Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
18 Tremont Street Suite 608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
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*** CPR UPDATE ***
Monday, March 3, 1997

To: Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
< letter@globe.com >

Dear Editor:

As we have in the past, Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government agrees with a Globe editorial on abuses of power by legislative leadership -- this time, the March 3rd editorial concerning Speaker Finneran's autocratic streak and his "laughable" creation of new leadership posts to monitor the seating sections of the House. And when we draft an initiative petition to address the autocracy and laughable abuses of power that are deplored by the Globe, as we have in the past, we hope that the Globe will support our efforts in an acknowledgment that criticism alone doesn't make things better.

Chip Ford
Co-director,
CLT&G
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The Boston Globe
Monday, March 3, 1997
Editorial
By Globe Staff

Finneran's strength, and weakness

By acts both substantive and symbolic, Thomas M. Finneran, speaker of the Massachusetts House, has made himself one of the most powerful legislative officers in America; indeed, he may have no peer.

It will be up to Finneran - and to the members who acquiesced in his accumulation of power - to make sure it is used wisely. So far, the portents are mixed, at best.

Finneran's power derives from several sources, some old and some new. Institutionally, both branches of the Massachusetts Legislature have long given their leaders unusual authority to build team loyalty and make sure it sticks.

Fifteen years ago, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., then speaker of the US House, talked of his envy for the clout of the speaker of the Massachusetts House, Thomas W. McGee. O'Neill was then one of the most powerful political leaders in the world, yet his remark was not entirely facetious; McGee wielded far more control over his members than O'Neill could over his.

Specifically, the speaker and the Senate president on Beacon Hill have virtually unilateral authority to name their leadership deputies and all committee chairmen. This is true in a majority of the states. But here, every one of those appointees receives elevated pay, a situation that exists in only six states, with New York alone having a differential as high as the one in Massachusetts.

On top of this, Finneran last month pushed through new rules that created new committees and other paid positions, including, laughably, four persons to monitor the four seating sections of the House. As a result, an unprecedented 44 of the 160 House members have elevated pay at Finneran's discretion.

In addition, one new rule created a new committee where the speaker can bury legislation he opposes. Another rule gave the leadership greater power to limit debate through "special orders" - potentially an enormous injury to the long tradition of open debate at the State House.

Then Finneran completed the purge he began last year, filling nearly all the key positions with his supporters. Even John McDonough of Jamaica Plain, nationally recognized for his expertise, was shown the exit from his chairman's office at the Health Care Committee. Finneran's attempt at explanation - that his loyalists are able, too, and will be kept from responsible jobs by terms limits if not promoted quickly - simply isn't persuasive. Valuable talent is being wasted in the promotion of political fear.

One troubling aspect is that Finneran's actions contrast with democratizing tendencies in many state legislatures. "The trend has been away from the consolidation of power for the most part," says Brian Weberg, director of legislative management of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Even Thomas Birmingham, president of the Massachusetts Senate, says he was surprised at some of Finneran's actions. The Senate made no increase in the number of committees or paid positions this year.

But Finneran's coup has met little opposition. What matters now is how he uses his new power. From the time he was Ways and Means chairman, he has shown an autocratic streak. He singlehandedly changed a pay raise bill, he blocked the House will on an assault weapons ban by his appointments to a conference committee, and last summer he broke tradition by refusing to recognize members seeking to speak on the floor.

For this reason, the "followership" of the other 159 members is as important as Finneran's leadership. A poor initial indicator was the pathetic performance of Republicans, whose only useful function, because of their small numbers, is crying foul when the Democrats run amok. Yet for the paltry addition of two minority positions with elevated pay, they accepted the rules changes with hardly a bleat.

Democrats as well as Republicans must be vigilant and must protect their own long-term interests. Despite the recent changes engineered by Finneran, ultimate power still resides with the members. Two of the three speakers preceding Finneran were pushed from office. In both cases Finneran was among those doing the pushing.

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