A new reason to despise Massachusetts

Irate vets blast Deval: Gov demotes secretary from Cabinet-level

http://news.bostonherald.com/localPolitics/view.bg?articleid=186656

Gov. Deval Patrick has bumped the state’s top veterans affairs adviser from his Cabinet, reversing a policy put in place by his predecessor and infuriating vets at a time of war and scrutiny over treatment of returning soldiers.
The governor’s newly reorganized Cabinet includes eight department heads, but not the secretary of the Department of Veterans Services, a position that was elevated to Cabinet level under former Gov. Mitt Romney.
The change comes as thousands of Bay Staters fight in Iraq and a major scandal unfolds over the treatment of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.


“We are irate,” said Jake Comer, a Quincy veteran and former national commander of the American Legion. “We fought for this. (Patrick) should continue to have this be a strong Cabinet position.”
But a Patrick spokeswoman said that under state law, the veterans post was never part of the governor’s Cabinet.
In 2003, Romney signed a law making the Veterans Services head a secretary, and swore in Kelley to the new post.
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said: “Every governor has the right to organize their Cabinet any way they see fit. Under Gov. Romney, the secretary of Veterans Services was a full-fledged member of the Cabinet and he attended all of the Cabinet meetings.”
Comer said the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans organization, sent Patrick a letter last month when it caught wind of the position being bumped from the Cabinet. Comer said the governor’s staff assured the group the position would remain Cabinet-level, which allows secretaries direct access to the governor at weekly briefings.
“He’s now back-stabbed the American Legion. We’re not going to take this sitting down,” Comer said.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-S. Boston), an outspoken veterans advocate, said he plans to talk with Patrick about the decision.
“Given the sacrifices that veterans continue to make for this country, their issues should be our highest priority,” Lynch said.
Eddie Miller, commander of the South Boston Veterans of Foreign Wars post, said, “We should never have anything go down a level with veterans. The veterans are the cornerstone of this country.”

To understand the magnitude of this move by the govener, it is neccessary to understand that BEFORE he did this, he also exhulted HIMSELF ( in just his first two months in office) over us lowy paupers. to wit:

During his first three months in office, Gov. Deval L. Patrick has tripped over a number of political hurdles. He's had to publicly apologize twice. A look at what has had him on the defensive:

* His use of a state police police helicopter to fly to the Cape Cod and the Berkshires.

* His decision to upgrade his state car from a Ford to a $1100 a month Cadillac.

* His decision to refurbish his Statehouse office with new furniture and drapes at a cost of $27,000.

* The hiring of a chief of staff for his wife, Diane, at a salary of $72,000. She is the first, first lady since Kitty Dukakis to have a chief of staff.

* His phoning a top Citigroup executive on behalf of ACC Capital Holdings, the parent company of Ameriquest Mortgage, which has been accused of predatory lending practices and is now struggling from loan defaults.

Looks to me like he is living the high life while giving a geatbig finger to the Citizens (and undocumented workers) of this state.