Gov’s second-term plans focus of Lynn meeting

LYNN – Gov. Deval Patrick told a group of Lynn community leaders Tuesday that if re-elected he would focus on jobs, health care and education.The governor spoke at the quarterly meeting of the Lynn Business Partnership where he acknowledged Massachusetts still faces economic tough times but that the overall situation is improving.Patrick made it clear he does not support a “slots parlor” or fringe gambling center in Revere, preferring instead the destination/resort model that nearly all studies contend will generate more jobs and regional stability. The slots model extracts a “human cost” that outweighs the other benefits, he said, adding, “Any bill that is passed must deal with that human cost.”The governor emphasized Tuesday that any discussion of a Revere gambling facility should not be viewed as a signal from his office that it is a proposal under consideration.The governor also dampened dreams of a Blue Line rapid-transit extension from Revere to Lynn, saying the funds just aren’t available.”Hardship is not the only reality in the commonwealth,” he said, referring to the state’s $9 billion budget gap.On the upside, the governor said Massachusetts has regained its AA bond rating and currently has the largest public works investment program in the country, with significant spending on roads, railways, bridges, Internet broadband, open space, recreational facilities and college campus improvements.”We are reinvesting in the commonwealth,” he said. “We have ended abuse in the state pension system, tightened lobbying and adjusted the auto insurance industry by introducing competition. We are also proud of education reform.”According to Patrick, Massachusetts fourth-graders lead the nation in science.On health care, the governor boasted that Massachusetts is again a leader, with 97.5 percent of residents covered by an insurance plan. Admittedly, the present system is still too costly for small businesses and working families, he said.That sticking point was driven home by Gordon Hall Jr. of the Hall Management Co. and an LBP member, who informed the governor that health care coverage for his employees and his family has risen sharply – about 10 percent annually – to a level where “it is on an unsustainable path.”Those increases are tied to the state mandate that all residents must have health insurance, a legislative measure which has passed the cost of the program mostly onto small business owners and working families.As Hall put it, “It’s more expensive to insure people than not.”Patrick disagreed.The situation is complicated and made more complex by finger-pointing when health insurance companies blame hospitals for high costs and hospitals contend inflation is the culprit, he said.The governor said he is keenly aware that small businesses and working families are suffering the brunt. He offered the anecdote of a successful Worcester law firm that had hoped to hire two more partners but could not do so because of rising health insurance costs for its other employees.When talk turned to education, Patrick said, “There’s a lot of magic that happens in the public schools. Teachers are not the problem. Poverty is the problem.”Don Edwards from the Operation Bootstrap literacy program said many Lynn schoolchildren do not speak English. The adults in 60 Lynn families are currently receiving language lessons along with home visits by the Bootstrap staff to help create study areas for the children.Patrick admitted the problem, noting that 17,000 people statewide are on a waiting list for such services, but funding isn’t adequate.The most upbeat part of the meeting related to the pending relocation of electrical transmission wires on the Lynnway and plans to develop the city’s waterfront. James Cowdell, executive director of the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp., thanked the governor for supporting plans for a water ferry from Lynn to Boston, and for ushering a $2.5 million state grant to help pay for the power lines relo