureaucrat" Bosley's boss, Speaker Sal DiMasi is not in favor of opening private gambling casinos and like private gambling ventures because it would cut into the state's cut of inequitable and regressive revenue sources. Bureaucrat Bosley follows orders to stay in political power and the good graces of his superior -- Naziesque! By remaining in power, Bureaucrat Bosley gets to Chair big government committees, wield influence, and collect many thousands of dollars in SPECIAL INTEREST campaign donations from wealthy corporate executives and lobbying firms.
In conclusion, Dan "Bureaucrat" Bosley uses perverse incentives in his public policy position on gambling. He is following the orders of his political superiors to stay in political power and collect "blood money" or SPECIAL INTEREST campaign donations. What ashame!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Cahill Suggests Legalizing Gambling
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR Newsroom
BOSTON - May 25, 2007 - TEXT OF STORY (In Part):
MARTHA BEBINGER: Treasurer Cahill says Massachusetts has to find a new source of revenue. Lottery sales are down and the state is losing jobs while spending commitments for the new health care law and biotech research are growing. Cahill says he doesn't want to just sit back and watch the Mashpee Wampanoag push for a casino.
...BEBINGER: ...House Speaker Sal DiMasi says on balance, Cahill's plan may not make sense.
...BEBINGER: DiMasi says he believes that the majority of house members remain opposed to casino gambling. DiMasi's point person on gambling, Representative Dan Bosley says that's one reason why a casino is not a "fais de complet" for Massachusetts.
BOSLEY: We fall in the trap of saying this is an inevitability, so let's get in front of it and make the best deal we possibly can, but I don't believe it's an inevitability. If people look at this, they'll understand that while some people from Massachusetts do go to Connecticut to game, most of the gamblers that would come to a new casino would be from Massachusetts, and we wouldn't make as much money as people think we would on casinos.
...BEBINGER: While much of the attention about a tribal casino has been focused on the Mashpees, a related but separate tribe, the Wampanoag's of Gay Head Aquinnah, also plans to renew a casino bid.
Both tribes have considered the possibility that they could open casinos now, based on a state law that allows nonprofit groups to run so-called "Las Vegas Nights." Gary Garrison, a spokesman for the federal Office of Indian Affairs says similar laws have been the basis for casinos in other states.
...The legislature, hearings on gambling bills, and possibly Cahill's plan, are scheduled for mid June.
http://www.wbur.org/news/2007/67443_20070525.asp
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EDITORIAL
Don't bet on it
TheTranscript.com
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Now comes our illustrious state treasurer, Tim Cahill, with a proposal for the state to roll the dice and build a casino somewhere in Massachusetts before the Wampanoags do. It's a foolish proposition and one likely to shoot snake eyes with the Legislature upon arrival, thank goodness.
Some in Berkshire County are slavering over the idea, though, in Web blogs or in grocery-market conversations, feeling it would somehow be a panacea to employment woes around hereabouts — or perhaps a closer gambling mecca where they could feed their habit. Somehow they are under the delusion that state leaders would actually consider the idea of building a casino in the Berkshires, if indeed they pursue the idea at all.
Right. It would be way up there on the list of projects we are likely to see in our lifetimes, directly after the Pittsfield bypass and the tramway to Mount Greylock. We do bear in mind, of course, that Adams voters wholeheartedly backed the idea of a casino on Greylock a few years back — and we know what sway Adams has in Boston.
State Rep. Daniel Bosley, our stalwart North Adams Democrat, is already staunchly against the idea of the casino, rightly pointing out that the Wampanoags will build one soon anyway — perhaps in 2010, and the state would have a hard time competing — or, more importantly, getting any revenue at all from the tribe for the privilege of its building in Massachusetts.
Gov. Deval Patrick should tell Mr. Cahill to devote his energy to coming up with ways to shore up sagging state lottery revenues instead of playing long shots. The proper place for a casino in Massachusetts, if we must have one, is on Cape Cod, where tourists have already spoiled a once fabled vacation spot.
http://www.thetranscript.com/editorial/ci_5993080
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House leader resists casino
DiMasi says the treasurer's plan for gambling does not have the support it needs in the Legislature.
By Matt Murphy, Eagle Boston Bureau
Friday, May 25, 2007
BOSTON — State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill believes it is time for the state to roll the dice on a full-scale casino resort in Massachusetts.
Stagnant lottery revenue and a forthcoming push from the Mashpee Wampanoags to build a casino have led Cahill to conclude that the state should not wait any longer to expand its gaming laws to allow for a full casino resort, with restaurants, hotels, golf courses and shopping.
"If Connecticut had been ahead of the curve, they would have been generating significantly more revenue than they're giving the taxpayers now," Cahill said.
But the treasurer's plan to partner with a private developer on the project could be headed for the recycling bin with key legislative leaders already dismissing Cahill's proposal.
State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, chairman of the House Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, said Cahill was "naive" to think an Indian casino in Massachusetts is an inevitability.
The tribe still needs legislative approval to offer expanded gaming not currently allowed by law in Massachusetts.
And if Massachusetts did pre-empt the American Indian tribe with a private casino, Bosley said it would serve only to further erode the struggling state lottery.
"I think it's ill conceived, what he's doing," Bosley said. "He's not going to stop the Wampanoags from putting up their casino. That would cut into business we couldn't negotiate with them (for a share of gambling revenue)," Bosley said.
Cahill announced his support for a casino at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday, saying one or more resorts could generate up to $1 billion in new revenue that could be returned to cities and towns in local aid.
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has said it hopes to build a casino by 2010 and is considering New Bedford or land recently purchased by the tribe in Middleborough. The Wampanoags recently received federal recognition as a tribe but have found it unfeasible to build on tribal land in Mashpee.
Tribes in other states, such as Connecticut, that have built casinos off tribal land have negotiated deals with their states to share portions of the gaming revenue. But unlike a private luxury casino, the resorts are still tax-exempt.
New Bedford city leaders are clamoring for a waterfront casino to revive the city's economy. A majority of the 57 percent of residents who favor casino gambling in the state prefer Western Massachusetts as a location, according to a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis.
Other observers have floated the idea that Devens could be an ideal location for a state-sanctioned casino with easy highway access, available land and a speedy permitting process.
"At this early stage, it's impossible to say whether we could or would accommodate a large-scale casino operation at Devens," said Adam Bickelman, spokesman for MassDevelopment, the quasi-public agency in charge of overseeing the former Army base's redevelopment.
"I can say that we treat all development proposals equally. We're happy to work with our colleagues in state government to understand the project's needs and determine whether Devens is a good fit." Cahill said he had no preference on where the casino is located, but would want it to have local support.
"I think this project needs to be private sector driven," he said.
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, said Cahill's plan changed nothing in terms of legislative support of a casino.
"I don't think there's been any shift in the Legislature, and certainly the attitude hasn't changed in the House," said DiMasi, who has been one of the leading opponents of expanded gambling.
DiMasi also believes that beating the Wampanoags to the punch could be harmful to the state because they would no longer have to share their profits with the state.
"It doesn't appear to be a fiscally sound proposal at first blush, but I'll certainly hear what the treasurer has to say," DiMasi said.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick said he is still reviewing whether casino gambling would be a boon to the state.
He put together a team to look into expanded gambling, and it is expected to report back this summer.
"Treasurer Cahill has made a reasoned and serious argument — particularly relative to the economic and social aspects of his proposal — and it will be taken into consideration as part of the administration's review," said Patrick spokesman Kyle Sullivan.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_5983051
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Menino, others back Cahill's casino plan
By Andrea Estes and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff
May 25, 2007
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill's proposal to have the state auction rights to build luxury gambling resorts won some key allies yesterday, with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, several state senators, business leaders, and a financial watchdog group praising the plan.
"I've seen it work in other places," said Menino, who has been aggressively lobbying Beacon Hill for new revenue sources. "It should be able to work in Boston."
Senator Michael Morrissey and Senate President Therese Murray also backed Cahill, who yesterday unveiled details of his proposal to have the state beat the Mashpee Wampanoags into the casino business and launch a search for developers for one or more casinos.
The plan would face stiff resistance in the Legislature, with opponents including House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi still against it.
But some say that Cahill's newfound support for casino gambling could change some minds on Beacon Hill, where expanded gambling has long met with disapproval.
"When somebody in the treasurer's position takes the lead, it changes the political dynamic substantially," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-financed advocacy group.
"This was not an impulsive act," he said. "I was struck that he had previously opposed gambling as a threat to the lottery, but now is openly acknowledging that this approach can supplement the lottery. We have a shortfall of revenue at both the state and local level. Barring some kind of dramatic improvement in the economy, there are very few options to raise several hundred million new dollars without raising broad-based taxes."
Cahill, who outlined the plan yesterday before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, argued that casinos make sense now because lottery revenues are flat.
Massachusetts residents are spending more than a billion dollars a year at two Connecticut casinos, and the Cape Cod-based Mashpee Wampanoags are eventually going to build a casino that will provide only limited revenue to the state.
Governor Deval Patrick had praise for elements of the plan.
"Treasurer Cahill has made a reasoned and serious argument, particularly relative to the economic and social aspects of his proposal," said Patrick spokesman Kyle Sullivan.
Sullivan said the administration will consider the proposal as it reviews the benefits and detriments of statewide legalized gaming. Patrick is expected to take a position when the review is completed later this summer.
Morrissey, who has supported gambling in the past, yesterday joined Senate President Therese Murray in backing Cahill's plan. Morrissey said developers should vie for the right to build on land the state owns near the Massachusetts Turnpike in Warren, a community of about 5,000 70 miles west of Boston.
"The real possibility exists that the Indians will have some kind of a casino soon," Morrissey said. "Timmy [Cahill] has seen the light. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. There are a number of people -- and I'm one of them -- who think that you need to exhaust every revenue option before you consider raising taxes. We're running out of other options."
But other lawmakers, including DiMasi, of Boston, continue to vehemently oppose state-sanctioned casinos.
"At first blush, I don't think the treasurer has put forward a particularly new, unique, or financially sound proposal," said DiMasi, who has been a consistent opponent of expanding gambling.
The Wampanoags, who yesterday celebrated their official recognition by the federal government, have announced plans to open a casino by 2010.
But since gambling is not allowed in the state, they must first go through a time-consuming process of putting land into a federal trust and negotiating with the state for permission to operate a casino.
Such deals in other states have often included agreements that tribes pay a certain percentage of revenue in lieu of taxes.
Cahill contends that a privately owned destination casino could be built sooner and with greater financial benefits for the state, generating up to $1 billion in annual gaming taxes and other revenue.
Cahill said that is far more than what the state would receive in a deal with the tribe. But DiMasi said the state should explore a deal with the tribe before making that decision.
"If we were to consider expanded gaming, one would think it would be a good idea to negotiate with the Indian tribes before we entertain private proposals," he said.
"Granting a private expansion of this kind would merely allow the Indian tribes to open similar facilities with absolutely no benefit to the Commonwealth."
The House's most vocal gambling foe, Representative Daniel Bosley, chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, called the plan "ill conceived."
"It's not a moral issue for me," he said. "It's an economic issue. We can do better for our economy than just creating jobs in a casino. To me, if that's the best we do, it's just throwing up our hands and quitting."
Cahill's plan was welcomed by the Wampanoags, who would benefit if it were approved; legalized gambling statewide would allow the Wampanoags to proceed without negotiating with the state for permission to run a casino.
"His speech reflects a recognition of a reality we've long espoused: This train has left the station, and it's a reality that Massachusetts should embrace, " said Wampanoag spokesman Scott Ferson.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/05/25/menino_others_back_cahills_casino_plan?mode=PF
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Casino debate heats up; DiMasi cool to proposal
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer
May 24, 2007
BOSTON --The casino gambling debate heated up Thursday when Gov. Deval Patrick made a surprise appearance at a Mashpee Wampanoag celebration on Cape Cod, hours after Treasurer Tim Cahill proposed the state enlist private developers to build one or more resort casinos.
But House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi -- the only one of the three who controls votes needed to expand gambling in Massachusetts -- dampened casino talk with a blunt evaluation of Cahill's plan.
"At first blush, I don't think the treasurer has put forward a particularly new, unique or financially sound proposal," DiMasi said in a statement.
Cahill argued the Legislature should vote to expand gambling because Lottery revenues have peaked and Massachusetts residents are spending millions of dollars at the two casinos in Connecticut and slot parlors in Rhode Island.
Cahill said the Cape Cod-based Mashpee Wampanoags will gobble up what could be hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue for Massachusetts.
"The Wampanoag issue has changed the dynamic," Cahill said. "They're going to be allowed to do this somewhere, somehow, someday, so I think we need to get out in front of it."
The maneuvering came the same day the Mashpee Wampanoags celebrated their official federal recognition as a tribe. Patrick made a surprise appearance.
"The governor was in the area and wanted to stop by and personally congratulate the tribe on recognition," said spokesman Kyle Sullivan, adding he did not immediately know if the casino issue was discussed.
Patrick has appointed a task force to examine whether to support an expansion of gaming. He expects a report from the panel this summer.
The tribe has already purchased options on land in Middleborough to possibly open a casino by 2010. The tribe is also considering New Bedford as a site for a casino.
Cahill's plan would involve an auction to seek the most lucrative bids. The proposed casino or casinos would be privately owned and operated, but regulated by the state.
The treasurer said state-sanctioned resort casinos could generate up to $1 billion in annual revenue, far more than what the state would get in a pact with the tribe.
But DiMasi said Cahill's plan would hurt the state's negotiating position.
"If we were to consider expanded gaming, one would think it would be a good idea to negotiate with the Indian tribes before we entertain private proposals," he said. "Granting a private expansion of this kind would merely allow the Indian tribes to open similar facilities with absolutely no benefit to the commonwealth."
DiMasi has opposed an expansion of gambling beyond the state lottery and the state's horse and dog tracks. House lawmakers in 2006 rejected a bill designed to allow each of the tracks to install up to 2,000 slot machines.
"The overall question we face as a commonwealth is whether or not we should have expanded gambling in Massachusetts and I don't think there is any change in the House position at this time," DiMasi said.
Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, has been supportive of expanded gambling. Cahill said DiMasi would be the hardest sell, but Patrick would be receptive because "the governor is looking for more revenue."
Doug Rubin, Patrick's chief of staff and former top lieutenant in Cahill's office, attended Cahill's speech Thursday morning but declined comment.
Tribe spokesman Scott Ferson predicted a "photo finish" on who would be first to build a casino should the Legislature approve expanded gambling.
"To have a constitutional officer endorse the concept that we've been putting forth is encouraging," he said.
Casino gambling opponent Rep. Dan Bosley, D-North Adams, said Cahill's proposal was an "ill-conceived" overreaction to flat Lottery revenues. The Wampanoags would soon build a competing casino, he said, and the state's revenues could be eroded further by future projects by other tribes.
Cahill said he knows problems come with casino gambling, such as traffic congestion and more problem gamblers. But he said the benefits -- including increased revenue and jobs -- outweigh the negatives.
"If we truly wish to compete with our surrounding states for the disposable income of our citizens, and provide relief for property tax owners in every city and town in Massachusetts, we have to remove the constraints around gaming," he said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/05/24/casino_debate_heats_up_dimasi_cool_to_proposal?mode=PF
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Tuesday, 29 May, 2007
RE: Cliff Nilan drove in the wedge -- I may become HOMELESS!
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, Politicians, News Media, & the People:
Pittsfield, Massachusetts' "Good Old Boy" Cliff Nilan drove in the wedge between my parents and myself. His many phone calls to my dad have paid off. Cliff Nilan is best friends with Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano, Jr. and is part of the "Good Old Boy Network" that tried to ruin my dad and put me in jail in the Spring of 1998. Moreover, Cliff Nilan has listened as Denis E. Guyer has spread the most vicious, false and slanderous rumors against me, making me appear as criminal, disturbed and predatory. As Cliff Nilan has said on many occasions, I will say his bullyish quote now, "I KNOW!" Indeed, I know that if I am homeless because of the power play on my dad's insecurities -- another political persecution by the Pittsfield Political Machine against my father -- that the Pittsfield Good Old Boy Network will be wringing their hands with abuse and schadenfreude. I know that if I become homeless, this is another way for ASSHOLES like Cliff Nilan to get at my father with teeth. Cliff Nilan has once again done the dirty work for the Pittsfield Political Machine ran by the Good Old Boys' Network. Congratulations to all of my enemies for the miserable life of Cliff Nilan and his corrupted inner circle of lousy Pols. The only difference between the powerful and the powerless -- Cliff Nilan and Jonathan Melle -- is the ultimate judgment we will all receive. While I go down now, and Cliff Nilan is rewarded for his dirty work now, my soul will be saved by God, while Cliff Nilan's soul will be punished by the lesser powers that gives him his political power on Earth. I will always speak my good conscience as long as I live!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
RE: Governor Deval Patrick is a GOOD MAN!
NEWS ARTICLE:
[Deval] Patrick on parade
Governor drops in to honor local heroes
By Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The black SUV pulled up to the intersection of Main and Cottage streets in Great Barrington about 10:55 yesterday morning, a few minutes before the town's annual Memorial Day Parade. The passenger door opened, and out popped Gov. Deval L. Patrick, wearing a dark blue shirt, tan slacks, red tie and a green cap with "Richmond" proudly emblazoned above the bill.
With no entourage, except for a driver and a somber-looking security aide, Patrick walked up Cottage Street, shaking hands and greeting town officials and supporters.
"Hey, it's Deval Patrick," said resident Barbara Beach, standing on the Cottage Street bridge. "How cool is that?"
"Well, I live in Richmond," Patrick said by way of explanation, "so I'm a neighbor, so to speak. And I think it's important that people in the Berkshires know they have a governor that knows where they are. Sometimes I think people out here believe the governor is (New York Governor) Eliot Spitzer."
Patrick emphasized that his plan was just to march in the parade, stressing that he did not want to siphon interest from the spirit of the day, which was to honor veterans.
And, indeed, although he did march, he did not speak, content to stand on the sidelines during the Memorial Day program at Town Hall. Regardless, the reception he got from spectators was uniformly enthusiastic.
"We're honored to have the governor here," said Robert Guidi, a World War II veteran and the master of ceremonies in Great Barrington yesterday. Guidi said Suzanne Bump, the state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, contacted him and asked if Patrick could participate in the parade. Bump confirmed that Patrick had asked to march.
"It was his idea, but he didn't want to detract from the spirit of the day," she said.
Local officials march
Also marching in yesterday's Great Barrington parade were state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and the Great Barrington Selectmen, Fire and Police departments, and representatives from branches of the service.
Guidi was master of ceremonies for the Great Barrington event. Col. John Bubriski was the main speaker, and Michael Murphy was officer of the day.
Bubriski told an audience of about 200 on the Town Hall lawn that "We should not accept the feelings of grief or affliction, without accepting feelings of honor, courage and pride. We commend you, our fallen comrades. We thank you, we love you, we will never forget you."
Great Barrington's was one of about 20 Memorial Day parades throughout Berkshire County. In Pittsfield, about an hour earlier, Mayor James M. Ruberto led a contingent of marchers that included members of the Pittsfield City Council.
"It's not as big a parade as our Fourth of July Parade, but this parade is more solemn and more meaningful to our veterans," Ruberto said.
Lt. Margaret H. Haggerty was grand marshal of the Pittsfield parade, while the master of ceremonies was James Callahan. Gary Wilk was guest speaker, and Eagle Publisher Andrew H. Mick read "The Gettysburg Address." The Taconic and Pittsfield high school bands marched, and the PHS band played taps.
Downing scored a Memorial Day double, marching in Pittsfield and Great Barrington.
In the Stockbridge parade, veteran Raymond Whalen of Stockbridge, accompanied by his grandchildren Brady Whalen, 7, and Isabelle Whalen, 4, carried the service flags of Raymond's two brothers, who died in separate wars.
In 1943, 21-year-old Donald Whalen, a sergeant in the Army Air Force, was declared MIA. Twenty-six years later, another brother, Michael Whalen, 25, a medic, was killed in Vietnam. Michael was buried with the Distinguished Service cross.
The Whalens are originally from Lee, Raymond Whalen said. Yesterday, he said, was a very emotional day for him and his surviving siblings and their families.
"We miss them," he said of his brothers, "a good deal."
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Berkshire Parades
5/28/2007 -- Governor Deval Patrick waves to the crowds that gathered along Great Barrington's Main Street for the Memorial Day parade. Photo: Darren Vanden Berge
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NEWS ARTICLE:
PITTSFIELD — Gov. Deval L. Patrick brought his campaign for municipal relief to the steps of City Hall yesterday, and more than 200 people were there to hear his message.
Noting that some of the provisions of his proposal face opposition on Beacon Hill, Patrick asked the public to contact their state representatives and express support for his plan.
The legislation — dubbed the "Municipal Partnership Act" — seeks to reduce increases in health care insurance payments and pension plans for cities and towns, while increasing municipal revenue by repealing a property tax exemption for phone companies and imposing a 2 percent meals tax.
The result, Patrick said, would be a reduction in communities' dependence on property taxes.
"This proposal will create new revenue, address increasing costs and reduce reliance on property tax," he said.
The phone company property tax exemption was implemented in the early 1900s to encourage universal access to telephones, according to Patrick.
"It was a good idea at the time, but it's time to declare victory now that we do have universal telephone coverage," he said.
The tax exemption allows phone companies to avoid paying property taxes to cities and towns for telephone poles and switching stations, the same kind of property for which power companies and cable companies have to pay taxes.
Patrick predicted that telephone companies will dispatch lobbyists to block the proposal.
"You can be sure that phone company lobbyists on Beacon Hill will make their voices heard," he said. "So you, too, have to make your voices heard on Beacon Hill. Let us know this matters to you by phone, letter and e-mail."
If the exemption is repealed, Pittsfield would receive about $584,000 in new revenue, according to an estimate provided by the governor's staff.
The estimates also show what the following cities and towns would receive:
Lee, $164,000;
North Adams, $101,000;
Adams, $44,000;
Becket, $103,000;
Dalton, $42,000;
Great Barrington, $50,000;
Hinsdale, $23,000;
Lenox, $50,000;
Stockbridge, $58,000;
Sheffield, $19,000; and
Williamstown, $49,000.
Under the 2 percent meals tax plan, 75 percent of that revenue would be channeled back to the municipalities and the other 25 percent would be used for property tax relief. Patrick noted that with the 2 percent tax, the meal tax would still be lower than many states on the East Coast.
By allowing cities and towns to join the health insurance coverage and pension plan for state employees, the rate of increase would be slowed, saving future dollars and reducing the need to raise the property tax or reduce services, he said.
Patrick's plan won support from Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto and North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, both of whom took the podium prior to the governor's remarks.
"It is important that we recognize what this means to communities like Pittsfield," Ruberto said. "These are real dollars that, when taken together, would allow us to ask for 2 percent less in property taxes."
Said Barrett: "The previous governor has said that he balanced the budget. Well, he balanced it on the backs of the cities and towns of this state. Governor, I support 99.9 percent of this legislation, and the other (tenth of) 1 percent we'll have to talk about."
Barrett said the proposal brings more revenue into the municipalities while allowing them to work on improving local programs.
Standing under a sunny sky, speaking into a raft of microphones and looking out over a healthy crowd made up of local citizens, influential business people, local politicians, five fourth-grade classes from Morningside Elementary School and members of the press, Patrick spoke smoothly, with familiarity, and command of the material. He elicited several rounds of spontaneous applause.
"We need to put aside arguments that are based on fear," he said. "And we need to concentrate on facts about what we need for today."
» At a glance
Highlights of Gov. Deval L. Patrick's Municipal Partnership Act:
Property tax relief: Allows cities and towns to impose a meals tax of up to 2 percent of gross receipts to help generate revenue for property tax relief for seniors. Twenty-five percent of the revenue would be deposited into a state reserve fund to be used to reimburse cities and towns for property taxes abated for qualifying senior citizens.
Elimination of property tax exemption for telecommunication companies: Making telephone companies pay property taxes for poles and switching stations would shift the tax burden from profitable businesses to residential and other business taxpayers. Overall, the telecommunications industry is avoiding $78 million in annual property taxes statewide, according to the Patrick administration.
Group Insurance Commission: The legislation would allow cities and towns, by local option, to participate in the Group Insurance Commission, which carries the health insurance of state workers. A recent report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation showed that the cost of health coverage for municipal employees increased an average of 63 percent from 2001 to 2005, about twice the rate of increase for state employees.
Pension reform: By requiring under-performing municipal, county and authority pension funds to be taken over by the state retirement board, the proposal will save these cities and towns money by connecting them with one of the best-performing pension funds in the country.
Source: Office of the Governor
Dear North Adams Transcript:
I liked reading the Transcript.com's editorial "Beyond Promises" today. You are right about pointing out the differences between what your local area and state Pols say, and the harsh reality that cities and towns are facing, especially in rural areas like Berkshire County.
The pending Massachusetts state budget faces a $1.3 Billion deficit, which is estimated to increase to an even larger number next year. Now, the Berkshire and state politicians are promising social and economic programs that will increase state spending by over a billion dollars.
The North Adams Transcript is right on when they ask, "Where's the beef?"
Yours Truly,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Beyond promises
TheTranscript.com
North Adams Transcript
Article Launched:06/04/2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
Two stories of hope and promise were nearly juxtaposed on Page 1 of Saturday's Transcript, above the fold. One proclaimed Gov. Deval Patrick's comprehensive plan to improve public education in Massachusetts; the other related thoughts from three Berkshire County politicians and a Chamber of Commerce leader on how to bring business to this region.
All five men — the governor, state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, state Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield, North Adams Mayor John Barrett III and Michael J. Supranowicz, executive director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce — undoubtedly are sincere in their aspirations for Berkshire County and for the state. Some can already point to significant accomplishments. But beyond the headlines, the specifics once again were lacking.
Gov. Patrick's call for a universal prekindergarten, a longer school day and free community college for all residents, among other measures, sounds terrific. Who could possibly be against it? But more to the point, who is going to pay for it — to the tune of an estimated $1 billion — when many communities have already been forced to cut teachers, programs and staffs to meet existing costs?
The governor fired what was meant to be a pre-emptive shot at critics by saying they never would have believed the colonies could break free from Britain, the United States would prevail in World War II or America would put a man on the moon. Nice rhetoric. Where's the beef? Interesting, too, that he committed his administration to spending "the next 10 years" to changing the way we think about public education and how it is delivered. Guess he plans to be governor a long time.
His strategy of creating a "readiness project" sounds like yet another consultant study to us. We wish the plan well but will wait to see the proposed funding mechanisms before getting too excited.
Just as we still wait in North Berkshire to get beyond strategies we "could" pursue or steps we "might" take. For, despite the sincerity and talent of our leaders, we still talk too much about need and too little about action.
RE: Bureaucrat Bosley--for the public record
Dear Bureaucrat Bosley, Berkshire Bloggers, News Media, Pols, & the People:
Re: "Pols Pump Up Our Taxes", "Howie Carr: Do Us A Favor: Stay Home!", & "Gas Prices Don't Bother Me! I Drive a Hybrid and I gotta tell ya...This thing is practically paying me! ...A Berkshire/Western Massachusetts State Legislator piggybacking the taxpayers" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/4 & 6/5/07): DANIEL E. BOSLEY tops the per diem pay list so far this year, collecting $6,930 from the taxpayers for commuting to work. I wonder why Bosley takes home $90 per round trip when it is common knowledge that he owns a Boston apartment! The same goes for Stan Rosenberg, the State Senator from Amherst, Massachusetts, who was #2 behind State Senator Ben Downing, collecting $3,120 so far this year for his commute to work. It is also common knowledge that John Olver and Stan Rosenberg own a Boston apartment, but collect the higher per diem rate. Also on the top of the per diem list is Denis E. Guyer, who married one of the richest woman in the World--Golddigger, and "Smitty" Pignatelli, whose first act of legislative "leadership" was to vote for the felon, Tom Finneran for Speaker of the House in early 2003.
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Pols pump up our taxes: Get paid for drive to work
By Dave Wedge
Boston Herald Chief Enterprise Reporter
Monday, June 4, 2007
As gas prices soar, taking a toll on many Bay State families, taxpayers have shelled out nearly $200,000 to pay Beacon Hill lawmakers to drive themselves to work, a Herald review has found.
With prices at the pump topping $3 statewide, 68 members of the House and 14 senators have already received more than $1,000 in travel pay this year, with some hauling in nearly $7,000.
The 68 House members who have put in for the daily travel reimbursements have scored an average $1,524 so far this year, while the 20 members of the Senate have fetched an average $1,616.
Western Massachusetts lawmakers top the list, with some making $90 a day to drive to the Golden Dome. The taxpayer-funded payments are based on mileage and are not adjusted to rising and falling gas prices.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The top earner was Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams), who has been paid $6,930 for commuting 77 days at $90 per day. Other top earners include:
Rep. Denis Guyer (D-Dalton) - $6,396;
Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) - $4,860;
Sen. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield) - $4,320;
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Rep. Sarah K. Peake (D-Provincetown) - $3,922
But it’s not only faraway lawmakers cashing in. Many Hub legislators have made extra dough by putting in for hundreds in daily $10 travel payments, including Rep. Martin Walsh (D-Dorchester), Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Allston), Rep. Denise Provost (D-Somerville) and former Rep. Brian Wallace (D-South Boston), among others.
The lawmakers are collecting the per diem pay as gas prices remain a sore spot for commuters and as the Legislature considers a 9-cent gas tax that would further hit motorists in the wallet. The proposed hike was floated to help reduce toll increases.
Barbara Anderson, who heads the taxpayer watchdog group Citizens for Limited Taxation, said per diem payments are a “silly,” outdated concept created when the Legislature was part-time.
“I’d rather it be like New Hampshire, where they get paid (a yearly stipend) plus mileage,” she said. “But in Massachusetts they get everything.”
She added that the payments are even more questionable considering modern technology would allow lawmakers to work from home more often.
“The real story is there a need for them to drive to Boston?” Anderson said.
One lawmaker who didn’t want his name used said some lawmakers show up at the State House briefly and then go work at local law firms and are still able to collect a per diem.
Per diem travel pay for state employees became an issue earlier this year when the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority cut off a program that resulted in troopers without take-home cruisers being paid $40 a day to drive to work. The taxpayer-funded perk ended up costing $1.4 million a year, with some troopers making an extra $9,000 annually.
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SEIZING THE DIEM
Beacon Hill Lawmakers have raked in nearly $200,000 in daily per diem travel pay since January (2007).
Here are some of the top earners:
Massachusetts State Senate:
1. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield) $4,320
2. Stanley Rosenberg (D-Amherst) $3,120 (Also #5 for most paid days--52 paid days at $60 per day)
Massachusetts State House:
1. Rep. DANIEL E. BOSLEY (D-North Adams) $6,930
2. Rep. Denis E. Guyer (D-Dalton) $6,396 (Also #5 for most paid days--78 at $82 per day)
3. Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli (D-Lenox) $4,860
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Do us a favor: Stay home!
By Howie Carr
Boston Herald Columnist
Monday, June 4, 2007
Wouldn’t it be cheaper if we paid the Legislature not to come to work?
There are so many things wrong with the idea of per diems. For starters, how about with the fact that you are basically bribing them to show up? Talk about the wrong incentive. They wouldn’t have become solons if they weren’t inclined toward stealing.
Am I right, Chris Asselin, formerly of the general court, now inmate 90812-038 at Schuylkill Federal Correctional Institute.
By the way, per diems operate on the “honor system.” Legislators are taken at their word that they are actually due their traveling allowance for commuting to the State House. I ask you, does that seem wise, sanctioning a practice that requires the use of the phrases “honor system” and “state reps” in the same sentence?
How addictive is it to get paid to drive to work? Yesterday I am perusing the printout of sticky-fingered solons and up pops the name of Susan Pope. Talk about forgotten but not gone. She’s the Wayland Republican who last year retired due to ill health - the voters got sick of her. Since then she has futilely tried to jack up her pension on the grounds that her parking space should have been counted as part of her income.
Anyway, Pope was a lame-duck rep for one day this year, but she still managed to put in for her final 18 bucks. One for the road, you might say.
This per-diem issue is a perennial embarrassment at the State House, kind of like House speakers being convicted of felonies. Years ago, when the stipend for the Boston reps was a mere $5 (now it’s doubled to a sawbuck), a rep from East Boston was caught red-handed. He’d filed for a finn on a day when he was in Rome.
The reporter for this newspaper called the statesman and told him he was busted. There was a silence on the other end and then the solon spoke: “For five bucks, you’re gonna croak me?”
Per diems are the crack cocaine of legislative perks. The hacks are addicted almost instantaneously. Consider the case of Sarah Peake. A year ago she was just another moonbat selectman from Provincetown, best known for demanding that a famous old painting at P-town Town Hall of the Mayflower Compact be removed. See, Sarah objected to the fact that no women were casting ballots in the Max Bohm oil painting. Hey, Sarah, it was 1620, remember?
Peake was elected state rep last November. And it wasn’t long before somebody gave her the great news: P-town is so far away that they give you $74 a day just for showing up!
Sarah Peake has already collected $3,922 this year. She’s gone from moonbat to greedy moonbat.
How about Rep. Marie St. Fleur, the Haitian-born state rep from Dorchester who is one of the biggest tax deadbeats in the Legislature? Marie considers paying taxes strictly optional, but by God she keeps bellying up at the treasurer’s window. Even though she gets only $10 a day, she’s already pocketed $530 this year.
After an almost yearly string of low-grade per-diem scandals, the treasurer now says his staff keeps tabs on the process. My suggestion is that for each day a rep files for the expense of traveling to Boston, he should be required to produce a photo of himself, holding up that day’s newspaper, the way kidnappers force their victims to do to prove that they’re still alive. Pose them one after another in front of, what else, the Hooker statue. You want the ransom, reps, prove it!
There’s another, more up-to-date way to keep tabs on the solons, of course. Ankle bracelets.
We already pay them way too much money for far too little in return. This is why they keep getting themselves arrested - idle hands are the devil’s workshop. My God, Paul Kujawski has already collected $2,592 this year, at $36 a day. He must have almost gone bankrupt when he lost his license for OUI.
What a racket. Being a rep sure beats working for a living, and if you don’t believe me, just ask Tommy Taxes.
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RE: The lottery is a form of regressive taxation!
Dear Joan Vennochi:
Your political column was very interesting to read. Gambling is a socioeconomic cost borne mostly by those who are least able to pay for it. Rep. Dan Bosley would rather market gambling to the poor in order for the state to collect a monopoly of revenues through this inequitable enterprise that redistributes money from the have nots to the haves instead of market gambling in the competitive business of Casinos that offer nice restaurants and 5 star hotel rooms. The problem for an inequitable politician like Dan Bosley is that he knows it is easier to steal candy from a baby than to from a middle class and wealthy adult. Deval Patrick's policies want to redistribute money from the haves to the have nots, and that runs counter to the inequitable principles of Beacon Hill power brokers like North Adams, Massachusetts State Representative Daniel E. Bosley, the BUREAUCRAT impostoring as a Legislator!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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JOAN VENNOCHI
Gambling fever's tight grip
By Joan Vennochi, [The Boston]Globe Columnist
June 7, 2007
AFTER MY son turned 18 recently, I started finding scratched-out lottery tickets on his nightstand. He is now old enough to indulge his fantasy of easy money.
When it comes to gambling fever, he is not alone. The Bay State's top politicians are betting on quick, easy cash for the Commonwealth, beyond what the state lottery brings in.
State Treasurer Timothy Cahill recently endorsed a casino or two. He argues that the maxing out of lottery revenues is good reason to search for alternative revenue and predicts casinos could bring the state as much as $1 billion a year.
State Auditor Joseph DeNucci recently declared casino gambling "inevitable." In an interview with State House News Service, DeNucci suggested that House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, a longtime opponent of gambling, is "warming up to it."
DeNucci also predicted that Governor Deval Patrick, who set up a casino gambling study group, will decide in favor of casinos.
It sounds plausible. How else is Patrick going to pay for the more than $3 billion in new programs that he is proposing?
When skeptics ask the governor about the affordability of his dreams, he talks about President Kennedy's mission to land a man on the moon.
For more circumstantial evidence of the direction this state could be headed in, consider the career path of Doug Rubin, Patrick's chief of staff. He worked for Cahill, then took a job as adviser to the Patrick campaign.
After Patrick's election, Rubin was already talking to assorted gambling interests about representing them as a consultant. Now that that he is chief political adviser to a sitting governor, it is hard to imagine that he's arguing against those interests.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Indians are currently pressuring Patrick to negotiate a binding agreement, called a compact, without any affirmative vote by the Legislature. An Indian-run casino became a possibility when the tribe won federal recognition after a 30-year battle.
The Wampanoags' quest could pave the way for slot machines at race tracks, as well as more casinos. Under Cahill's plan, which would have to be approved and implemented by Patrick and the Legislature, the state would look to develop gambling meccas, which would offer luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, shopping, and event pavilions. The state would regulate them and get a piece of the action.
Less than robust state revenue forecasts give gambling proponents leverage. And Patrick's dreamy agenda provides another kind of pressure.
The governor is proposing free community colleges, universal preschool, full-day kindergarten, 1,000 new police officers, an extended commuter rail line, a $1 billion biotechnology investment, and property tax breaks.
That's like pulling a new BMW into my driveway, putting Red Sox season tickets in the glove compartment, leaving the hottest cellphone on the driver's seat, filling the trunk with video games and DVDs -- and then asking my son if this dazzling array interests him. Of course it does. But just like the taxpayers of Massachusetts, he has no way to pay for it.
It's painful for an 18-year-old to think of all the time and hard work it would take to earn enough money to buy that whole package. So, it's off to buy a lottery ticket and dream about hitting the jackpot.
It's painful for Massachusetts taxpayers to face the prospect of more taxes to pay for expanded state services. So, it's time to throw the state wide open to gambling and dream about a jackpot of new state revenue.
The key question: Will expanded gambling really bring in new money? Or, "Does it just rearrange the deck chairs?" asks state Representative Daniel E. Bosley, chairman of the House Committee on Economic Development and a longtime opponent of casino gambling in Massachusetts.
There are also potential social costs, from crime to gambling addiction.
There is an alternative to raising revenue through more taxation or expanded gambling. That would be not buying more than you can afford.
The merits of that approach apply to teenagers and governors alike. Such restraint isn't popular in this age of instant gratification, but it is a wiser fiscal path than the one some Bay State politicians may be plotting.
Eighteen-year-olds are still entitled to their fantasies. The older and wiser have an obligation to recognize the truth.
Betting on easy money can be risky business.
NEWS ARTICLE:
Officials 'shouldn't be leaving midterm'
By Hillary Chabot, Eagle Boston Bureau
The Berkshire Eagle
Monday, June 11, 2007
BOSTON — They say bad news comes in threes.
First, state Sen. Robert Travaglini, D-Boston, left midterm to start his own consulting firm after being offered $300,000 from another private practice. Then Sen. Jarrett Barrios, D-Cambridge, announced that he will leave July 5 to take a job at Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Who is next? Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, believes it should not be anyone.
"As a general rule, they shouldn't be leaving midterm. They ran for office, and their absence causes an expense when you hold another election. It's also a violation of the trust people put into their elected officials. They elected you to serve your term," she said.
The last three special elections in the state have cost $188,000 for all three, and the special election to replace Meehan will cost $627,000 just in state expenses.
Barrios, who said he will not be earning much more than the roughly $165,000 he currently makes, said he did not plan on leaving midterm.
"I wasn't looking. I was approached with the offer, and I really feel that I can do more in (the BCBS) position for my constituents than continuing as a rank-and-file senator," Barrios told The Berkshire Eagle.
Many senators, including Barrios, ask their staffers to continue running the office even after they leave to ensure that constituents' needs are met. The Senate president also takes over the district by default as they wait for a new senator.
Leaving public office midterm for a much better paying position in the private sector is not unheard of, but it is also not the rule, said University of Massachusetts Lowell professor Frank Talty.
"I think it's unusual. Generally, when people go into public service, they aren't using it as a steppingstone to the private sector.
"Usually, people try to go higher in public service. A lot of times, people opt for the private sector because they are having trouble advancing in the public arena," Talty said, pointing to former Speaker Thomas M. Finneran's departure in 2005 as he was being investigated for perjury.
Called to a higher office
Some legislators also leave because they get called to a higher office, such as Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, who almost took a job with Gov. Deval L. Patrick's administration. Anderson had fewer issues with that sort of departure.
Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, said Bosley has stayed very true to his district.
"He has had more opportunities (to leave) than anybody else, and he still has a passion for this job and makes $58,000 a year, when he could be making so much more. He represents what's best about public servants," Pignatelli said.
The new chairman of Senate Ways and Means, Sen. Steven C. Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, also promised that he will not leave, even though rumors have been swirling that he might accept a job at the University of Massachusetts Lowell once U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan takes over in July.
"I've got a new job, and it's a very challenging one, but I'm really enjoying it," Panagiotakis said.
Two-year terms
Lawmakers serve only two-year terms, so Anderson argues that they should avoid running for re-election if they are looking for another position or that they should hold off until their term is up.
Beacon Hill watchdogs speculated that Travaglini was leaving for at least a year before his exit, and he departed only five months after he won re-election.
Pignatelli said that sometimes situations change unexpectedly for lawmakers. "You have to put yourself in their shoes. If someone offers you a job and offers to triple your salary, sometimes that's hard to pass up," he said, adding that he's not going anywhere. "I signed up for two years at a time."
6/12/2007
Dear Dan Bosley:
It is a little embarrassing that you are a bureaucrat impostering as a legislator. Let us review the real methodologies on gambling in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts thus far. Every year for about 3 consecutive decades, the state lottery has expanded its monopoly controlled system of regressive taxation in the false name of increasing state aid to the cities and towns. For over 30 years, the state has profitted more and more off of the backs of the working poor by growing the lottery.
Dan, I remember the 3 straight years of state cuts to local governments and the cap placed on lottery local aid. The state took a large portion of the state lottery's regressive tax revenue and deposited it into the state's general fund. Moreover, during those three consecutive years of state aid cuts to cities and townsm, you and your fellow legislative cronies voted yourself's three straight pay raises, with one being vetoed by then Gov. Willard Mitt Romney in the summer of 2003. The three straight fiscal years of drastic cuts to the cities and towns, along with the cap on lottery aid to cities and towns, took place between the Thanksgiving Budget in the Fall of 2001 (FY2002) through the July 1, 2003 state budget (FY2004).
Dan, let us look at your pathetic tenure as a phony legislator representing North Adams and the surrounding region on Beacon Hill:
1- You were a long-term supporter of Speaker Tom Finneran, who closed the doors to the public on state government, was terrible to Western Massachusetts and other remote areas not near Boston, and ultimately plead guilty to felony charges after he racially discriminated against minority voters in his own and an adjacent legislative district.
2- North Adams's public school system is among the worst performing districts in both the state and nation. Moreover, North Adams has seen a deep drop in population over the past 25 years. On top of that, North Adams' drinking water is polluted with the same problems that were documented in the movie, "A Civil Action": TCE Pollution. On top of that poverty and welfare caseloads and teen pregnancies and crime and the like are all higher than the statewide averages. In North Adams, one is fortunate not to be homeless or hungry, but the city reaps the perversly incentivized rewards from all of the social problems there. Dan, you have been in office for long enough that some of North Adams' and the surrounding area's problems should have been resolved with social justice, compassion and political activism.
3- Dan, you support the lottery, but oppose privatized gambling. That parallels the president's support of increased War and defense spending, while at the same time supporting 3 consecutive tax cuts that really only benefit the corporate elite. It is ORWELLIAN, Dan Bosley!
4- Dan, you were a flip flopper on Clean Elections. From 1998 - 2003, you voted for Clean Elections before you voted to terminate the voluntary campaign finance reform program under the decree of the dictator, former-Speaker Tom Finneran.
5- Dan, you raise many, many, many thousands of dollars in special interest campaign dollars that have absolutely nothing to do with North Adams and the surrounding area. You have used these funds to finance trips to the Caribbean, Dollywood, and the like. Moreover, you are at or near the top of the per diem commuting list every year, too. You claim that you travel from North Adams to Boston each commuting day, but you have said that you own your own apartment in Boston. That is fraudulent, of course, but you are number one so far this year -- 2007 -- in collecting the highest amount of money on per diem travel/commuting pay.
6- You are a Beacon Hill insider that serves the corporate elite for your own benefit and political power! Berkshire County and the people there are a joke to you. Dan, you are really, really, really intelligent on public policy matters, but you sport an M.O. around North Adams that gives a false public image to show otherwise. You don't fool me.
In conclusion, while Dan Bosley slams U Mass professors and others, I am proud to slam Dan Bosley--the bureaucrat impostering as a legislator!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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THE BOSTON GLOBE
Mass. casino backers playing numbers game
By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | June 11, 2007
One powerful Massachusetts legislator, Representative Daniel E. Bosley , an adamant casino opponent, says Barrow's studies are speculative, that they rely on a sample of casino patronage that is too small, and they assume values for calculating total spending that cannot be verified.
Bosley complained about him to Jean F. MacCormack, the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Barrow is a tenured professor.
Bosley said in an interview that he has no problem with Barrow's subject matter, just his methodology.
"Given Dr. Barrow's flawed research, it's a little embarrassing that he is a tenured professor at a public university," Bosley said.
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Town near deal to back casino
Middleborough offered $7m per year for decade
By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff June 12, 2007
The Middleborough Board of Selectmen has agreed to support an Indian-owned casino in exchange for a promise from developers to pay the town $7 million a year in compensation for accommodating the millions of expected visitors, according to town officials.
The agreement, if formally approved at a public board meeting tomorrow evening, would significantly advance the proposal of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe and its equity partners, Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, the billionaire developers of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
As part of the deal, the tribe would be precluded from considering offers from other municipalities interested in having the casino, including New Bedford, where city officials had aggressively courted the Wampanoags.
Town Manager Jack Healey called the agreement "a great deal."
"This could cement the financial future of this town for years to come," he said yesterday. "It could take care of the town's needs."
The five-member town board will hear public debate on the issue at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Under the terms of the Middleborough deal, the selectmen, in exchange for the cash contribution, would be required to support the casino proposal in upcoming federal and state negotiations.
On the federal level, the selectmen would join forces with the developers in urging the US Department of the Interior to accept into a federal trust nearly 350 acres that the Wampanoags control in the Southeastern Massachusetts town, a necessary step under federal law for a tribe to open a casino. The department, in weighing whether to grant trust status, must consider whether it is locally supported, according to federal law.
On the state level, the deal would require selectmen to act in concert with the casino developers in seeking an agreement with the Commonwealth. Such an agreement, known as a compact, would exempt the developers from the current state prohibition against slot machines in exchange for the developers agreeing to pay the state a certain share of revenues in lieu of taxes.
In addition to the $7 million annual payment, the deal before the Middleborough selectmen calls for the developers to meet the cost of necessary improvements in the town's water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure, and to pay for any increases in police, fire, and other emergency services attendant to a casino.
The Wampanoags have moved quickly to make the state's first casino a reality after the 1,460- member tribe officially received federal recognition last month following a 30-year quest. That designation gives tribes the conditional right to operate a casino in the state.
On May 23, tribal leaders signed a deal with Kerzner and Wolman, instantly giving the Wampanoags access to billions of dollars in capital and the kind of business know-how that has made Mohegan Sun one of the world's largest casinos.
Last Friday, the development team, known as Trading Cove Mashpee, completed the purchase of about 125 acres of land from the town for $1.8 million, after having successfully bid on it at an auction in March. The developers also own an option to buy a contiguous 200-acre tract of private land off Route 44 in Middleborough .
"The tribe has been clear that it wanted to settle the question of where a casino would go sooner, rather than later, and the negotiations with Middleborough have been cordial and fruitful," Scott Ferson, the tribe's spokesman, said yesterday.
Middleborough, with about 20,000 residents, is about 40 miles from Boston and 30 miles from Providence. Town officials have said the tribe has outlined a concept that, in addition to hundreds of slot machines and gambling tables, would include a hotel, restaurants, entertainment venues, and a golf course. The town bills itself as the "cranberry capital of the world."
Meanwhile, the developers are pressing their legal interpretation that they can negotiate a compact directly with Governor Deval Patrick, without a vote from the Legislature. A legal opinion to that effect has been circulated by the developers within the governor's office and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
While the state Senate has previously supported expanded gambling in Massachusetts, the House has opposed it. House Speaker Salvatore F . DiMasi recently questioned the right of the Wampanoags to open a casino, saying that more study was required.
Patrick has said he is awaiting results of a gambling study he commissioned before making any determination about a casino.
In Middleborough, attention focused yesterday on the financial impact the $7 million infusion would have on the town.
Healey said the amount represents 11 percent of the town's $65 million annual budget, almost $40 million of which goes to schools. He said the town currently collects about $3.5 million in commercial and industrial taxes.
The deal calls for renegotiation of the terms after 10 years, but with the provision that the payment to the town can be no less than $7 million. New pacts would be renegotiated every five years after that.
The deal also calls for the tribe to support the town's effort to receive a portion of whatever revenue the state receives from the casino under any eventual compact. In Connecticut, the tribal operators of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun contribute to the state 25 percent of gross slot revenues, or about $433 million last year.
The Mohegan tribe pays the town where it is located, Montville, Conn., $500,000 annually. Foxwoods has no deal with Ledyard, according to press reports.
Downing speech garners praise
By Hillary Chabot, Eagle Statehouse Bureau
The Berkshire Eagle
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
BOSTON — Sen. Benjamin B. Downing chose a popular topic for his "maiden speech" yesterday.
A bill allowing municipalities to sign on to the state's health insurance provider moved Downing to stand up for the first time in support of the measure, which he argues will cut costs for municipalities across the state.
It passed unanimously and could be on Gov. Deval L. Patrick's desk by next week.
"It was the first major piece of legislation to come out of the public service committee to the Senate floor, and I thought it was a great example of something we can agree on that can help a lot of communities save money," Downing said.
"Madame President, it's an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. We cannot afford to miss it because municipal costs are soaring, and there is a better way," Downing implored Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, during his speech.
He drew loud applause from the crowd and praise from Murray.
"While we applaud his eloquence, it's not necessarily indicative of what will happen with the bill," she joked.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, said Downing is quickly becoming a very popular member of the Senate.
"It was articulate, poised and, by the reception, you can tell he's already made a lot of friends in the body," Panagiotakos said.
Once the members of the House and Senate agree on one version of the bill, it will be sent to Patrick's desk, which could happen by next week.
The bill allows cities and towns to join the Group Insurance Commission, but all decisions about the percentage employees would pay would still be made at the local level. Proponents of the proposal say it is better because many communities have seen their health-insurance rates climb twice as fast as the state's.
Communities also must have the support of at least 70 percent of their municipal unions to join the Group Insurance Commission.
Dear Rinaldo Del Gallo III:
You are one of my favorite politicians/activists because you are passionate about your causes of social and economic justice for estranged and marginalized fathers who are exploited by the system, which is ran by the Corporate Elite, among other causes impacting the working poor people and geographical location throughout our very wealthy nation.
My response to your recent essay, "Why America's Child Support Laws Violate Basic Biblical Principles; PART 1: Bribing the Judiciary -- WHY AMERICA'S CHILD SUPPORT LAWS VIOLATE BASIC BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES; PART 1; Bribing the judiciary with regards to both child support enforcement awards and child support enforcement" (mensnewsdaily.com, 6/3/07): The federal political class, which only serves the demands of the Corporate Elite (or no more than 10% of our nation's population), does not give a damn about either your own or my own political concerns because we are citizens serving our political elites, and we are NOT supposed to see above their level of power. Ergo, the political elite uses corporate elite economics terms such as "EFFICIENCY", "PRODUCTIVITY", "UNIFORMITY", and the like, to justify laws that disadvantage the working poor bloke who does not know the difference between the doublespeak meanings of the business and government bureaucratic jargon. To illustrate, the Corporate Elite only represents no more than 10% of our nation's population, and they only employ no more than 20% of our nation's workforce, and the other 90% of our nation's population is regulated by these very wealthy and powerful for-profit business institutions and leaders by having the political elite's on Capitol Hill speak their language to the masses.
That is why, my good friend: Rinaldo Del Gallo III, your essays are misguided when you focus on biblical philosophies, legal arguments, and financial well being. None of it is REALITY because the political elites are ONLY serving the Corporate Elite. Everything else other than stratify wealth and high incomes to 10% to 20% of the nation's population is just peripheral propaganda to keep guys like you and me powerless (and clueless) in the real world of American Politics: RULE BY OLIGARCH's that serve their Corporate Elite master's with EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY, and UNIFORMITY!
God Bless You, Rinaldo! I am with you on equality for marginalized and estranged Father's who are being exploited by the system. It all fits the design of perverse incentives to bribe the state and local politically connected Pols to serve their political elite counterparts on Capitol Hill, who serve their Corporate Elite masters on Wall Street, NY, NY (but we are not supposed to see the last part of the insidious political process). Please keep up your good work!
Yours Very Truly,
Jonathan A. Melle
Fwd: Google Alert - "dan bosley"
Dear Dan Bosley, BERKSHIRE BLOGGERS, News Media, Pols, and the People:
In my ongoing essays citing "Bureaucrat Bosley on the public record", this is yet another demonstrable example of "the bureaucrat impostoring a legislator": Dan Bosley--not allowing free market competition into public policy. The prime example is, of course, Bosley's Orwellian support of the state lottery (a tax on the poor) coupled with his strong opposition to casino gambling. In this newest example, Bureaucrat Bosley will NOT allow telecommunications companies to break into the LOCALLY CONTROLLED cable TV and broadband Internet markets, thereby keeping a perverse form of a MONOPOLY (similar to the state lottery's absolute control of the gambling "market" in the commonwealth of Massachusetts) on how cable and Internet access is provided.
Moreover, Bureaucrat Bosley has proven himself to by a HYPOCRITE, once again, on his multiple and contradicting stances for and now against broadband access to rural areas in Western Massachusetts. By keeping local cable TV and broadband Internet markets under local instead of local or state control, Bureaucrat Bosley is stifling investments, innovations and new products. Just like Bureaucrat Bosley's initial support for Clean Elections before he terminated this voluntary campaign finance reform program (in the FY2004 / July 1, 2003 state budget), he has now been proven to flip flop on his past solid stance for universal broadband access.
State Representative DANIEL E. BOSLEY, D-North Adams, Massachusetts, IS: (a) A Bureaucrat Impostering a Legislator, (b) A Hypocrite on his stances for and against public policy issues, and (c) An Insider, Corrupt, Do Nothing Boston / Beacon Hill Pol! Well Bureaucrat Bosley, I will always speak my good conscience as long as I live. I don't understand how someone with your high level of intelligence on public policies is so stupid!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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House is hanging it up
By Boston Herald editorial staff
Monday, July 2, 2007 -
The year isn’t even half over. And yet some House lawmakers can say with near-certainty that they won’t be able to complete work on a bill that would make it easier for telecommunications companies to break into the local cable TV and broadband Internet markets.
And just to be clear, that’s “won’t” . . . not “can’t.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be worked out this year,” Rep. Dan Bosley, House chair of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, told the State House News Service on Thursday . . . June 28.
The bill, drafted and filed at the behest of Verizon, had a public hearing last month. It would allow companies like Verizon to bypass the town-by-town franchise approval process (which can take more than a year) in favor of a single state permit to provide cable and Internet access.
But the pressure being brought to bear by incumbent cable providers and local access advocates (brainwashed into thinking cities and towns would lose money, local access channels and control) has been enormous.
If, as Bosley and Rep. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill) have suggested, the bill will get no action this year, then prepare to continue paying what the incumbent providers demand.
Because no choice means no competition - and no price breaks. Consumers should be storming the State House to demand support for that concept.
If the bill is scuttled, they’ll have those dreadfully busy House lawmakers to thank. But hey, at least these guys know their own limitations!
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OPEN LETTER TO Massachusetts State Representative DANIEL E. BOSLEY:
Derrick Jackson's op-ed essay, posted below, points out the following troubling facts about the political support of the system of regressive taxation known as "The Massachusetts State Lottery" I will refer to as "the poor tax":
Fact # 1. Addiction to gambling with the state holding a monopoly.
Fact # 2. The recent failure of the "Star Spangled Sweepstakes" lottery game to raise additional revenues from poor taxpayers.
Fact # 3. State Treasurer Timothy Cahill was under pressure to swing for the fences "from lawmakers to increase revenue before the fiscal year ends June 30" [by ever expanding the poor tax].
Fact # 4. Last year, the lottery had its best year ever, with sales of $4.52 billion. State legislators set a target of a 2 percent increase this year...
Fact # 5. The poor tax is a "social crime"...lotteries try to make up for their stinginess on the backs of the poor and working class.
Fact # 6. The average American spent $177 playing the lottery, more than the average spent on reading materials. Massachusetts is fifth in the nation in per-capital lottery spending at $700.
Fact # 7. Study after study shows that low-income households spend a larger proportion of their earnings on lotteries than wealthier households. A study released last month by the National Center for Policy Analysis said that the lowest-earning households spend 10.8 percent of their income on gambling, compared with 0.7 percent of the highest-earning households.
Fact # 8. Citing research in Texas, the report said the lottery "is more regressive than virtually any other tax, including the sales tax, payroll taxes, or personal property taxes."
Fact # 9. Killing the lottery and asking wealthier state residents and corporations to pay a more fair share in taxes is of course akin to asking politicians to walk up to the guillotine.
Fact # 10. The Tax Foundation report says that if the states found a way out of the lottery, "they would improve their tax systems by increasing accountability, transparency, and economic neutrality, as well as decreasing regressivity.
CONCLUSION
Bureaucrat Bosley: You should be ASHAMED of yourself for going on the public record in support of the poor tax (lottery), but in opposition to casino's because it would cut into the state's reliance on poor tax (lottery) revenues. This letter and the essay below are prime examples that illustrate Dan BOSLEY'S INEQUITY!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
P.S. I will always speak my good conscience as long as I live!
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DERRICK Z. JACKSON
Scratching the lottery
By Derrick Z. Jackson | July 7, 2007
LET THE Mashpee Wampanoags have their casino.
Then the state should kill the lottery.
This Indian tribe is reportedly trying to make a deal with Middleborough, which would rather consider killing trees for barren asphalt and a palace of booze and bamboozlement than approve a tax override to pay for public services. I say let the two parties marry, let the gamblers be their children, and let the casino pay whatever in income and sales taxes to the town and state.
This beats the abject addiction of the state to the lottery.
This addiction reached ridiculous depths when state treasurer Timothy Cahill claimed that this week's $40 million Star Spangled Sweepstakes was "far from a failure," as it was indeed failing. It needed sales of 2 million $20 tickets to break even, but only 1.35 million tickets were sold. The state promised a full payout anyway.
"We were really trying to hit a home run," Cahill told the Globe's Bruce Mohl, who reported that Cahill was under pressure to swing for the fences "from lawmakers to increase revenue before the fiscal year ends June 30." In an earlier story, Mohl wrote, "Lottery officials have struggled this year to keep sales growing and keep revenues flowing to cities and towns. Last year, the lottery had its best year ever, with sales of $4.52 billion. State legislators set a target of a 2 percent increase this year, but as of yesterday sales were off 1.66 percent, or about $73 million, from last year's pace."
The reason given by lottery officials was "high gas prices, a dearth of large Mega Millions jackpots, and competition from casino and Internet gambling."
This is simply nuts. It is also a social crime. As Massachusetts towns, many of them middle class or wealthy, vote down overrides across the state total ing $60 million this year, lotteries try to make up for their stinginess on the backs of the poor and working class.
The latest evidence of this comes from a Tax Foundation report released this week that warned of the growing reliance by the states on lottery revenues. In 2005, Americans spent $52 billion on lotteries, of which $15 billion went to the states. The average American spent $177 playing the lottery, more than the average spent on reading materials. Massachusetts is fifth in the nation in per-capital lottery spending at $700.
But instead of just raising taxes and closing tax loopholes by $4.5 billion, Massachusetts is a sad national model of people in high places scratching their heads to get the lowest of income to scratch tickets to pay for vital services for everyone. Study after study shows that low-income households spend a larger proportion of their earnings on lotteries than wealthier households. A study released last month by the National Center for Policy Analysis said that the lowest-earning households spend 10.8 percent of their income on gambling, compared with 0.7 percent of the highest-earning households.
States often justify lotteries by saying that it's OK, since many of the services come back to the poor and working poor. But the National Center for Policy Analysis report cited research that found that the Georgia lottery was a $161 net loss for the lowest-income households while wealthier families experienced a net gain of $114. Citing research in Texas, the report said the lottery "is more regressive than virtually any other tax, including the sales tax, payroll taxes, or personal property taxes."
The Tax Foundation report seconded that by saying that the lottery, "when subjected to the tests of sound tax policy, it fails."
I'm not all that thrilled about casinos either, but since people do like to gamble, the best middle ground is to make it more of a choice to travel to than the state-sponsored sickness to addict people, especially the poor, on false dreams. Killing the lottery and asking wealthier state residents and corporations to pay a more fair share in taxes is of course akin to asking politicians to walk up to the guillotine. Governor Deval Patrick got into office promising to find ways to cut property taxes.
The Tax Foundation report says that if the states found a way out of the lottery, "they would improve their tax systems by increasing accountability, transparency, and economic neutrality, as well as decreasing regressivity. Legislators would find that they truly do not need the revenue raised by lotteries; they would either get by without it or raise it through explicit taxation enacted legislatively -- and honestly."
Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com.
July 30, 2007
RE: Rep. Smitty Pignatelli is a mixed bag
Dear Alan, Smitty, et al,
I disagree with your opinion, Alan, that Smitty Pignatelli is the best State Representative. My choice would be Dan Bosley with the rest of the State House delegates except for Stan Rosenberg not in contention.
Smitty Pignatelli's first vote as a State Rep to Beacon Hill was a vote for Tom Finneran for Speaker. Moreover, Rep. Pignatelli supports closed door, unaccountable governance. He was quoted as being for this kind of governance as a state Rep. during a period of time when the North Adams Transcript did a case study of "Sunshine Laws" in Massachusetts state and local government. Rep. Pignatelli also goes along with the system or the political machines. He is not a man of the people, but a minion of the special interests. If you want government as usual, a thinker as banal as a robot, and unaccountable governance, then Pignatelli is your man. However, I do give Smitty Pignatelli credit for being a good man, but a mixed bag as a Pol.
At least Dan Bosley is really intelligent and could be an effective Speaker of the House of Representatives on Beacon Hill someday. Furthermore, Stan Rosenberg represents a lot of progressive ideals and may just be the future Congressman after John Olver retires.
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
The Franklin County Republican Clbu Blog www.fcgop.blogspot.com has just added Guyer Watch which links you to a record of Rep Denis Guyer's at www.guyerwatch.blogspot.com
August 23, 2007
Dear Denis E. Guyer, et al:
I have one word to describe your (Denis E. Guyer's) character: ASSHOLE!
Here is my profile of you:
Denis E. Guyer grew up as a poor child in Pittsfield, Massachusetts who then went into the U.S. Military right after high school to escape poverty. Guyer made Sergeant in the Air Force by learning how to "kiss ass", not doing the right thing. After 6 years in the Air Force, Guyer had enough of "kissing ass" or serving his country, and then he decided to move back to his native hometown. After working for low wages at Crane & Company, Denis E. Guyer met Allison Crane, who has a lot of money (Millions of Dollars). Denis E. Guyer knew that if he married a wealthy woman, then he would not have to worry about being poor anymore. In the late 1990's, Denis E. Guyer married the aforementioned wealthy Dalton woman for her money, not for love.
With an ASSHOLE like Denis E. Guyer, he doesn't understand what love is. After marrying Allison Crane, Denis E. Guyer decided to start a trivial political career. After all, the true banality of Pittsfield politics was always and still is that the Crane Family has always been the "Corporate Elite Masters" of this working class community for over 200 years and counting. Denis E. Guyer started out by being elected to the Selectmen Board in Allison's Dalton. In 2003, Denis E. Guyer started a "grassroots" campaign for 2nd Berkshire State Representative. The contradiction of this campaign was that while he was for state governmental reforms, Denis Guyer would not rule out voting for Tom Finneran for Speaker of the State House of Representatives -- like his 3 other Berkshire State House counterparts had done in the past: Smitty Pignatelli, Peter J. Larkin, & Dan Bosley! Earlier in 2003, via the FY04 Massachusetts State Budget, Speaker Finneran killed Clean Elections--a voluntary campaign finance reform program that had been approved by 2/3 Berkshire County Voters in a Fall of 1998 referendum.
Denis E. Guyer's politics started to smell like the ASSHOLE that Denis E. Guyer has now proven himself to be in both his personal and political life. In late November of 2003, I spoke out against Guyer's contradictions, and he took my freedom of dissent personally. We made up in the early winter of 2004, and through his convictions for change, Denis Guyer inspired me to run for Berkshire State Senator against the corrupted incumbent Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr. (aka Luciforo). I took out nomination papers, introduced Denis Guyer at local political events, and shared his message for change. Unfortunately, Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano, Jr., et al (The Pittsfield Political Machine), intimidated me from seeking the Berkshire State Senate seat, and so I decided to drop out of the race, get out of "Dodge", and move to NH to live with my family (where the Carpenters rule Manchester, NH like the Cranes rule Pittsfield, MA. Interestingly, Tim Carpenter of Northampton, Massachusetts then rejected my political email letters after my falling out with Guyer in the Summer of 2004).
Denis Guyer and I kept up email correspondences, but parted ways as Denis Guyer's message changed for the worse after Shaun Kelly dropped out of the election. I was duped (again) by Denis E. Guyer's deceptive campaign messages. I became upset with Denis Guyer, and so I wrote an angry email letter against Matt Barron for his support of "Finneran Democrats" like Pignatelli, Larkin & Bosley, et al. Denis Guyer went onto win the State Representative election and has served in this seat since January of 2005.
Denis E. Guyer has personally attacked me many times since the Summer of 2004, including when he used the word "Pussy" against me in front of women and children at the now late-Judi Loeb's home in Becket, Massachusetts during a Denis Guyer rural campaign event in late-July of 2004; then, Denis Guyer spread untrue, one-sided rumors against me to the Pittsfield area, by telling many local people at the Bosquet Ski area on July 23, 2005, that, "Jonathan Melle belongs in a psychiatric institutions, and that I (Denis Guyer) hope that he (Jonathan Melle) does not receive his Veterans Benefits because all that he did was stalk a Jewish woman from Otis [Massachusetts]." Then, in September of 2006, during a visit from U.S. Senator John Forbes Kerry, Denis E. Guyer's campaign worker, Peter Marchetti (the great nephew of my maternal grandmother), spread the one-sided rumor against me to the political people of the Pittsfield area that I dropped out of the Berkshire State Senate race against Luciforo because my grandmother asked me to leave her then-Pittsfield home. For the past 3+ years, Denis E. Guyer has proven himself to be an ASSHOLE by sexually harassing me in front of women and children, discriminating against me for my mental health disability, spreading untrue, one-sided, anti-semetic rumors against me to try to incite violence against my family and myself in particular, and, lastly, slandering me again about my relationship with my elderly, maternal grandmother through one of his campaign workers, who bears familial relations with me.
Well, Denis E. Guyer, you messed with the wrong man! I will always speak my good conscience against you for as long as I live. You are a DEMONSTRABLE: (a) racist against Jewish People, (b) you are sexually harassing towards women, (c) you are inappropriate around children, (d) you are sleazy, (e) you are a Golddigger, (f) you are a Bully, and (g) YOU DON'T SCARE ME FROM SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE REAL ASSHOLE THAT YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE BOTH IN YOUR OWN LIFE & IN POLITICS!
I HATE YOU (Denis E. Guyer) MORE THAN I DISLIKE LUCIFORO! While at least Nuciforo has some class, despite his corrupted quest for political power, you, DENIS E. GUYER, are an ASSHOLE! DENIS E. GUYER IS MY ENEMY #1. DENIS E. GUYER IS A NAZI POLITICIAN -- THE SECOND COMING OF ADOLF HITLER -- WHO USES RACISM AND VIOLENCE (like terrorists) TO ACHIEVE HIS VISION FOR A SCARY, VIOLENT, EXTREMIST, HATE-FILLED WORLD. I hope that I, Jonathan A. Melle, am able to stop Denis E. Guyer now rather than later when many will suffer his classless indignities rather than just a few.
I AM A GOOD MAN! I, Jonathan A. Melle, am the opposite of Denis E. Guyer in both my personal and political life! I am like F.D.R. or Winston Churchill, while Denis E. Guyer is like Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin! I am happy that I live on my own level, not at the indecent low level that Denis Guyer really lives on, despite his many false pretenses. I am happy that the people know the truth about you, DENIS E. GUYER: YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE!
In Dissent,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Legislator Profiles: Denis Guyer
By Jen Thomas - August 22, 2007
(Rep. Denis Guyer discussed his future plans at his office on Tuesday afternoon.)
This is the first in a series profiling the unique individuals who compose the Berkshire delegation. Keep checking iBerkshires.com to see your representatives profiled.
DALTON - Responsible for the largest district in the state, Rep. Denis E. Guyer has his work cut out for him.
“One of my biggest challenges is the actual number of communities. Trying to be everywhere at once is a challenge in itself,” said the Dalton Democrat, who represents 21 towns in Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties, in addition to Precinct B of Ward 1 in Pittsfield.
“Some weeks I wish it were smaller, but I have a very diverse district. I get to tackle issues relative to a city like Pittsfield and then issues relative to a town like Peru - it’s these vastly different problems that keep me very interested in the job,” he said.
Just A Normal Guy
Born and raised in Pittsfield, Guyer’s political career started with a simple desire to make a difference.
“I started as a person who was always interested in municipal government and when I moved to Dalton in 2000, I was told to put my money where my mouth is, so I ran for a spot on the Board of Selectmen,” said Guyer. “I wanted to and still want to change things for the better in my community.”
After serving as chairman of the five-member board, Guyer thought he could help facilitate bigger change.
“When I first ran for state representative, I thought I’d never win,” said Guyer, who decided to challenge 14-year Republican incumbent Shaun P. Kelly in 2004 for the 2nd Berkshire seat. “I just thought I’d run and put on a good show.”
Guyer ended up defeating opponent Richard S. Stockwell, who joined the race as the Republican candidate after Kelly dropped out. With 70 percent of the vote, Guyer easily declared victory. He was re-elected to a second two-year term last November by an even larger margin - garnering 88 percent of the vote.
But it wasn’t always so easy. Guyer, 41, and his two younger brothers were raised by a single mother, who was barely able to make ends meet. He joined the Air Force immediately after graduating from Pittsfield High School in 1985.
After six years in the military, Guyer took a job at Crane & Co. as a production worker, eventually becoming a purchasing agent. Until his election to the Legislature, Guyer continued to work at Crane.
He currently attends Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is five classes shy of receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Now, Guyer has little free time between his legislative duties and caring for his 4-year-old son, Charlie. When he does get a day off, he spends his time enjoying the outdoors or sitting at home watching the Red Sox.
“I’m just a normal guy and I was unhappy with the way things were going. I wanted to make changes,” he said.
Berkshire County Changes
With mostly rural communities in his district, Guyer, along with the rest of the Berkshire delegation, faces unique challenges, including the lack of broadband access in the western part of the state and dairy farm relief, two key issues in the Statehouse this year.
With legislative measures in place addressing these concerns, Guyer’s next biggest challenge is working on the development of environmentally-friendly and green technologies in Western Mass.
“I’m really focusing on the local growers, farmers, foresters and private landowners who live out here. I want to work to strengthen the relationship between local growers and alternative technology initiatives,” said Guyer.
With the impending construction of the Berkshire Biodiesel plant at the Ashuelot Park industrial area in Dalton and Pittsfield, Guyer believes the Berkshires will have the perfect opportunity to provide incentives and programs to allow the use of local harvested materials for biomass facilities.
“The environment is the makeup of my district. With the rivers and streams, the forested areas, the mountain ranges - I want to keep it in the forefront,” said Guyer, who serves on the House’s Joint Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Agriculture.
As part of the cultural renaissance of the Berkshires, Guyer is proud that towns in his district are able to benefit from the new emphasis on a “creative economy.”
“I think people have recognized that these cultural and tourism-related organizations are economic engines in communities. Some of the smallest towns are part of this creative economy,” he said, using Ashfield’s Double Edge Theatre as an example of a thriving cultural attraction in Western Massachusetts.
The Berkshires, Boston and Beyond
With at least one more year to serve, Guyer is excited to continue working for the people in his large and spread out district.
“I love my job,” he said. “I’ll do it as long as they have me.”
Jen Thomas can be reached at jthomas at iberkshires dot com or at (413) 663-3384, Ext. 23.
9/10/2007
Dear Denis E. "Gold-Digger" Guyer, News Media, Politicians, & the People:
On Saturday evening, I went over my parents house for dinner. My mom apprised me that she received another anonymous letter disclosing a recent anti-Denis "Gold-Digger" Guyer email I sent out in response to an iBerkshires.com news article profiling the bullying Dalton, Massachusetts State Representative.
My mom is a cancer survivor twice over! On 9/18/2006 (last year), she had a breast removed. Next week, on 9/17/2007, I am going to drive my mother to Dana Farber in Boston, Massachusetts for two medical appointments that day. By me keeping my mother company, letting her relax while I drive through Boston traffic, and reaffirm to her that she will be O.K. despite the odds against her, I will be HELPING my mother through a recurring difficult situation. I hope she will be O.K. At least I will try my best to help my mother in her recovery.
THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BULLIES LIKE DENIS E. GUYER, and a GOOD MAN like Jonathan Melle! I help people, I care, I choose love over hate, I try my best...!
I could go on about my negative feelings against Denis E. Guyer and Pols like him right now, but I am going to leave at that. I am GOOD, Denis E. Guyer is not! You make the choice in whom to believe when Denis E. Guyer spreads racist, violent, vicious, mean-spirited, and the like, rumors against me, and hurts other people in the process.
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
September 19, 2007
Re: Open Letter to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State Ethics Commission
John W. McCormack Office Building
One Ashburton Place
Room 619
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1501
Attention: Stephen P. Fauteux, Enforcement Division Chief (mgm)
Dear Mr. Fauteux:
Enclosed, please find a news article disclosing State Representative Daniel E. Bosley's position as Chairman of the Board of MountainOne Financial Partners, Inc. I believe that Dan Bosley's position is in clear violation of the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A. I formally request that you please lease take appropriate legal action against Dan Bosley's violation of the commonwealth's conflict of interest laws.
The news article explains that Dan Bosley is currently serving in his 11th term as state representative of the 1st Berkshire District. Dan Bosley has served as a committee chairman for the past 14 years and is a member of the speaker's House Leadership Team and House chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
The news article further explains that MountainOne offers an extensive range of personal and business banking services, customized insurance products, and comprehensive investment management for individuals and businesses.
I strongly believe that Dan Bosley should NOT be influencing state government public policies dealing with finance and economic while also chairing a financial company doing business with the state or her political subdivisions. This arrangement creates an undue influence against MountainOne's competitors and a conflict of interest by Dan Bosley's dual roles in the public and private sectors.
Sincerely,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Dan Bosley Elected Chairman of Mountainone Board
September 18, 2007
NORTH ADAMS - State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley has been elected chairman of the MountainOne Financial Partners board of directors, according to an announcement by Stephen Crowe, president and chief executive officer. MountainOne Financial Partners is an affiliation between Hoosac Bank; Williamstown Savings Bank; South Coastal Bank; Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan and Collins Insurance Agency; and True North Financial Services.
Bosley was first elected to the board in 2006. As chairman, he will replace outgoing Chairman Dr. John "Jack" Merselis, who is retiring in compliance with the corporation's retirement policy guidelines after 27 years of service to MountainOne and its affiliates.
Said Crowe, "We were pleased when Dan agreed to join our board of trustees. And, we're doubly pleased to have him serve in the role of chairman. Since early 2006, he's been fortunate to serve with Jack, who helped develop and guide the MountainOne organization to where it is today. Dan will continue this legacy of exceptional service, and he brings a wealth of experience, expertise, and community affiliations to the table."
Regarding his new role, Bosley said, "I look forward to serving as chairman for a great local company. The trustees, corporators and employees of MountainOne have a sincere interest in the success and growth of our local communities. I'm proud to be counted among such good people."
The North Adams Democrat is currently serving in his 11th term as state representative of the 1st Berkshire District. Bosley has served as a committee chairman for the past 14 years and is a member of the speaker's House Leadership Team and House chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
Bosley has led numerous legislative initiatives on Beacon Hill. He was author of the Electricity Restructuring Act of 1997, which has since saved ratepayers throughout the state $3 billion. In addition, the he has been responsible for economic development initiatives, among them the "Economic Opportunity Area" legislation, which created innovative tax structures and emerging technology investment. In the last legislative session, the representative was author and spearheaded passage of a comprehensive economic stimulus bill that developed new structures and initiatives in work-force development, education, and diversifying the state's economic development perspective.
A graduate of Drury High School, Bosley also holds a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, formerly North Adams State College, and a master of science degree in public affairs from the University of Massachusetts. He also holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from MCLA. He lives in North Adams with his wife, Laura, and their daughter.
By working in partnership, the companies of MountainOne offer an extensive range of personal and business banking services, customized insurance products, and comprehensive investment management for individuals and businesses. Hoosac Bank, established in 1848, has offices in North Adams and Williamstown; Williamstown Savings Bank, founded in 1892, has an office in Williamstown; South Coastal Bank, established in 1868, has offices in Rockland, Scituate, Quincy, and Braintree; Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins Insurance Agency, founded in 1927, serves personal and business customers through offices in North Adams, Williamstown, and Adams. True North Financial Services, established in 1997, is a registered broker dealer, providing investment, life insurance, retirement planning, and employee benefit services to personal and business customers through offices in North Adams, Williamstown, and Pittsfield.
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iBerkshires • 106 Main Street • P.O. Box 1787
North Adams, MA 01247 • tel: 413.663.3384 • fax: 413.663.3615 • info at iberkshires dot com
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Downing Sets Priorities for Fall Session
By Tammy Daniels
October 03, 2007
Pittsfield, Massachusetts' State Senator Benjamin B. Downing
PITTSFIELD - Berkshire County's freshman senator doesn't let the grass grow under his feet - when he's not attending hearings and sessions on Beacon Hill, he's tramping over the many hills and dales of his supersized district to meet constituents or working on his master's degree in public policy.
Two weeks ago, Sen. Benjamin B. Downing started off the fall session filing a bill to prohibit idling vehicles at schools, one of the environmental priorities on his list. Also in his sights are broadband availability in rural Western Massachusetts, a new science building for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and homeless county residents.
While Downing easily won election in the heavily Democratic district last fall, some saw his age as a disadvantage. But being the state's youngest lawmaker (at 26) may well be an asset, allowing him to bridge his district's rural character and high-tech dreams. Poised and articulate, Downing seems to mix as easily with his seniors as he does with college students.
In a recent interview at his Pittsfield office on Bank Row, it took Downing only a few seconds to come up with the most difficult thing he's had to deal with so far: Time management.
"There's just so many issues you want to work on," he said. "You have to prioritize. I could get more done if there were two or three more days in the week and more hours in the day."
Downing represents the largest geographical Senate district. It includes all of Berkshire County and 16 towns in Franklin and Hampshire counties. Combined with those frequent 2-plus-hour trips along the Massachusetts Turnpike and back, that's a lot of ground to cover. This past weekend, he was at an event at Hancock Shaker Village, a benefit walk in Dalton and the Fall Foliage Festival Parade in North Adams.
"You have to be pragmatic," Downing said. "I'd like to be at every pancake breakfast, every select board meeting. I try to spend time with different sections of the district to get a flavor of Berkshire County. And I've got good staff who keep me updated."
He also credits Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-South Deerfield, for being "incredibly helpful" in making sure he knows what's going on in his non-Berkshire towns.
Needs Similar
He finds that his efforts for rural Berkshire County are in sync with the needs of his Hampshire and Franklin towns. They, too, are rural and are concerned with broadband, telephone and cable service, public transportation, dairy and agricultural issues, family farms and regional schools.
"I kind of realized pretty quickly there are a set of issues for the very rural parts of the district and a set of issues for the greater Pittsfield area and for the greater North Adams area," said Downing.
Broadband Internet access is one of those issues that affects both rural and urban areas, and one issue Downing says must be addressed. He's solidly behind Gov. Deval Patrick's $25 million incentive fund to bring broadband to rural Western Mass. and, along with state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, has vigorously defended the plan on various blogs and message boards.
"I know we have an administration that understands the importance of the issue, the severity of the issue, and realizes that if we don't do something, the negative impact will be gigantic," he said. "The access to broadband Internet service is actually more tied to income than population density. In some of the more urban areas, because of the cost, people can't access it. Eighty percent of Boston Public School students don't have access - it's an economic decision."
High-tech Infrastructure
Downing sees broadband access as the 21st century infrastructure - just as important as fixing the state's bridges, roads and utilities. The market has failed to provide that access because the cost has outweighed potential profits in this area, leaving the region's small towns cut off from an increasingly Web-based world.
"Dial-up completely ignores not only where our economy is going and but where our is economy is now," he said. He talked of a biotech consultant in Tyringham who can't teleconference with clients, and of how more and more state services are being provided over the Internet.
"Communities, especially rural communities, will wither on the vine if they don't have the bundle of services that we consider essential services for infrastructure."
The push for broadband ties into another of Downing's priorities - economic development.
The region has to look at broadband access, education and transportation issues as part of its economic package, he said. That means not just looking at Massachusetts, but looking across state borders, as the governor has suggested, in a shared perspective of how to grow the region. "That type of thinking leads to a lot more creativity."
Part of that growth means creating a skilled work force, which would be served by a new science building at MCLA. "That science building would show how higher education is responsive to what is happening in the work force," said Downing. "It would be an important message across the border to the [New York] Capital District - if you're looking for a highly educated work force, MCLA is where we're going to be producing it."
We should be telling high-tech industry, he said, to "bring in hundreds of people and grow the jobs here [like Sabic]. We have a quality of life we're willing to compete against anywhere in terms of recreation, housing, schools and higher public education. We have all these resources."
Along with the bond bills for higher education and broadband, Downing said lawmakers will have the Green Communities Act of 2007, an energy bill submitted by Bosley and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, and Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, D-Haverhill, on their plates. Described by DiMasi as a blueprint for the future, the $1.4 million initiative is designed to promote energy efficiency, conservation and the use of renewable energy sources.
Anti-idling Bill
Also on the legislative front, Downing, with Rep. Stephen R. Canessa, D-New Bedford, has filed a bill to prevent vehicles from idling on school grounds. A quarter of the state's lawmakers have already signed on to the legislation.
"The carcinogens that come out of the tailpipe of a bus are very similar to a massive amount of cigarette smoke and that gets pumped right into the school," he said.
The measure is based on the anti-idling efforts of Lenox resident Rick Gregg; some 36 communities across the state, including Lenox and Williamstown, are taking action to reduce emissions on school grounds.
"I think it's something you're going to see a lot of support for," said Downing. "It's a small, simple, pragmatic first step we can take to make schools better ... and to start reducing our carbon footprint."
The senator is also pumping new life into a moribund panel established to look at homelessness back in 2005. He's co-chairman of the Leadership Council to End Chronic Homelessness in Berkshire County, which has been meeting in subcommittees over the last nine months to come up with recommendations for a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the region.
Too many people think homelessness is a big-city issue, he said, because here, it's hidden in statistics, like schoolchildren who change addresses five or six times a year or families who are in and out of shelters.
"The truth of the matter is there's homeless issues in every one of our communities," Downing said, adding that Brad Gordon of Berkshire County Regional Housing and co-Chairman Daniel Dillon, former president of Berkshire United Way, deserved credit for their work on homeless issues.
Downing said he's gotten a lot of support navigating the ins and outs of the Statehouse in his first year from his colleagues in the Legislature and from next door - where his predecessor Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. now reigns as register of Central Berkshire deeds.
"A get lot of help from Andy. His office is right next door and I have all his numbers," laughed Downing. "I think if you're willing to listen and learn, people are going to respect the work you have to do and want you to succeed.
Common Goals
"One of the things learned in the last nine months is we have many of the same issues but they're expressed in different ways," he said. "The stresses are different, emphasized differently, but the goal is the same. When you start with a common shared value you can get through the regional bickering and get a lot more done."
Downing said he and other members of the Berkshire delegation do their jobs better when they hear from their constituents. If people pay attention to what's going on, they stay more engaged and are more likely to have a delegation that truly represents them, he said.
The senator describes his job as an incredible experience and an honor.
"Every time that I get to walk into the Statehouse and I see 'Senator Downing' on the door, I still get goosebumps," he said.
Tammy Daniels can be reached at tdaniels@iberkshires.com
22nd Annual Labor-Legislative Breakfast
Labor-Legislative breakfast mixes discussion, humor
By Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle Staff
The Berkshire Eagle
Monday, October 15, 2007
PITTSFIELD — A serious discussion of jobs, unions and the conflict in Iraq shared time with some spot-on impersonations of Mayor James M. Ruberto and U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at yesterday's 22nd annual Labor-Legislative Breakfast at the Italian-American Lodge.
The event, which attracted more than 300 breakfasters, was hosted by the Central Berkshire Labor Council.
Brian P. Morrison, a member of the Service Employees International Union, Local 509, and a case manager for the state Department of Mental Health, accepted a host of awards and citations as the 2007 Labor Person of the Year.
Genetic activism
Morrison recounted that his union activism is at least partly genetic: His great-grandfather was a member of the International Workers of the World, and, he said, was run out of Vermont because of his union activities.
His mother, Mary B. O'Brien Morrison, was a union worker for the United Electrical Workers, Local 254, and his wife, Elizabeth, is a testing coordinator at Berkshire Community College and a member of the teachers union.
Morrison, a Pittsfield native, is a graduate of St. Joseph's. He graduated from Bridgewater State College in 1980 and began working in human services. In 1991, he began working in the Berkshire Case Management Office.
A lifelong Democrat, Morrison has been a steward in his workplace and is also the secretary/treasurer of the Berkshire Labor Council.
'Even more outstanding'
"When you work with the Department of Mental Health, it is very hard work," said state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, the master of ceremonies. "The burnout level is high, there are a lot of hard days. To do this job for 20 years is outstanding. To be a steward for all those years is even more outstanding."
Morrison, in his speech, thanked the Berkshire Central Labor Council and praised the work of the various unions throughout the county for the advocacy of working families.
A pro-labor governor
He was one of several union advocates to praise Gov. Deval L. Patrick for being "a pro-labor governor. In this administration, state employees' contracts do not sit in a desk," he said. "Labor initiatives are supported. If this is what can happen with a labor-friendly governor, imagine what could happen with a labor-friendly president."
U.S. John Olver, D-Amherst, was the keynote speaker. Olver, usually a reserved orator, was uncharacteristically emotional in his speech, denouncing President Bush as a liar in his dealings with the American people.
"Not telling the truth doesn't seem to bother this administration," said Olver, who denounced what he called the Bush administration's specious reasons for invading Iraq, "which has cost a lot of U.S. lives and a hell of a lot more lives of innocent Iraqi citizens."
A hope for unity
"At this point," Olver said, "success for the president seems to be to pass on his failures to his successor."
Olver said he has taken no position of support for any of the Democratic candidates, adding that he hopes the Democratic party can unite behind whomever is nominated.
The event is annually earmarked to honor the Labor Person of the Year, but the breakfast, generally pretty light-hearted, also honors other local labor activists and local dignitaries. As master of ceremonies, Bosley kept the event moving and was self-deprecating when he inadvertently called Morrison's wife "Christine" instead of Elizabeth.
"Have you ever in your life, by chance, been referred to as 'Christine?' " Bosley asked Elizabeth Morrison.
"No," she said.
Bosley, at the urging of the crowd, did his Ted Kennedy impression, a good-natured representation of the Kennedy Boston twang. It was admittedly topped a little later in the program by state Rep. Denis Guyer's imitation of Ruberto, complete with Ruberto's catch-phrase, "It's a great day for Pittsfield!"
Ruberto, who was at the head table, laughed as hard as anyone.
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