As Paul Cellucci descended the State House’s Grand Staircase yesterday and said goodbye to his colleagues and the people of Massachusetts, Jane Swift climbed the marble steps to her new post as governor of the Commonwealth.
Swift assumed the governorship yesterday morning in a State House ceremony during which Cellucci passed on four items symbolic of the office: a key to the governor’s office, a Bible left by Gov. Benjamin Butler in 1884, a book of the 1860 Massachusetts General Statutes and a gavel from the USS Constitution.
Now comes the hard part.
The true challenge for the Republican Swift seems to lie in working with a Legislature that is comprised mainly of Democrats, as well as convincing the people of the Bay State she does not deserve the 20 percent approval rating she received in October.
Her colleagues in the Senate said they look forward to continuing the working relationship they have had with Swift as a senator and as lieutenant governor.
Senate President Thomas Birmingham (D-Suffolk) worked with Swift in the Senate in 1993 to draft education reform in the state.
Alison Franklin, a Birmingham aide, said Birmingham enjoyed working with Swift and worked well with her. However, she said he is concerned with apparent changes in her stance on education.
‘The senate president has noticed some significant changes in her policies,’ Franklin said. ‘When he worked with her, he believed she was committed to funding the public schools of the Commonwealth. Since then he has seen Swift support Governor Cellucci’s policies on education.’
She said those policies have included massive cuts in education funding.
According to Franklin, Birmingham is anxious to see if Swift’s basic beliefs have changed or if she shifted to become more loyal to Cellucci.
‘As she becomes acting governor, we’ll all have an opportunity to determine which of those is true,’ Franklin said.
Charles Rasmussen, a spokesman for House Speaker Thomas Finneran (D-Suffolk) said Swift’s position on the death penalty has changed.
He said Swift opposed capital punishment as a senator, but favored it as lieutenant governor. He added that the party structure in the state would most likely prevent her from pushing the issue further.
‘Two years from now … if the issue were to come up again, my guess is that she would back off a little,’ he said. ‘You have to represent not only the best interests of the citizens of the state, but also the best interests of the party you represent.’
Rasmussen said in the immediate future, there could be a major fight in the State House over the new budget.
According to Rasmussen, the main disagreement will be over the state’s tobacco trust fund money. He said Finneran stands by the already determined apportionment of the money, with 70 percent to be saved and 30 percent to be spent.
‘The battle will come,’ Rasmussen said. ‘The speaker feels they reached an agreement a few years ago on the 70-30 split. The budget negotiations are going to be somewhat problematic.’
At a press conference yesterday, Swift said education and fiscal responsibility would be her top priorities.
One issue that will not be a factor in Swift’s cooperation with the Legislature is her past. According to both Birmingham and Finneran’s offices, Swift’s slate is clean.
They said they would pay no attention to her personal use of a state police helicopter and recruitment of aides to baby-sit her daughter.
‘The speaker has said he wants to see her succeed,’ Rasmussen said. ‘If she’s successful, the state’s successful.’
Franklin added whatever conflicts arise will be based strictly on issues, and politics will not come into play despite the fact that Birmingham and Swift appear to be headed for a gubernatorial showdown in 2002.
‘I don’t think it’ll be a matter of politics,’ Franklin said. ‘Disagreements will probably be vocal, but based on merits.’
A Swift spokeswoman, Sarah Magazine, said the acting governor’s agenda would be introduced in the next few days. She said Swift hopes for cooperation between herself and the Legislature.
‘I think she looks forward to having a close working relationship with both the House and the Senate,’ Magazine said.
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