Politicians scramble for credit

Political Notes column
By KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
(Cape Cod Times, Published Sep 20, 2004)

In local politics, taking credit for bringing home the bacon can be like serving five pork chops to eight hungry people, especially as the hotly contested legislative elections quickly approach.

Take the case of the long-desired Hyannis Youth & Community Center.

On Friday, Gov. Mitt Romney left intact a $3.5 million appropriation for the project in a supplemental budget the Legislature had passed earlier this month. After the Legislature approved the budget, local Democrats feared Romney would veto or reduce the amount of state money earmarked for the project.

If he let the appropriation stand, local Democrats could get the credit. So state Rep. Demetrius Atsalis, D-Hyannis, state Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable and state Sen. Therese Murray, D-Plymouth - all facing Republican challengers, some of whom were recruited by Romney - lobbied the governor.

It appears Romney and budget chief Eric Kriss were not all that sympathetic to such pleas from Democrats.

A source in Romney's administration said Friday that the governor was set to fund the center at only $1 million. But a call from Dr. Gail Lese, the Republican candidate for the Cape and islands seat now held by O'Leary, "changed our mind," the administration source said.

Lese sent out a press release Friday afternoon that said she lobbied Romney for several weeks.

"The governor and I are both committed to investing in our children and agree that this project sets a good example of how we can best leverage our tax dollars to benefit our community," Lese said.

In a press release a day earlier, O'Leary was less optimistic. O'Leary said he discussed the community center with Kriss, "and the governor's office expressed their willingness to work out a funding compromise with the town."

On Friday, Romney highlighted the youth center during a press conference on the supplemental budget, saying he was impressed by the combination of private and public funding.

"We have real concerns about the youth in the greater Hyannis and Barnstable area, where the level of drug use has increased sharply," he said.

Friday afternoon, Richard Musiol, a spokesman for Murray called the Times to say that a last-minute phone call from Murray to Kriss may have helped save the center funding from a veto.

Romney never mentioned any Democrats in connection with the $14 million project to replace the Joseph P. Kennedy Rink on Bearses Way. The rest of the money for the project will come from the town of Barnstable, selling bonds and private donations.

(Published: Sept 20, 2004) Cape Cod Times

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Copyright 2004