Boston.com is reporting that House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement that would bring three casinos and two slot parlors to Massachusetts, but moments later Gov. Deval Patrick released a statement that said, "I cannot support this bill in its current form."
The governor has said all along that he's not in favor of bringing slots to the state; however, he agreed last week to accept the machines in one location, provided there is a competitive bidding process for them. He has implied that he will veto a bill that isn't in line with those provisions.
The two-year legislative session ends tomorrow, and both House Speaker Bob DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray say they have no plans to bring legislators back after that. Even if they did, it remains to be seen if both houses could override a gubernatorial veto.
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In light of the Globe's on-going Spotlight investigation of the Probation Department (which implicates House Speaker DeLeo in apparently getting his godson a job with that corrupt and incompetent department), I'm amazed that no one is discussing who will manage this massive cash-cow on the State side.
Ironically it seems that the people who post the most vituperative rants on the news sites about State hacks and "vote da' bums out" etc.. are the same people cheering for a bill that would lead to the creation of yet another State bureaucracy that will no doubt be filled with the relatives and campaign supporters of the people voting this bill through at the 11th hour.
Given that Godfather DeLeo has a "track" record with nepotoism and then has legitimate family ties to Suffolk Downs, does anyone doubt that he might know a few qualified people to fill some of the seats on the gaming commission (perhaps Godfather DeLeo himself, should this whole legislative fiasco blow up in his face over the long run).
In the end we need an economic plan, but this short-sighted "fix" (in all double entendres of the word) is not it. The pin heads on Beacon Hill just have no idea of any other solution. No, not everyone can work in a bioengineering lab (and reading some of the posts from the pro-casino contingent only makes that too painfully apparent), but do we really want to see everyone working in a dead-end casino job? I haven't heard anyone say that these bills include language that guarantees that all jobs (INCLUDING OUTSOURCED/SUBCONTRACTED POSITIONS) are required to be union. I hope that is in there, but I don't think so.
Here's hoping the Governor grows a pair and vetoes this abortion of a bill. "We want to do it right," said our local representatives. Sorry Anthony, this is not what I would call "doing it right" unless by doing it right you mean grabbing your angles and thinking of England.
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