Patrick faces daunting task of putting his stamp on exec. branch

Deval Patrick won't have much time for a victory lap.

Even before he takes the oath of office in January, Patrick will be asked to weigh in on a slew of high octane issues, from gay marriage to Turnpike tolls.

After he's handed the keys to the corner office, those challenges will only multiply. Within weeks Patrick will have to deliver his first state budget, a massive document that will attach dollars signs to many of the proposals he's campaigned on for the past 19 months.

But perhaps the most daunting challenge of all will be reshaping the face of Beacon Hill at least that enormous chunk that falls under the power of the governor.

"I'm looking for the best ideas and the best people from wherever they come," he said this week. "We don't have a litmus test. I suspect there will be people from both parties and no party in the cabinet and in the administration."

Patrick, the first Democratic governor in 16 years, also promised "a real reflection of the diversity of Massachusetts in every way, racially and ethnically and geographically and in terms of background and perspective."

Among those keeping a close eye on Patrick's appointments will be leaders in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

"The transition is going to be the first indication of the new administration so it's key, those first appointments. It's reflective of the direction of the administration," Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-Boston said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"He's got to strike a balance," Travaglini added. "He needs to give serious thought to reaching a balance that includes veteran players, new faces."

Republicans, dwindling in number and strength on Beacon Hill, are also watching.

"He's had the luxury because of his oratorical gifts of letting people paint their own canvas," said House Republican leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading. "We're going to make sure that the actions he takes as governor matches his rhetoric."

The sheer scope of the task is dizzying.

Patrick will begin by cleaning house in the governor's office, bringing in his own inner circle, including a chief of staff, chief legal counsel, director of legislative affairs and communications director charged with helping create the administration's public image.

Equally key will be the people Patrick names to 14 cabinet posts, from the secretaries of environmental affairs and economic development to the directors of consumer affairs and housing and community development.

Some cabinet appointments will get closer public scrutiny than others.

Patrick's new transportation secretary will not only help him set the administration's transportation agenda, but will also take the helm at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and oversee the Big Dig. Patrick has placed the Big Dig near the top of his "to do" list and vowed to conduct his own top-to-bottom review of the massive $14.6 billion project.

Another cabinet post with enormous power is the Secretary of Administration and Finance charged with helping write the governor's version of the state budget.

Whoever Patrick names to the post will get the unenviable task of trying to find money to close budget holes, help Patrick figure out how much money to spend on top priorities and make the case for cuts or revenue increases.

That's just the start. Patrick will also name the heads of dozens of state departments.

Under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services alone, there are more than 16 departments, from the very large such as the Department of Public Health and the Department of Social Services to the small such as Office of Refugees and Immigrants and the Soldier's Home in Holyoke.

Under the Executive Office for Public Safety, there are another 14 departments, from the Department of Corrections and State Police to the Massachusetts Parole Board and the Chief Medical Examiners office.

Then there are the hundreds of boards and commissions with thousands of members, some of all of whom are appointed by the governor.

And it doesn't stop there.

Patrick will also have wide powers to reshape the judiciary. As governor, Patrick has the power to make appointments to the bench, from the lower courts to the Supreme Judicial Court. The appointments must be approved by the Governor's Council, but the eight-member panel has rarely blocked appointments to the bench.

There are some Romney appointees Patrick will have to live with, at least at first.

One example is the executive director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector, the agency charged with turning the state's ambitious new health care law into reality, who was named by Romney to a three-year term.

Patrick will still be able to exert some control over the process. At least three members of the Connector board are agency heads who Patrick will be able to name. Three others are gubernatorial nominees with three-year terms.

Patrick began the transition process on Friday, naming the co-chairs of his transition team: Worcester lawyer Michael Angelini, banker Ron Homer and Gloria Larson, Secretary of Economic Affairs under former Republican Gov. William Weld. Patrick is expected to follow the announcement with a longer list of working groups.

There are both opportunities and drawbacks to the house cleaning, according to Julian Zelizer, professor of American politics at Boston University.

Patrick will get fresh faces and fresh views, but could lose institutional knowledge and the real life expertise in the trenches of state government.

"Someone in his position gets to come in and change the faces in office and the names on the doors, but the same problems are there," Zelizer said. "There's a limit to what he can do simply by changing faces. It will be a very short honeymoon."