LYNN — Who knew the act of tossing dirt in a hole could inspire Gov. Baker to flights of eloquence?
On hand Monday morning on Lynn Common with (from left) state Rep. Dan Cahill, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Leo Roy, state Rep. Brendan Crighton, state Sen. and Mayor-elect Thomas M. McGee, state Rep. Donald Wong and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton, Baker admired the 10,000th tree planted as part of a state “greening” project and called trees “a true friend to us when you think about how we manage environmental assets.”
Baker wasn’t above having a little fun at Monday’s event. When McGee, still solidly in campaign mode after winning last Tuesday’s mayoral election, spoke about progress Lynn and the state have made on a number of fronts, Baker strode to the microphone and butted into McGee’s remarks with a half-serious reminder about how the state outfitted state roads and land with low energy LED lighting.
Cahill used his turn at the microphone to point out the irony of elected officials making speeches on the Common just yards away from a monument paying tribute to the great American orator Frederick Douglass.
Baker remained in a talkative mood following the tree planting. Asked if fellow Republican, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, has talked to him about her future after she leaves City Hall in January, Baker said, “There has been no formal outreach. I expect at some point we will check in with each other. We’re neighbors.”
