Deval Patrick
Deval Patrick | |||
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Governor of Massachusetts From: January 4, 2007 – Present | |||
Predecessor | Mitt Romney | ||
Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
Information | |||
Party | Democrat | ||
Spouse(s) | Diane Patrick | ||
Religion | Presbyterian |
Deval Patrick, a Democrat, is the current governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the first African American to hold that post.
Governor
His problem is a weak performance as governor, dashing the expectations of the fervent supporters who saw Patrick as the charismatic breakthrough after so many GOP governors. Just 39% approve of Patrick’s performance as governor, with 7% who strongly approve. Sixty percent (60%) disapprove of the job he is doing, including 34% who strongly disapprove. Patrick was unable to convince the legislature to adopt his main recommendations. Most voters believe he has failed to bring the changes he promised—though he did bring higher taxes—and are going back to the policy of having a Republican governor as a counterweight to the Democratic state legislature.
In late 2012, when hurricane Sandy hit the East coast, Governor Patrick did a good job in making sure that the people of Massachusetts were safe. He deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to help with preparations.[1]
Career
He attended Harvard College and graduated in 1978. For a year after his graduation he worked with a United Nations program in Darfur, Sudan. He returned to Boston in 1980 to attend Harvard Law School. In 1994, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights by then president, Bill Clinton. While working for the Justice Department, he was part of one of the largest, pre September 11, criminal investigation of church burnings in the South. In 1997 he returned to life as a private citizen and worked for company's such as Coca-Cola (Executive Vice President and General Counsel), Texaco (chairperson for the Equality and Fairness Task Force) and a law firm (Day, Berry & Howard).[2]
In 2006 he was elected governor of Massachusetts. He was the first Democrat to be elected governor in sixteen years.[3]
Quotes
Deval Patrick, responding to a discussion about Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally, said the following about the United States of America: "It's a free country. I wish it weren't."[4]
References
- ↑ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/10/27/hurricane-sandy-reach-massachusetts-late-sunday-night/1FluFwBVJPbhEf6aquSaBI/story.html
- ↑ http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=Agov3_Deval_Patrick_welcome_msg
- ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2006/MA/MA.htm?csp=34
- ↑ Ed Morrissey. Deval Patrick on Beck rally: “It’s a free country. I wish it weren’t.”, Hot Air, September 1, 2010.