Boston Globe -- Letters to the editor
September 20, 2001

The real story on patronage

It was no surprise to read that the Weld, Cellucci, and Swift
administrations had thoroughly politicized the Massachusetts Port Authority
("Political ties strong at airport," Metro, Sept. 14).

In fact, over the past 10 years it has been turned into a convenient dumping
ground for unemployed Republicans. The Commonwealth's current acting
goernor was one of them. After she lost an electoin for Congress in Western
Massachusetts, she was given an $80,000 patronage job instead of
unemployment compensation.

I was astonished, however, to read in the same article that one of Logan's
directors of security when I was governor got his job presumably because he
was "Kitty Dukakis's driver."

Kitty Dukakis never had a driver and never had State Police security.
Carmen Tammaro was appointed director of security at Logan because he was a
longtime, highly trained, and experienced senior member of the State Police
security detail at the airport.

When I was governor, Logan was the responsibility of two executive directors
of Massport who were competent, able, experienced public managers. Dave
Davis and Al Raine did their job and did it well. The same cannot be said
for their successors.

Kitty Dukakis, by the way, drove herself. Her husband rode the T.

MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS
Boston

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