BOSTON (AP) — Some people in western Massachusetts are already feeling snubbed by Gov.-elect Charlie Baker.
A coalition of about two dozen political activists from the region, which has long felt slighted by Boston, in a letter to the Republican’s policy director point out the low number of people from the area on his transition team.
Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin counties have no representation on the roughly 175-member transition team. Just seven members are from Hampden County.
The letter said it “appears that there was an oversight in including representatives from our communities on your team.”
Voters in the region largely backed Baker’s Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, a Berkshire County native.
A Baker spokesman tells The Boston Globe that that did not factor into the assembly of the transition team.
“One way to predict how the Governor-elect will manage the affairs of office is to look at what he has done during this transition period,” said Westfield State Representative John Velis in his weekly Westfield News column Saturday. “I think by all accounts he is doing a good job. He seems to be forming a team of staffers without regard to political party. Without knowing the exact numbers, I think he has hired as many Democrats to work for him as he has Republicans. This bodes well for Massachusetts as it suggests Mr. Baker’s priorities will be to disregard party politics and get things done as opposed to political posturing and partisan warfare like we see in Washington where nothing gets done.”
“This past week, however, Mr. Baker did something that made me irate, Velis said. “As part of his transition effort, Mr. Baker is forming committees composed of experts from various fields to get him up to speed on the issues. One of the committees he has formed is a health committee made up of 23 members. I was astounded when I found out that not one of the members of the health committee was from western Massachusetts. This is inexcusable. As a member of the Joint Committee on Public Health, I find this particularly egregious.”
“This slight by Mr. Baker reminds me of this past summer when my public health committee held hearings on Ebola virus preparations and readiness and not one hospital or person asked to testify in front of the hearing was from western Mass.,” He said. “Western Mass. being ignored from any of these events or committees is entirely unacceptable. We have some of the best hospitals and brightest doctors in the state right here in western Mass. I can’t imagine the Governor-elect truly believes that not one doctor or administrator from Noble Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center, Cooley Dickenson, etc. would be up to the task of serving on this committee. I am in the process of drafting a letter to Governor-elect Baker expressing my serious concerns about western Mass. being left our of his newly formed health committee.”
