PHOTO BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, center, greets lawmakers and guests as he enters the House chamber at the Statehouse.
By THOMAS GRILLO
BOSTON — As partisan battles rage nationwide in the wake of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker emphasized compromise in his State of the State speech Tuesday.
“It’s one thing to stand in a corner and shout insults at your opponents,” said Baker. “It’s quite another to climb into the arena and fight for common ground … Wedge issues may be great for making headlines, but they do not move this commonwealth forward. Success is measured by what we accomplish together.”
Baker’s speech to the Legislature’s packed House Chamber comes as he begins the second half of his term. It followed a weekend of anti-Trump protests where more than 1 million protesters gathered nationwide — 175,000 in Boston and 50 in Lynn.
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In a speech that was interrupted more than 40 times with applause, the governor praised legislators for working with his administration to pass legislation that will reduce the state’s carbon footprint; for their shared commitment to fund schools to a record high level; for creating a pathway for students to earn a bachelor’s degree from a state university for half the price; updated and eliminated obsolete state regulations; reduced the number of opioids prescriptions by 15 percent; lowered the population of homeless families in hotels to 100; switched to an all electronic tolling system.
“With a shared sense of purpose we’ve made real progress … We built a bipartisan team, worked in partnership with the legislature and looked for common ground.” Baker said.
The governor gave a shout out to Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, whom he credited with helping to convince General Electric Co. to locate its world headquarters in Boston.
He reiterated his opposition to new taxes which could become an issue this year as lawmakers debate a controversial measure to raise taxes on those earning more than $1 million and use the new cash to invest in education and transportation.
Baker, a Swampscott resident, is one of the most popular politicians in the state. In a recent poll of 508 Massachusetts voters conducted by WBUR, liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received a 51 percent favorably rating while the governor’s 59 percent favorability rating put him ahead by 8 percentage points.
State Sen. Thomas McGee (D-Lynn) said it was a positive speech that touched on a number of initiatives where the Legislature and the governor worked collaboratively.
“We’ve seen the unemployment rate drop thanks to the work we’ve done since the recession, the best MCAS scores in the last six years and reducing the opioid crisis,” he said.
Still, McGee said he was disappointed that the governor did not talk more about transportation, K-12 and public higher education.
“He talked in a positive way, but there are many challenges and there was not enough specifics on how to get to where we need to be,” he said.
State Rep. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) said he agreed that in contrast with Washington, D.C., the Legislature and the governor have been able to work together.
“But I wish there was more about his vision in terms of investing in our infrastructure, early education, community colleges and the student loan crisis,” he said. “But we are committed to working with his administration to move things forward.”
The governor will launch the state budget season today by releasing his 2018 budget proposal. He gave a sneak peak by saying the new budget will propose more than $130 million in new funding for cities and towns, including increasing Chapter 70 support for K-12 education by more than $90 million.
“And we’ve done all of that and more while closing a $1 billion state budget gap without raising taxes,” he said. “We can and do disagree. But we listen, we learn and we make the best decisions we can. Our team looks forward to working with you on the challenges and opportunities of the next two years.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].