Cadillac Deval’s wife not pleased with Herald
Bay State first lady Diane Patrick scolded the Boston Herald’s coverage of her husband’s Cadillac upgrade as “racist” in Gwen Ifill’s new book on race and politics.
Patrick took particular offense to the description of the Cadillac as “tricked out” during the DeVille debacle that engulfed her husband, Gov. Deval Patrick, during his first days in office.
“It didn’t have boom boxes, speakers on the outside, but they called it tricked-out,” Ifill quoted Patrick as saying.
Herald Editor Kevin Convey said the term “tricked out” had no racist implications.
“We’re sorry that the first lady feels the way she does, but the term ‘tricked out’ as a synonym for decorated or adorned is over 100 years old and has no racial connotation whatsoever. Moreover we meant none,” Convey said.
Gov. Patrick raised eyebrows when he switched his state car from a Crown Victoria to a Cadillac DTS and upgraded his office with $12,000 drapes and new sofas shortly after he took office in 2007. Patrick had also hired a $72,000 chief of staff for his wife.
Admitting he mistepped, Patrick later moved to pay for the Cadillac and the staffer stepped down.
Patrick’s office had no comment yesterday on either the first lady’s accusation or Convey’s response.
Ifill, a former Herald scribe, caught heat this year for moderating the presidential debates while she was working on the book, titled “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.”
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Breaking: GOP lawmaker REFUSES pay hike!
http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1143983&pos=breaking
One Republican lawmaker has already refused a pricey 5.5 percent pay increase for state legislators Gov. Deval Patrick recommended yesterday, saying the raise is a slap in the face to struggling families.
The hike would raise legislators’ base pay from $58,237 to $61,440, even as they consider slashing millions from the state budget.
“I cannot in good conscience accept a raise in legislative pay when there are so many families across the state who cannot afford to meet their household expenses,” said Rep. Karyn Polito (R-Shrewsbury) in a statement.
“I believe the $640,600 in additional pay for legislators could be better spent if it were devoted to offsetting toll increases, increasing local aid and paying for other services that would benefit the people we represent.”
Lawmakers passed a law in 1998 tying their pay raises to the state’s median household income. Patrick sent a letter to Treasurer Tim Cahill yesterday indicating that increase was about 5.5 percent. The raise comes at end of every two-year session.
The Massachusetts Republican party also slammed lawmakers who are accepting the $3,200 raise.
“At a time when people are losing their jobs and just trying to figure out where their next paycheck is going to come from, what makes the DiMasi Democrats think that the legislature deserves a raise at all? This is an outrage and yet another example of why we desperately need new leadership on Beacon Hill,” said GOP spokesman Barney Keller.