Various political figures and media outlets have praised Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick’s response to the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, leading to widespread speculation over his political future.
Patrick has been an ever-present figure in the media since Monday’s bombings. The national press coverage has since raised his public image, similar to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s increased popularity after Hurricane Sandy. He appeared at many press conferences over the week and did more than a dozen television interviews.
“In a situation as serious and shocking as we’ve seen in Boston this week, we have seen a great display of leadership and stability from Gov. Patrick,” said Mass. Sen. William ‘Mo’ Cowan in a Monday statement. “This is not the first time Gov. Patrick has been called upon to lead us through crisis, and he knows that in these moments, people need their public leaders to offer strength, clarity and confidence in the work ahead.”
Cowan said he spent a considerable amount of time alongside the governor over the past week.
“I can tell you that this is the governor you want in times like these,” he said. “… He knows that people look to him for hope in these most difficult moments.”
Despite speculation from many media outlets and residents of Massachusetts that Patrick would seek a higher political office after his term as governor, Patrick said he has no plans to run for office in the near future.
“I’m going to finish my term as governor in 2014,” he said in a public statement Monday. “I am going to return to the private sector where I have spent most of my career.”
While Patrick said a 2016 presidential campaign is not in his future, he is not ruling out a return to public office.
“If there is a time sometime later to come back and serve in public life, I hope I’m able to do that,” he said. “Just not going to be in 2016.”
Residents said they took comfort in Patrick’s presence during the week and would like to see him remain on the public stage.
“He was a calm and collected presence,” said John Willard, 64, a resident of North Andover. “He managed to reassure and comfort the people of Boston while simultaneously leading a massive manhunt. He handled his job very well.”
Simon Wu, 37, of Brookline, said while he likes Patrick, he doesn’t see him as a presidential candidate.
“Honestly I think he is just a little too level-headed for it,” he said. “He is an excellent governor and I don’t really see him as competitive enough to go through a presidential campaign.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
