I hope you and your family had a very nice a Happy Thanksgiving. I didn’t write a column for last week’s paper due to the holiday, and because it had been very quiet at the State House.
This week, as you might have seen in the news, there has been a great deal of speculation about what will happen if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton resigns and President Barack Obama appoints Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to that or another position in Washington such as Secretary of Defense.
I was going to recap for you the history of legislative changes governing how appointments in vacancies may be filled. The Democratically controlled legislature in Massachusetts has been nearly schizophrenic on the topic over the past 8 years.
Instead, however, I have decided to share with you a blog on the issue written by my friend and fellow House member, Representative Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich). Randy Hunt was just re-elected to his second term in the House of Representatives. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a legislator, and an astute political commentator. He’s also a funny guy. Read below what he opined in his blog:
“Will Deval Patrick appoint our next Massachusetts senator?
“Prior to 2004, the Massachusetts governor had the power to appoint a U.S. Senator or Representative to serve the remaining term of a congressman who left the job early. With the certainty of John Kerry’s election to the U.S. Presidency in 2004, the law was changed to strip the governor (Mitt Romney) of this power, replacing it with a special election to occur within 160 days of the vacancy. That strategy turned out to be premature when Kerry didn’t “report for duty” after all.
“In 2009, the Democrats were faced with Ted Kennedy’s death and wished they hadn’t pulled the trigger so soon. As a compromise, the law was again changed to allow for an interim appointment by the governor, though Deval Patrick insisted that the appointee agree not to run for the seat in the special election. A rare, but appreciated, moment of rising above the political fray.
“Everything changed, of course, when the Democrat’s shoe-in, Martha Coakley, failed to win the special election and Scott Brown took a 5-point win straight to Washington, D.C.
“The well-organized Democratic Party ousted Brown this month and normalcy is soon to return to Massachusetts; that is, all Democratic U.S. Senators and Representatives.
“Not so fast.
“Now we’re contemplating Senator Kerry being appointed to President Obama’s cabinet, possibly in the role of Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State. If that happens, Governor Patrick will be able to appoint an interim senator. Will he add the stipulation again of the appointee not running for the open seat? Don’t count on it. As George Bush once famously said, “Fool me once… Shame on you. You can’t be fooled again.”
“The state Democratic Party leaders would rather see the 2004 mistake reversed by the legislature, putting the appointment of the unexpired term back into the hands of the governor. In fact, if we passed the law with a toggle option, with Democratic governors getting the appointment power and Republican governors not, we’d be heroes.
“Once again, not so fast.
“Joining the conversation is Senate President Therese Murray, whose spokesman said: “We’re not changing it [the current law].” When she conveys something that straight forwardly, count on it.
“Governor Patrick will make the interim appointment and allow that person to run in the special election. By necessity, that person will be forced to campaign for the entire 160 days and will have zero time to be our interim senator, but that’s an issue for another day.
“FOLLOW UP: Someone suggested to me on my blog that Patrick may well step down as governor and have Acting Governor Timothy Murray appoint Patrick as the interim senator. Interesting.”
Well, that’s Representative Hunt’s take on the matter. Of course, it all depends on what happens in Washington and in who the President selects. Then the dominoes begin to fall.
I, for one, think it shameful that the Majority Party tinkered so freely with the laws of the state regarding filling congressional vacancies and were so flagrant in their hypocrisy. But then I guess that’s how they maintain their iron-grip on control of the government of the Commonwealth. No guilt, no shame, just brazen abuse of power. The ends, to the Democrats, justify the means.
This week my friend and classmate from the legislative class of 2003, Representative Joyce Spiliotis (D-Peabody) passed away after battling cancer. Her death was a sad surprise to all of us in the House who knew and worked with Joyce. I was aware she had been ill but she kept the news of her cancer private. I had not seen her since the end of formal session on July 31. I regret not being able to say goodbye. Although we were from different parties, we were still friends who often shared a laugh or a story about our districts and the constituents we served. She will be missed.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
