'A Return to the Good Old, Bad Old Days'...

That’s how the Boston Herald is characterizing Governor Deval Patrick’s decision to hire James Aloisi as his new Transportation Secretary.

As Governor Michael Dukakis’ assistant secretary of transportation and later general counsel for the MA Turnpike Authority, Aloisi was one of the chief architects of the Big Dig boondoggle – the gift that keeps on giving for Massachusetts’ taxpayers (or should we say taking?). It’s no wonder the Herald calls Patrick’s attempts to promote Aloisi as a reformer “laughable.”

The Herald editorial notes that Patrick may have been paying “tribute to the old way of doing things” by “releasing controversial news late on a Friday afternoon.” As Governor, Dukakis was notorious for releasing bad news on a Friday, especially Fridays that led into a long weekend.

We think we’re beginning to see a pattern here.

You may recall that Patrick announced the closing of the Fernald Development Center and three other state-run facilities that service residents with severe mental and developmental disabilities on Friday, December 12. The following Friday brought news of Aloisi’s appointment. One can only imagine what bad news the Governor is preparing to announce this Friday, which happens to fall the day after Christmas.

This is yet another sign that Massachusetts is returning to the days of Michael Dukakis (see our “He’s Baaaaaacccckkkk!” posting from December 17). God save the Commonwealth.