House Minority Leader Reacts to Governor's Address

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr., released the following statement in reaction to Governor Deval Patrick’s State of the Commonwealth Address.

I entered the Chamber with great optimism tonight, anticipating what I expected to be the Governor explaining not only to the Legislature but also to the people of the Commonwealth his plan for weathering the storm the financial crisis has brought upon the state. Instead what the people at home heard and what my colleagues and I heard was more campaign rhetoric. We all want a better tomorrow Governor, but what the people of the Commonwealth deserve to hear is how we will get from where we’re at today, to where we want to be tomorrow. I heard a lot of talk of reform. From ethics to transportation to pension, the Governor tonight promised us reform in all shapes and sizes. What he did not provide us with is how he intends to bring about this reform. More than a year and a half ago, he promised a transportation package, which we still have not seen. He promised us transparency in Government and based on his rejection of our call for a detailed plan of how he intends to use his 9C powers, transparency was apparently just a campaign gimmick. And finally, he campaigned on the platform of providing property tax relief to Massachusetts homeowners and yet my property taxes are as high as they’ve ever been.

I’m not blaming the Governor for all of these disappointments, what I am doing is calling on the Governor to lead. It takes more than well written speeches to provide the services our citizens depend on. If the Governor really wants reform, the GOP Caucus will work with him for reform. In fact, we want nothing more than to work in a bipartisan, transparent manner with the Governor, the Senate President and the Speaker. However, in order to build a bridge across the aisle, the Governor is going to have to show us a blueprint and move beyond the meaningless rhetoric.