Are You On Deval Patrick's Gravy Train Yet?

Is there anyone else left among Deval Patrick's family and friends who has not received a plum state job? Patrick campaigned on a platform touting lower taxes, including property tax relief, reform and transparency. So far the whole lower property tax idea has been scrapped, he is talking about raising the gas tax to among the highest in the nation and implementing a whole battery of fee increases.

And, of course, there's this:

Gov. Deval Patrick, pushing new taxes and preaching reform - continues to practice old-style patronage politics, handing his campaign manager’s sister a plum six-figure gig and hiring her close pal to an $83,000-a-year post.

Patrick, whose job approval rating has plummeted in the wake of a string of hiring controversies, gave his former campaign manager - and current state Democratic Party chairman - John Walsh’s sister Patty Vantine a $105,000-a-year position at the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Vantine, a former bean counter for the state Democratic Party, had been making $85,000 working in the human resources division.

The Herald also has learned that Patrick hired Martina Jackson, a longtime campaign supporter and member of the Democratic State Committee, as the $65,000-a-year communications director for the Department of Elder Affairs.

...The governor has come under fire for hiring a Milton neighbor to a $120,000 state job, four administration officials to six-figure posts at quasi-public agencies, and two staffers to high-paying jobs at the cash-strapped Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
Patrick also took a major political hit after tapping Sen. Marian Walsh for a $175,000 quasi-public-agency gig, which she later rejected.

The governor suffered yet another blow when it was revealed that the sister of his transportation czar, Jim Aloisi, had a $60,000-a-year do-nothing State House post.

Jim Aloisi, of course, was involved in the whole Big Dig fiasco and actually one of the corruptocrats singled out by a former state inspector for covering up over 1 billion dollars in overruns. He later worked as an outside council involved with the bonding of the project, amassing 3 million dollars in fees. Aloisi was eventually fired by the Turnpike Board for over billing $800,000 in fees. (Thanks to Blue Mass Group for the information- www.bluemassgroup.com)

Excellent, Deval, definitely keep this guy on the state gravy train.