Lieutenant Governor Defends Public Employees; Blasts Gov. Candidate Baker for Remarks Criticizing Public Workers
March 10, 2010
The State House News Service ran a story yesterday describing a recent radio interview in which Lt. Gov. Tim Murray defended public employees and touted the sacrifices they have made by taking furlough days and pay cuts. He was reacting to comments made by gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, who in an earlier radio show stated that public sector employees hadn't taken the same financial hits as workers in the private sector. During his campaign, Baker has touted his plans to downsize state government and lay off 5,000 state employees. You can read the story below.
By Michael Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 9, 2010—Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray attacked Republican gubernatorial contender Charles Baker Monday night, likening him to Pinocchio and questioning his claims regarding his role in Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s turnaround, the financing of the Big Dig and the payroll sacrifices made by state employees.
“He’s had a problem during the course of this campaign, I think, with the truth,” Murray said of Baker, the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim and a high-ranking member of the Weld and Cellucci administrations, during a radio interview. “For a guy who some people describe as the smartest guy in government, he just consistently doesn’t seem to have his facts right.”
Murray took issue with Baker’s assertion during a radio interview last week that state government hasn’t made payroll sacrifices similar to those made in the private sector. Murray said he and Gov. Deval Patrick, as well as “thousands” of government managers, had taken unpaid furloughs, that public employee unions had made contract “concessions” and that state managers were paying more towards the costs of their health insurance.
“The last person who should be lecturing anybody about taking pay cuts is a health insurance executive,” Murray added, noting that Baker had made $1.7 million at Harvard Pilgrim in 2008 and $1.3 million for seven months of work at the health insurance company last year. “That’s over $6,000 a day,” Murray said.
“Did Charlie Baker take a pay cut? Did Charlie Baker take a furlough? Has he asked his management team to do more with less? And yet he’s castigating public employees who have in fact given to help us get through this economic crisis. To me this guy is like Pinocchio. He’s not being honest about his role in the Big Dig, the role of how Harvard Pilgrim recovered and his misstatements continuously are factually incorrect.”