Governor Charlie Bakeronce described himself as “a big believer in transparency,’’ but apparently that tenet sometimes stops at the door to his office.
The governor rejected a record request from the Globe seeking his text messages, e-mails, and other documents about Keolis Commuter Services in the weeks before the administration forgave $839,000 in fines for subpar performance. Baker took the same position on other requests seeking the same records from employees and consultants working for the Office of the Governor.
The background: Keolis has the largest operating contract in state history. The Globe reported in July that the commuter rail company had quietly hired Keyser Public Strategies, the communications firm founded by consultant Will Keyser, an architect of Baker’s winning campaign who remains a confidant of the governor.
In October, the Globe reported that Keolis had avoided paying hundreds of thousands in penalties for poor service by blaming the weather. E-mails showed that although the Baker administration is supposed to ensure taxpayers get quality train service, state officials had a close relationship with the lobbying and media firm operated Keyser and his wife.
The Globe dug deeper. It requested e-mails and texts from Baker and his immediate staff. Initially the Baker administration ignored the requests.
But after 72 days (and a Globe appeal to state supervisor of public records), an administration lawyer provided succinct rejection: “Any records responsive to your request have been withheld consistent with public record laws as interpreted by the Supreme Judicial Court.’’
Baker has taken refuge in a Lambert v. Judicial Nominating Council, a 1997 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The case involved a public record request for a questionnaire a prospective judge submitted to the Judicial Nominating Council. The council, which operates under the Office of the Governor, refused the request.
The court ruled that a committee helping the governor vet judicial nominees was exempt because the public records law does not specifically mention the governor. The Lambert decision does not say whether the entire governor’s office is subject to the public records law, but Baker and prior governors have taken that position.
The Pioneer Institute, a conservative think tank, has said, “With one bang of the gavel, Massachusetts public records law was lopped off at the ankles.’’
Baker was director of The Pioneer Institute in the 1980s. In September, the think tank wrote a letter urging its former director to cast aside the Lambert ruling and make the governor’s office subject to public record requests, according to the Springfield Republican.
“This bold act would set a high bar for transparency and good government and serve as a model for future governors and, more immediately, the state legislature,’’ the letter read, according to the newspaper.
Baker has obviously not taken the advice to heart.
Last year, the governor did sign the first overhaul of the state’s public records since it was enacted more than four decades ago. The new law calls for a commission to examine whether the public records law should be extended to cover the Legislature, judiciary, and Office of the Governor by the end of the year. Massachusetts is the only state in the country where all three branches of government claim to be exempt from transparency laws.
In a statement, Baker spokesman Brendan Moss said that “the administration was pleased to provide The Boston Globe with hundreds of pages of very similar documents.’’ Those records, however, did not include any Baker correspondence about Keolis, and the administration would not say what, if any, records had been withheld.
Andrew Ryan
GOP businessman may challenge Warren
US Senator Elizabeth Warren may have a GOP challenger with the deep pockets to make her work for her reelection.
Rick Green, a multimillionaire businessman, is quietly exploring his options for a Senate race, although he had not made his intentions known to party leaders or to Governor Charlie Baker’s inner circle.
Green, a 46-year-old Pepperell resident who made a fortune with his online auto parts firm, did not return a Globe request early Tuesday seeking comment.
But one party activist said he and several other colleagues had been approached by Green about his potential candidacy and that he is quietly mulling a run for the GOP nomination. So far, the only other potential GOP candidate is former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who has expressed interest in running against Warren.
The prospect of a serious GOP challenge to Warren could also create complications for Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who will likely be running for reelection at the same time. A challenge to Warren, a hugely popular figure in the Democratic Party, will bring a surge of passionate Democrats to the polls in 2018, just as Baker is trying to win another term.
Green’s ambitions have been well known within party circles for several years. His name has come up as a possible candidate for the congressional seat held by US Representative Niki Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat who is just beginning her sixth term.
Green, whose politics can be described as fiscally conservative, while more moderate on other issues, has good standing within the state GOP. He claims his company is eBay’s largest auto parts seller online, with annual revenue topping $150 million while employing more than 250 people.
He used his fortune in 2012 to create a nonprofit, fiscally conservative advocacy group, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which professes to be nonpartisan. But it has come under criticism for exclusively targeting Democratic legislators. It has used the last several legislative races to attack the records of lawmakers on issues including crime, taxes, and immigration.
Green, who at the time was a member of the GOP state committee, came within two votes of being elected state party chairman, losing in bitter fought race to current chair Kirsten Hughes.
Hughes, who described Green as a onetime “formidable’’ opponent, welcomed his potential Senate candidacy, saying he would be a “good candidate’’ to challenge Warren. She confirmed that Green had yet to reach out to the party about seeking the GOP Senate nomination.
“He was a formidable opponent of mine, and I respect him and am happy to help if he becomes the party nominee,’’ said Hughes. “I wish him well. I would be excited to see what he does.’’
Frank Phillips
Senate candidate readies for a ‘street fight’
Rick Green and Curt Schilling may want to consider whether they really want to get into a political street fight with a self-described “angry, conservative black man with a chip on his shoulder’’ as they contemplate a GOP Senate primary race.
Allen Rodney Waters of Mashpee launched his US Senate candidacy a month ago but apparently has not gotten much mention in GOP circles as the party contemplates who might run against Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2018.
But with talk of Green’s candidacy, Waters is ready to unload.
“Mr. Green might have millions, but he ain’t an angry, conservative black man with a chip on his shoulder,’’ said Waters in an e-mail to Globe, striking a distinctly familiar Trumpian tone.
“I am a grassroots player, and only a guy like me can cross over into the minority community,’’ he said.
“People are looking for authenticity; otherwise Mr. Green can borrow Jeb Bush’s lighter and start torching the cash now. Burn, baby, burn.’’
Waters was reacting to news this week that Green, who has made a fortune as an auto parts executive, is quietly testing the waters for Senate race. Schilling the former Red Sox pitcher, also has made noise about running.
“I hope he is ready for a GOP street fight,’’ Waters said.
Frank Phillips
Will Trump weigh in?
Some of Governor Charlie Baker’s allies are hoping Donald Trump is distracted by bigger issues and not looking for retribution as the Massachusetts Republican Party prepares to pick a new chairman.
By all accounts, they can rest easy.
The current chair, Kirsten Hughes — who has Baker’s support — has a three-vote majority on the 80-member state committee in her bid for reelection. With the Jan. 25 secret-ballot vote fast approaching, Hughes seems to be holding onto her slim lead in the face of a challenge from pro-Trump activist and committee member Steve Aylward, a favorite of the party’s conservative wing.
GOP leaders with knowledge of the issue say Trump is not ready to repeat what he did last week in Ohio: weighing in on the battle for state Republican chair and essentially dismantling Governor John Kasich’s control of the party. Kasich — like Baker — refused to support Trump’s candidacy even after Trump won the Republican nomination for president.
The Baker folks here had to shiver when they saw the president-elect seeking to settle political scores as he personally called five members of the Ohio state committee, asking them to dump the current state party chairman, a Kasich ally.
It did the trick.
Kasich’s hand-picked chair was cool on Trump and at times an outspoken critic — suggesting at one point Republicans were free to cast ballots for other presidential candidates after a tape surfaced in which Trump bragged about sexually groping women.
Apparently, Baker’s refusal to endorse Trump or vote for him has not put a target on his back. And this is despite the fact that Aylward actively worked for Trump in Massachusetts.
“Retribution is on no one’s mind,’’ said one top state GOP official.
Why is all this politically important? Baker’s control of the state party is critical to his reelection plans. It is staffed with his team and is the infrastructure for his prodigious fund-raising activities.
Frank Phillips
