MA Legislators Weigh in on Romney’s Record as Governor

Monday, August 06, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Presidential hopeful and former Mass governor, Mitt Romney, has received plenty of criticism for his ‘corporate’ attitude, but some local politicians and legislators from the Commonwealth say that he wasn’t all bad when running the Bay State. While some say that his attitude and policies would not bode well for him as President, some say that Romney’s previous role has some overlooked highlights.

Scripted or Personable?

One of Romney’s biggest points of criticism has come from his demeanor when serving Massachusetts. While some legislators agree with this view, state Senator Robert L. Hedlund (R Weymouth), Assistant Minority Leader, says that Romney was personable.

“He was an excellent governor. I have served with three, and he was the best. I found him extremely personable,” Hedlund said. “It seems lately that the press is on a kick with this theme that he was aloof.”

When asked what he thought had earned Romney that reputation, Hedlund cited Romney’s busyness with policy.

“He has a grasp of more detailed issues than any of the other governors I worked with. I was faced with a controversial rail project in my area, and he was the only governor that did work and understood the particulars of it,” he said. “Every time I talked with Cellucci, he would say I have to build infrastructure for the twenty-first century. Mitt came back and personally followed up with questions.”

But Hedlund also said that this personable side of Romney may have had something to do with his political leanings.

Democrats vs Republicans

Hedlund said that his opinion of Romney’s work across the aisle was biased: “I don’t know about that… every time I went to him with a local issue, I got plenty of attention, in that sense he was cooperative, but I don’t know if having an ‘R’ after my name made a difference.”

State Senator and Senate Ways and Means Chairman, Stephen Brewer (D Barre), said that he did not see much of Romney’s bipartisan-ship in office and that he was “very scripted, very aloof.”

When asked if he thought that Romney’s dedication to policy gave him an appearance of being aloof, Brewer said that this wasn’t an excuse for his attitude. “Michael was bigger on policy and had human touch. Patrick has human touch.”

“He (Romney) was always well scripted. You can’t get close to him,” he added. Brewer said of assertions of Romney’s so called ‘corporate’ attitude, “I suppose so. Really I don’t feel that he feels people’s pain.”

Flip-Flopping

Another criticism Romney has faced is his history of flip-flopping on issues, something GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™ Grace Ross, says is particularly bothersome when considering him for President.

“The problem starts with which Romney we’re talking about,” she said. “The original voted in in Massachusetts had taken a lot of positions as a moderate and as such, folks worked together well with him, but then he wandered into pre-Presidential Romney, and no one could.” She added that even Mass Republicans, who are genuine fiscal conservatives wouldn’t deal with Romney’s changing stances.

“When he was elected, he was one person, and when he was leaving he was another. By now, he’s wandered way down that path,” Ross said.

Brewer agreed, saying, "At some point in time, we need to know who the real Romney is." Brewer pointed to the changes in Romney's now socially conservative views since running for U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy.

Ross said that one example of Romney’s changing policies came with his reaction to climate change.

“When he got into office, he had a global warning plan to combat it which is a fabulous plan. There are still elements of it reflected back today, but by the third year of his administration, they chose to ban the words ‘global warming’ from anything released,” she said. She added that he has also flipped flopped on gay and lesbian issues. Ross said this project still influences the current plan, but Romney would not want to show that on his record now.

The Worst Democracy Can Produce?

Ross says that Romney’s approach to bend with public desire is “the worst kind of leadership.”

“I think unfortunately he has proven that he is completely about what he thinks will make him win, which is the worst kind of leadership,” she said. “I don’t usually comment a lot on folks running for office, but he represents the worse democracy can create – instead of someone leading, it’s someone gauging how to keep the power structure happy.”

The Good

Despite these claims, Hedlund says that Romney’s staff of qualified people and attention to detail stood out during his time as governor.

“One thing I think that is good about Mitt – he comes as this kind of a policy guy. When he decided to run, we had a give and take and asked him about national policy and trade and our relationship with China,” he said. “I think he has a good grasp of that, and he will have to work across the aisle to deal with debt. He has to. We’ll be going to go the way of Greece if not.”

The Bad

On the other hand, Brewer said that one of Romney’s key deficiencies is not having his heart in his work, something key to serving as President of the United States.

“The President is also the Consoler in Chief – whether it’s tornadoes, fires, catastrophic shootings – the President needs to be able to have that. Reagan had that… Clinton had it when he went to Oklahoma during the bombings,” he said. “You must govern in prose. You must govern with your head, and there’s no question about his intellectual prowess, but you also need to have your heart in that as well.”

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