NORTH ADAMS - Gov. Deval Patrick couldn't forgive a city worker's past conviction, dashing his hopes to retire with a pension in a move described as "callous."
The governor vetoed a home rule bill late Wednesday that would have reinstated the retirement rights of Highway Superintendent Leo Senecal.
"This is the most callous act I've ever seen by a governor," said Mayor John Barrett III on Thursday. "He's hurt someone who doesn't deserve to be hurt."
Senecal pleaded guilty in 1998 to burying hazardous waste (oil) at the city yard. He said at the time that he was trying to save the city money. He was fined $9,000 for the cost of the cleanup, suspended and demoted, and placed on probation. He served no jail time for the criminal conviction.
State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, said he was frustrated and disappointed by the governor's action and vowed to override the veto.
"This is a case of redressing a wrong. It's very frustrating," said Bosley, who filed the bill. "I'm bound and determined to override this thing. ... We'll carry it over [into the new year]."
Pension Revoked
Senecal, a 40-year city veteran, continued to pay into the city's pension fund but was stripped of his rights earlier this year because of his conviction. Retirement Board members had reportedly been told they could be jailed if they OK'ed the pension in defiance of a 1996 law that prohibited convicted felons from receiving state pension benefits.
Bosley filed the bill asking the Legislature to exempt Senecal. The Public Employees Retirement Administration Commission had explained the particulars to the governor's people in support of the bill, he said. The City Council had voted 9-0 in support of the measure.
But what angered both Bosley and Barrett was that the governor never communicated with either one about the bill - or his decision to veto it.
"He never called anybody to find out what the situation was," said Barrett. The mayor said he learned of the veto Wednesday and spent a sleepless night before informing Senecal on Thursday morning.
The governor also didn't return a call from Barrett, instead having his chief of staff respond - which didn't sit well the the state's longest-serving mayor.
"I don't know where this guy's coming from," said Barrett, adding that the governor he supported has done little to back up his claim of bringing compassion to his office.
In his message to the Legislature on the veto, the governor wrote "I do not believe the public is well served by making individual legislative exceptions to a rule that is meant to apply uniformly."
Bosley, however, said those exceptions are very much the purview of the Legislature.
"This is the General Court of Massachusetts. We are the court of last resort," he said, for people who find themselves in difficult situations, such as Senecal has. "We turn down dozens [of requests] a year. We approve precious few because they have merit."
Senecal is the first - and so far only - public employee to be punished under the 11-year-old law designed to prevent corrupt public officials from retaining benefits. The Retirement Board will return the $41,000 or so he's contributed to the system, but he'll have no Social Security, no pension and no insurance. He's paid about $50,000 in attorney fees and will lose an estimated $700,000 in pension benefits, said the mayor.
'Slap in the Face'
Barrett described the veto as a "slap in the face" to Bosley, and wondered why the governor would anger a powerful lawmaker and co-chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies - where Patrick's life science bill and casino initiative are currently sitting. Bosley is an outspoken opponent of casino gambling.
The representative said he didn't think it was personal and didn't know why the governor would veto the bill. He and Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, a sponsor of the home rule bill, have been lining up support for a veto override.
"This guy has paid a lot for one transgression in 40 years," said Bosley. "He's paid in money, and in embarrassment every time there's a story."
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McCann and Taconic Awarded CTI Grants
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $525,482 in Career Technical Initiative (CTI) implementation grants awarded to two organizations in the Berkshires to train 80 individuals for careers in high-demand occupations within the trades, construction, and manufacturing sectors in the region.
In North Adams, McCann Technical School was awarded $344,871 to provide training to 60 participants for Automotive Technician, Advanced Manufacturing, and Welding positions. They will partner with T&M Auto Sales Inc., Berkshire Bridge & Iron Co. Inc., Haddad GMC, Haddad Subaru, Bedard Brothers Auto Sales Inc., Lenco Armored Vehicles, TOG Manufacturing, Sinicon Plastics, Adams Plumbing & Heating Inc., and Gills Point S Tire.
"We are excited to be working with our MassHire team to continue to address our workforce needs and build talent pipelines and career pathways in Advanced Manufacturing, Welding and Automotive Technician," McCann Superintendent James Brosnan said. "This CTI award will provide hands-on training and support as we continue to expand our skilled talent pool for employers in the Berkshires."
In Pittsfield Taconic High School was awarded $180,610 to provide training to 20 participants for Metal Fabrication and Auto Technology positions. They will partner with O.W. Landergren Inc., Lenco Industries Inc., Bedard Brothers, Haddad's Auto Group, and RW's Auto Inc.
"Pittsfield Public Schools is incredibly grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and Commonwealth Corporation for the CTI award to Taconic High School. This grant will have a significant and lasting impact on our community by providing skilled technicians to address critical shortages in Berkshire County," said Superintendent Joseph Curtis. "We are excited to partner with Lenco Industries, Haddads, Bedards, RW Auto, O.W. Landergren, Northeast Fabricators, and the MassHire Berkshire Career Center. These partnerships will serve as a catalyst for positive change, ensuring that our trainees are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st-century workforce, while simultaneously strengthening our local economy."
The CTI grant program, a state-funded workforce initiative, partners with career and technical education schools to provide adult learners, especially unemployed and underemployed individuals from underserved populations and underrepresented groups, with career training and technical skills to meet the needs of Massachusetts employers. The program transforms career and technical education schools across the state to become "Career Technical Institutes" that run after dark programs in the construction/trades, manufacturing, and skilled trades career pathways.
"Addressing our workforce needs and building talent pipelines and career pathways in construction, trades and manufacturing sectors is a priority for this administration," said Governor Maura Healey. "CTI offers hands-on training that will support our jobseekers, workers and employers. We're proud to expand the CTI awards to these two schools in the Berkshires to strengthen our workforce and grow our economy throughout the state."
Jesse Saylor of TSKP Studio, the school project designer, said the conductivity of the soils were comparable or better than three recent school completed in Connecticut.
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The School Committee earlier this month approved upping the pay scale by $35 to $55 a day and creating a new base of $130 for substitutes with fewer credentials.
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