BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
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See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
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here.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Beacon Hill freezeout.
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Michael Widmer is
the best kind of conservative, a numbers guy who knows what he's
talking about. His take on the state budget is invariably more
credible than those of the legislature and the governor. So what does
the Romney administration do? Why, freeze him out, of
course.
According to Boston Herald
columnist Cosmo
Macero (subscription
required), Widmer can't get his calls returned because he's had the
temerity to point out that, though some of Governor Mitt Romney's
reform ideas may be worthy, they don't add up to nearly enough money
to close the budget gap. Widmer has also reportedly let it be known
that he holds Eric Kriss, the secretary of administration and
finance, in low regard.
Widmer tells Macero: "What I found
in working with other A&F secretaries is that if you build [a
cooperative] relationship, it can be helpful all around. We're
trying to help solve problems. It may be [Kriss] is not
comfortable having that kind of relationship. That's his call. I
certainly understand that. But I've been puzzled."
Widmer could be Romney's staunchest
outside ally. That he is not says more about Romney than it does
about Widmer.
posted at 7:46 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
