Lowell Sun gets it right!

In case you missed it, there’s a great editorial in today’s Lowell Sun. In the editorial Democrats fail to get the job done, the writer says in regard to the gaming debate, “Massachusetts residents are tired of the game playing and political infighting that has repeatedly derailed progress here.” The editorial goes on to say, “Patrick and the Democratically controlled Legislature made a grievous error by failing to fully cooperate on the gambling measure. Their lack of vision and weak leadership have caused residents to lose confidence in the state's economic recovery. That is unacceptable.”

There are too many good lines to quote, so please check the editorial out in its entirety by clicking here.

Economic indicators show a struggling economy

According to a recent report by State House News Service, “Three economic indexes out Tuesday morning contained discouraging news for the state's economy, reflecting three straight months of diminished home sales activity and significant erosion of employer and consumer optimism.”

Meanwhile, the Patrick-Murray Administration would have you believing everything is the state is heading the right direction. They’ve been out around the Commonwealth touting their sound decision making and leadership. But has State House News Service reported, the economy is anything but sound.

Click here to read the story in its entirety.

Jones: Governor Patrick All Politics, No Policy

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement after State House News Service reported media strategy played a role in Governor Patrick’s plan to push for a new crime policy initiative.

I am appalled by the recent reports but certainly not surprised. I’ve grown to expect this kind of behavior from the Patrick-Murray Administration – after all Governor Patrick’s track record precedes him.

This is just the latest in a long list of poor public policy decisions made by the Patrick-Murray Administration for nothing more than political consideration. From the Gloucester charter school licensing debacle to the effort to artificially cap health insurance rates and most recently the abandonment of state education standards, Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray have sacrificed sound public policy in favor of special interest demands.

State House News Service reported late Saturday night on the contents of the memo called “Crime Bill Strategy.” In that memo, two aides to Governor Patrick said, “We recommend waiting until after the weekend when the Globe may run their spotlight series on the Department of Community Supervision reform to determine whether to work with legislators to push for the following: creation of a Department of Community Supervision; requiring reports from probation; or merely a commission to study the creation of a Department of Community Supervision.”

The memo went on to read, "If these sentencing reform amendments were pushed and failed, the House would be on record opposing sentencing reform and it would make it more difficult to fight for sentencing reform in conference committee. The sentencing reform advocates … are also working to make sure that these amendments don't get filed. The advocates want to wait for a more favorable opportunity and until they can secure votes before pushing for sentencing reform.”

Economic Development Bill Not the Answer to all our state’s problems

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement after the Massachusetts House of Representatives engrossed the conference committee report on economic development.

While I applaud the conference committee members for the progress made on a bill aimed at stimulating the economy, I must say I am disappointed that the single most important issue facing the Commonwealth was left to the last possible minute.

This bill contains many positive elements – but by no means is the contents of this bill the answer to all of our state’s problems. The economic development bill passed in the House today is a step in the right direction but unfortunately more than 300,000 Massachusetts residents are still out of work today and many more remain underemployed. We can and must do better and I hope when we convene next year, economic development will be the top priority on the Legislature’s agenda.

In fact, a key portion of this bill is fixing mistakes this Legislature enacted and Governor Patrick signed into law that has hurt our economy – mainly the Patrick-Murray Administration’s corporate tax bill from 2008.

Representative Hill appears on Broadside

House Minority Whip Brad Hill appeared on Broadside with Jim Braude last night to discuss the effort to bring expanded gaming to the state of Massachusetts. As you know, the legislative session ends Saturday and yet no bill has emerged from the conference committee tasked with hashing out the differences between the House and Senate bills.

Click here to watch Representative Hill on Broadside.

Republican Leaders Hit Closed-Door Casino Talks

BOSTON – Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei and House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. today criticized House and Senate leadership for excluding Republican negotiators from a late-afternoon summit on casino gambling.

The State House News Service reports that following today’s leadership meeting with Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo are meeting with House and Senate conferees in a “last-ditch effort to salvage” the casino bill before the end of session. However, neither of the two Republicans serving on the conference committee – Senator Richard Ross and Representative Paul Frost – has been asked to participate in the meeting.

“It’s pretty pathetic that it’s come down to this, where decisions on a proposal that will dramatically impact the landscape of the entire state are being made behind closed doors without input from Republican members,” said Senator Tisei. “It’s ironic this is happening under the watch of the same governor who campaigned on a promise of more openness and transparency in state government. This is nothing more than the same old ‘business as usual’ on Beacon Hill.”

“This latest stunt further highlights that the status quo is alive and well on Beacon Hill,” said Representative Jones. “It is this kind of behavior that the people of Massachusetts are fed up with and though I am not surprised by this latest display of arrogance, I am indeed disappointed and frustrated especially since this is an issue where Republicans have been supportive.”

The casino gambling bill has been in conference committee since July 6. Unless the House and Senate agree on a compromise by July 31, the bill will have to be re-filed for the 2011-2012 session.

Jones: Reville’s Audacity is Astonishing

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement in reaction to Education Secretary Paul Reville’s comments regarding his request for postponement of the Board of Education’s vote on adopting national standards:

I was appalled to read Education Secretary Paul Reville’s comments in response to my call to postpone today’s vote as “absurd and politically motivated.” Unfortunately for Reville, his record as Education Secretary speaks for itself.

It was not too long ago that Secretary Reville was encouraging the Patrick Administration to get behind the licensing of a charter school in Gloucester, saying in an email, “Our reality is that we have to show some sympathy in this group of charters or we’ll get permanently labeled as hostile and that will cripple us with a number of key, moderate allies. It really is a matter of positioning ourselves so that we can be viable to implement the rest of our agenda.”

Reville’s actions surrounding the Gloucester charter school debacle prompted calls for the Education Secretary’s resignation. The Boston Herald went as far as saying, “Reville has shown where his priorities are. Now that his credibility is shot to hell he should do the right thing and resign.”

Suggesting that allowing more time for parents, teachers and the public to comment on and learn about the curriculum changes is politically motivated is an insult to the students who will be most affected by these changes. In fact, if Reville thinks collecting public input before a monumental policy shift is made is absurd, maybe he is not the right person for the job. If shifting toward a set of national standards is indeed the best choice, the Administration should be more than happy to open the subject up for additional public hearings in order to get teachers, parents and students on board with the dramatic change. If they’re scared to hold public hearings, then I am scared for the future of the Massachusetts public educational system.

Sound public policy or egregious example of pay to play?

BOSTON—Saying education is too important an issue to rush, House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. today called on Governor Deval Patrick to postpone tomorrow’s Board of Education vote regarding Education Commissioner’s Mitchell Chester’s recommendations. On Friday, Commissioner Chester recommended moving away from the state’s already high standards in favor of a national set of standards.

Representative Jones, like many others, is frustrated by not only the timing of this announcement but also the political expedience that seems to accompany the decision. “Governor Patrick’s reelection campaign was just endorsed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, considered among the most powerful unions in the state, who spent more than $2.5 million on his 2006 election campaign. This decision is either a hasty public policy choice at best or an egregious example of the ultimate pay to play,” said Representative Jones.

In a letter sent to Governor Patrick today, the Republican Leader said, “I hope you will show true leadership and postpone Wednesday’s Board of Education vote in order to provide ample time for public hearings to be held across the state.” The letter went on to say, “Like any major policy decision, inviting public input is a necessary step in the process.”

According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Massachusetts ranks third in the country in terms of academic excellence. Representative Jones stressed the quality of a Massachusetts public education in his letter to the Governor, saying, “I can appreciate why the large pool of Race to the Top funds would be so enticing to you and your Administration, particularly during these difficult economic times; however, no amount of money justifies the risk of lowering Massachusetts’ public school system standards.”

Patrick-Murray Administration playing politics with public education

BOSTON— House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement after hearing the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote next week on a proposal that would eventually erode local standards of the state’s education system.

Today’s announcement can only lead one to believe that the Patrick-Murray Administration is playing politics with public education and jeopardizing Massachusetts’ already exceptional educational standards which have propelled our students to the top of academic excellence.

I can’t help but notice the day and time of this controversial announcement. I am particularly frustrated that like with Governor Patrick’s effort to cap insurance rates, this policy decision appears to be political in nature and certainly not in the best interest of our public education system. To think that such an important decision will be voted with such short notice in just a matter of days is beyond belief.

Governor Patrick: Public perception trumps public policy

It’s doubtful you missed it, but just in case we wanted to point out a Boston Herald editorial that ran today which once again proves that with Governor Patrick, public perception trumps public policy.

As you know, the Patrick Administration has been facing much scrutiny for its plans to cap insurance rates. As the Boston Herald editorial staff points out, “Just in case anyone thought the Patrick administration’s health insurance rate cap was anything other than an exercise in raw political pandering, along comes a set of e-mails that proves the point.”

Click here to check out what else the Boston Herald had to say.