Deval: Good for business?; Business leaders optimistic new governor's corporate instincts will prevail
Members of the business community are generally taking an optimistic stance that Deval Patrick's gubernatorial victory -- and Democratic control of state government -- won't live up to the fears raised by Republican Kerry Healey's campaign.
Perhaps it's a case of wishful thinking, or not wanting to start off on the wrong foot with a new governor. But a sampling of businesspeople and nonprofit leaders revealed a hope that Patrick's liberal credentials and spending proposals will be leavened by his experience as a general counsel to Texaco and the Coca-Cola Co.
The imminent prospect of one-party rule isn't yet setting off alarm bells in corporate offices, with some suggesting that it might make state government more effective. Some even think Massachusetts' election of the nation's second black governor could yield returns for the state's economy.
More than anything, though, they point to his business experience, hoping it says more about his sensibilities than his service as an aggressive assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration.
"One of the things he said in the campaign was, 'I have been in a board room and I understand bottom lines, what putting together a business plan is and a sense of business wants and needs,' " said Peter Meade, executive vice president at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and a former Democratic operative.
Judging by some of the talk this week, the demise of the state's Republican Party might be forcing business interests to adjust their standards for "business-friendly" leadership. Brian Gilmore, executive vice president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, went so far as to praise Patrick for tapping Scott Harshbarger, the former attorney general and one of the state's most prominent liberals, for his transition team. Harshbarger, he said, has "some understanding of economic realities."
"It's our assumption that his administration will be accessible, so we'll have an opportunity to share and air our views," Gilmore said.
Patrick gets credit from the Massachusetts chapter of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties for reaching out to the business community during the campaign, said David Begelfer, the chapter's executive director.
"He gets it, as far as the problems that are confronting the state right now, as far as the loss of talent," he said.
Several business leaders said they were wishfully filling in the blanks from Patrick's campaign.
"There's an opportunity for Deval Patrick to surprise a lot of different constituencies, including liberal Democrats who may be negatively surprised that he's not as liberal as they would like," said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, which represents a number of high tech and life sciences companies.
Charles Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, who considered running against Kerry Healey for the Republican nomination, said Patrick "has done a masterful job of not getting pinned down on anything. ... We're not going to know what kind of governor he is going to be until he starts making key appointments and starts going from there."
"He's left himself a lot of room," said Paul Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation, one of the city's largest charitable organizations.
One sector eager for more definition is the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Thomas Finneran, the former House Speaker and now president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, said his organization wants to know where Patrick stands on drug price controls and importation of cheaper drugs from Canada -- two ideas the MBC strongly opposes. Nevertheless, he said, he is "greatly encouraged by everything we've seen and heard during the course of the campaign."
In that same optimistic vein, members of the business community said the imminent prospect of one-party rule wouldn't necessarily grease the skids for higher taxes and fees or more regulations. Instead, they said, it might make state government more focused and productive.
"I think being in sync will finally get us to move forward," said David Wluka, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and owner of a Sharon real estate agency.
"I think being in sync means growing the economy." Wluka said he is hoping Patrick will live up to his promises to encourage more housing construction by easing land-use restrictions and providing municipalities with infrastructure aid.
At a time when a region's ability to attract a diverse workforce is becoming viewed as a key to economic growth, the state's election of a black governor could help erode the state's reputation as a homogenous place, unwelcoming to minorities and foreigners.
"I think it says a lot about progress in the city," said Mark Michalowski, executive partner in the Boston office of Holland & Knight LLP.
"Hopefully, it will help the business community recruit a more diverse workforce and make Boston a more attractive place."
Steve Adams, the federal government's small business advocate for New England, said Patrick's grassroots campaign probably included a healthy dose of small-business owners -- and he hopes that Patrick keeps that in mind when implementing the state's new health insurance mandate.
"It's the single most important issue to small businesses in Massachusetts," Adams said. "And the new law needs to be administered fairly."
One area where Patrick has staked out a clear position is his support for raising the minimum wage. If he follows through on that, Patrick will lose the support of Frank Guidara, CEO of Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. in Boston, which operates the Uno Chicago Grill restaurants.
"Increasing the minimum wage doesn't help anybody," said Guidara. "All it does is cause restaurants to raise prices to compensate."
On the other hand, Patrick's frequent criticism of Gov. Mitt Romney's funding of higher education has already won him friends on the campuses of the state's university and its public colleges.
"I think the mode and mold of Massachusetts politics has just gotten horribly stale and old, and I think certainly he brings something very different," said Dana Mohler-Faria, president of Bridgewater State College. "Given what he said about public higher education and his belief in higher education, it really heartens me."