Recalling former Gov. Paul Cellucci

Massachusetts lost a decent and respected public servant last week with the passing of former Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci.  He was 65 and had been suffering from A.L.S., better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Cellucci started small and worked his way up the political ladder. His career began as a member of the Hudson Charter Commission and then he ran and won for selectman, state representative, state senator and lieutenant governor under former Gov. William F. Weld.

He became governor when Weld left to seek an ambassadorship and then was elected governor in his own right. He left that post to become ambassador to Canada. Cellucci never lost an election.

Former Acting Gov. Jane Swift, who Cellucci chose as his lieutenant governor and who took the top job when he became ambassador, said at his funeral that her former boss “proved that in the blood sport of Massachusetts politics, you can be a truly good and decent person and succeed at the highest levels.”

Willard Mitt Romney, who succeeded Swift and served one term as governor, told reporters Cellucci was “a man of character and vision who brought a level of dignity to this building that will not soon be forgotten.”

Democrats also lauded the former Republican governor, with Gov. Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo speaking warmly about him.

Cellucci worked across party lines

Closer to home, Matt Kerwood, Richmond town administrator, former business development specialist under Cellucci and Swift and former Pittsfield city councilor, recalled his fellow Republican and old boss as “excellent at working across party lines to accomplish what was in the best interest of the commonwealth and its residents.”

Kerwood also cited specific examples of the impact Cellucci had on Berkshire County. He said that Cellucci continued the state’s support for MASS MoCA, the development of Greylock Glen and the expansion of Pittsfield ’s airport.

He also said the one thing that really stands out was the former governor’s personal involvement in the consent decree signed by the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Environmental Protection, City of Pittsfield and General Electric for PCB cleanup and remediation of the stretch of the Housatonic River that runs through the city.

Kerwood said on more than one occasion, when it looked like the whole agreement would fall apart, Cellucci worked closely with then Senator Edward Kennedy and contacted officials from the company and agencies to stress how important this matter was to Pittsfield and The Berkshires.

Cellucci was a fiscal conservative, but as a former local official, he understood the importance of a solid financial partnership between the state and its cities and towns.

He was pro-choice and respected women in the political process. He demonstrated this by his appointment of Swift as his second-in-command and Margaret Marshall as the first female chief justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court.

He worked his way up the ranks and cooperated with a legislature dominated by the opposite party, and that made him a good politician in the best sense of the word.

Cellucci will not be remembered as a great governor. He didn’t leave a legacy of important legislation and vacating the state’s highest office before completing his first full term as governor is troubling, especially after Weld did the same thing in his second term.

But in an era when some elected officials talk a good game of bi-partisanship, but seldom deliver on the most important issues and vilify their opponents instead of finding common ground, Cellucci was the real deal.

He willingly and amiably worked with his opponents to achieve progress for the state and tried to make the rough and tumble world of Massachusetts politics a more respectful, more decent place.

Elected officials at all levels should emulate that.

Posted by Bruce Garlow on June 20, 2013. Filed under Berkshire Beacon Hill Spotlight,Columns,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry