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Photo: Lt. Governor Tim Murray addresses Greater Lowell Area Democrats (GLAD) at a breakfast meeting at Skips Restaurant on Saturday, April 21, 2007.

For a second time in a week, Lt. Governor Tim Murray traveled to the Lowell area. (He was in town earlier to assess flood damages caused by the recent storm.) On Saturday, he met with members of the Greater Lowell Area Democrats (GLAD) and spoke briefly about the administration’s efforts during its first 100+ days in office. As someone who was an early supporter of both Patrick’s and Murray’s candidacies, I was interested to hear his perspective on their work since taking office.  Not surprisingly, Murray took a defensive posture on some of the issues that drew the most media attention, saying, “This administration has not been about drapes and Cadillacs. Our governor is spending his time on things that matter–education, jobs, the environment, and healthcare.” He went on to address specific areas, such as solar renewable energy and the potential this industry holds for jobs and the commonwealth’s future. He also mentioned the governor’s Municipal Partnership Act, which is a way for local governments to generate revenue without relying solely on property taxes through savings in healthcare, closing telecommunications loopholes, and allowing local communities to add up to 2% in meals and hotel taxes.  The timing for his pitch is appropriate because the House budget as it currently exists does not include some of the resources the governor’s budget had allocated for new police officers, expanding extended learning time and full-day kindergarten programs for the public schools, or his proposal for resources to fight property taxes. It’s also important to note that the House budget does include additional chapter 70 monies, which is how public schools are funded, and that neither budget has funding for the Shannon Grants, an important gang prevention program for at-risk kids. It will be interesting to see how the Senate weighs in on all this—now that we have democrats running the whole show and trying to deliver on astounding needs with limited resources. It’s certainly not a situation that enables a quick-fix or one in which you can please everyone—please get involved and let your representatives know your priority concerns. The Lt. Governor will be back in Lowell on Friday, April 27, for a gathering in the mayor’s reception room.