Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:26:33 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/ MattPatrick.Org News en-us http://www.mattpatrick.org/images/logo.gif http://www.mattpatrick.org/ info@mattpatrick.org http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=107 My mother Mary Patrick, who inspired me to run for office, passed away 8/18/2011. I gave this eulogy for her at the wake. I want to recognize my sister Maria who did a superb description of my mother?s life in the obituary: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/mary_coppola_patrick_the_mothe.html. Anyone who reads it will know that my mother was a very accomplished woman who loved life. She had a positive impact on the lives of her children, her grand children, her constituents and many, many people. I would say that she had a positive impact on everyone she met but some might disagree. Let?s just say that if you were on the receiving end of one of her diatribes, it certainly had an impact on you. She loved babies and children. When I said my final good bye to mom and told her that she didn?t have to hang on for us?we would be fine, she was happy?but when I told her that her granddaughter Lisa was flying in from the west coast and grandson Matt was flying in from Hawaii, she began to cry. She said it was her only regret, not being able to follow the lives of her grandchildren and great-grand children as they grow up. But I?m sure that she will. My brother Charlie wrote a great poem which I would like to read: Mom! Mom! Wake up. You're ok now. You've broken through to the other side and it's all good now. Spread your wings and fly or ride a comet in the sky. We love you Mom. No more pain. No more tears. No more grief and no more fears. What a heart you had here on earth. Now GOD will guide your spirit first and place you among the many stars. Rest in peace? I don?t think so. There he'll have you helping out with the poor down here, the sick, those with doubt and those without. He'll send you out to touch their souls in ways much easier for you than before. He'll arm you again with the energetic kindness, compassion and love you showed here on earth but x10 and with no end. You live in us and us in you. You've left us your determination and your fortitude. Gosh Mom, you are an amazing soul. Thank you for life, love and faith. Soar with the angels and spread peace, kindness, compassion and love. Your spirit in us will help us to keep up the good fight and power our hearts. We?ll meet again. Happy trails for now Mom. God certainly knows who you are. Not bad for a guy who grew up skinning muskrats in the cellar. The last line is Charlie?s reference to our little in house joke. You see my mom had a habit of asking total strangers that were ignoring her or giving her a hard time, ?Do you know who I am?? God will certainly know who she is and if he or she doesn?t, I?m sure Mom will tell him or her. That reminds me of a joke that reminded me of my mother when I first heard it. A heating technician who happened to be working on the heating vents in the ceiling of the parish church saw his grandmother saying the rosary in the first pew. She couldn't see him, so he thought he would have a little fun. He whispered, ?Mrs. McCarthy, this is Jesus. Can you hear me?? There was no response so he whispered a little louder and still no response and finally he just about yelled it. His grandmother finally said, ?Just a minute young man, can?t you see I?m talking to your mother.? Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:26:33 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=106 MASS-CARE Honors former State Representative Matt Patrick Former Representative Matthew C. Patrick of Falmouth was honored yesterday at the annual meeting for Mass-Care http://masscare.org/. Patrick was recognized for his sponsorship of the Single Payer Health Care bill last session. The award reads, "In Recognition of Outstanding Activism and Leadership for Single-Payer Health Care." Mass-Care's Executive Director Ben Day said Patrick also deserves recognition for his efforts to make the House of Representatives a more democratic institution. Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:03:27 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=105 See it live here by cutting and pasting the following address into your browser: www.statehousenews.com/video/10-12-16farewells-patrick/ Greetings to all my colleagues. Thank you for everything you do to make the Commonwealth a better place. Only we who have undergone the rigors of the elective process and the demands as elected representatives will know just how challenging it is. Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:59:09 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=104 It?s never easy to lose an election because it is such a public process. You can?t hide when you are given the news. You must face your supporters and the press and put on a positive face. Yet, lose I did after five terms in the House. I can honestly say that I did what I thought was best for my constituents without regard for the future and that is perhaps what cost me the election in the end. I have no regrets. Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:39:08 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=96 Rep. Patrick and Colleagues Push Feds on PACE Boston Rep. Patrick and 108 colleagues sent a letter today pushing Federal law makers to support legislation that would force FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to adopt standards that support PACE. Property Assessed Clean Energy, PACE is a program enabling cities and towns to acquire funding through bonds to help residents finance two types of improvements in their homes: energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements. After loaning the money out, the municipalities will place a betterment charge on the homeowner?s property taxes. The homeowner will get the benefit of low cost financing for their energy project that will allow them to capture other government incentives. An added benefit is that if they decide to move the new owner will take over the payments. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:46:35 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=95 RE: DPU 10-54 National Grid/Cape Wind Contracts Dear Chairwomen Berwick and Commissioners Woolf and Westbrook, I believe we must be realistic about our need as a nation to change our current fossil fuel usage that is neither environmentally nor financially sustainable. Our current course is a dead end and the catastrophe now happening in the Gulf is one in a long line of damaging symptoms we are inflicting on the planet and ourselves. Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:11:36 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=94 Toward a More Equitable Tax System in Massachusetts Speech at the Unitarian Universalist Church, East Falmouth Rep. Matthew C. Patrick July 4, 2010 Recently, I have received a lot of attention for one of my budget amendments that would have increased the tax on wealth. Talk show personality, Howie Carr, decided it wasn?t a good thing to do so he dedicated an entire column to misrepresenting it. Mr. Carr, who is currently, and somewhat ironically, battling his employer because he is upset with his million dollar a year salary, does not endorse me for re-election. Bob Murray said I should put that on my bumper sticker, ?not endorsed by Howie Carr.? Thu, 06 May 2010 11:17:15 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=93 Rabbi Elias Lieberman Remarks for the presentation of the Presbrey Public Service Award to Rep. Matthew Patrick April 7, 2010 When I was informed, last year, of the HAC tradition that would find me presenting this year?s Presbrey Public Service Award to some worthy recipient, I naturally wondered who that person might turn out to be and what kind of sleuthing I might need to do in order to find praiseworthy things to say about that individual. Tue, 04 May 2010 19:49:59 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=90 THE LARGER PROBLEM IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE By Representatives Matthew C. Patrick, Thomas M. Stanley, Lida E. Harkins, William G. Greene, Jr., Will N. Brownsberger, Steven J. D?Amico, Joseph R. Driscoll and John F. Quinn January 21, 2010 We want the House to become a functional democracy. We clearly see that consolidation of power in the Speaker has given the Massachusetts House a less than democratic form of governance and we believe that the most important thing we can do as members is point out what is so obvious that it has been taken for granted. We want each bill deliberated in the committees and referred to the floor based on merit where it will be fully debated. Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:03:02 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=88 There are fifty sponsors of H 2127.  That is a significant number for any bill that comes before us and one has to ask why, after all these years this bill has been before the legislature in one form or another, does one quarter of our legislature still support this bill.  Looking down the list one sees the usual liberal members.  But there are also conservative members of the legislature that have signed on as sponsors.  Why? Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:52:44 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=87 The amount of state and local taxes paid in Massachusetts as a share of state personal income fell from 10.6 percent in Fiscal Year 2006 to 10.5 percent in FY 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual survey of State and Local Government Finances.  Massachusetts dropped in rank from 35th among all states in 2006 to 38th in 2007 (including the District of Columbia), according to the Census data released today. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:57:28 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=86 Today the Massachusetts legislature is not a democratic institution. The birth place of western democracy in the new world is governed by a legislature that is a dictatorship masquerading as a democratic institution. Through the centuries, the position of Massachusetts Speaker of the House has evolved into an imperial one, more akin to royalty than the leader of a democratic body. The Speaker of the House determines everything. He decides which bills are brought to the floor for a debate and which ones will never see the light of day. He determines the outcome of those bills before they are even debated. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:40:47 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=85 REP. PATRICK?S COMMENTS BEFORE THE ELECTION LAWS COMMITTEE RE: H 656 September 10, 2009 Good afternoon Chairmen Moran; Chairman Kennedy and members of the committee. Let me be clear, I would never vote to eliminate the special election. However, giving the Governor the ability to appoint a replacement for the months before the special election is very important given the pending legislation in Congress. During the interim, it makes perfect sense to have someone capable of debating and voting for: the national health care bill, the global warming bill and financial regulation legislation. We also want to keep Senator Kennedy's staff there working for us. They would form the core of the new Senator?s staff. Without an interim appointee, his entire staff will be dismissed after two months. The Republicans will point out that they filed an amendment in 2004 to give the Governor the ability to make a temporary appointment to the seat. However, it did not preclude the appointee from using the power of that appointment to his or her advantage in the special election. Not only did the Democrats vote against it but 7 Republicans voted against it. To address that concern, Representative Koczera?s bill will only allow the Governor to appoint a person who hasn?t filed nomination papers. However, we would lose two months in the process. A public statement by the appointee saying that he or she had no intention to run in the special election would ensure that the person would lose all credibility if they later decided to run in the special. However, it would be unconstitutional to require such a measure in legislation. An amendment that Chairman Moran mentioned to me previously should help assure people. A requirement that the Governor only appoint someone from the same party would be a great compromise and one that is used in several other states. Hawaii, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming have this requirement and three of them further stipulate that the Governor must choose one of three candidates offered by the state party committee. In closing, this could be the most critical vote we take during our time in the Massachusetts legislature. It is our best opportunity to get some of the most important legislation in our national history passed into law and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts must be fully represented in that process. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:34:10 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=84 For a footnoted version of letter please email Rep. Patrick at repmattp@cape.com July 7, 2009 Falmouth Board of Selectmen, Falmouth Board of Health and Falmouth Conservation Commission Dear Members, Throughout the Cape, we are moving towards very expensive engineering solutions to our wastewater treatment. I am convinced that, at present, we are not giving sufficient consideration to viable alternative techniques. I am writing to reaffirm my concern for the Town?s lack of consideration of less expensive alternatives to conventional sewage treatment. The news of protests by residents (Cape Cod Times, 6/18/09, Residents balk at sewer project, Barnstable?s wastewater management plan would require some homeowners to pay tens of thousands of dollars) who will be forced to shoulder $27,000 to $38,000 betterments to fund Barnstable?s effort to sewer the Wequaquet Lake and Stewart?s Creek areas are only a precursor of things to come in Falmouth. Naturally, residents are irate especially with the news that once the town makes a commitment to construction, they can?t opt out. Ironically, urine diverting and composting systems would work very well in this setting. In spite of an 8.8 percent subsidy from the ARRA, the efforts to move the $56 million project forward in Barnstable look bleak. I strongly believe that we will face similar obstacles in Falmouth if we do not clearly demonstrate we have fully considered all available options, including some innovative ones. On a regular basis, my office deals with many hardship cases in Falmouth. Let me remind you that the 2000 U.S. Census shows that about 63 percent of the people who work on Cape Cod do so in the retail trades or service industries where the average annual wage was about $20,000. Statistics show that real middle class income has been stagnant for the past decade. One need only consult with the Falmouth Service Center to find out that requests for free food have increased dramatically over that past two years. Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:42:33 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=83 Cape Cod: Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D-Falmouth) filed a bill this week that would enable cities and towns to acquire funding through bonds to help residents finance two types of improvements in their homes:  energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements.  After loaning the money out, the municipalities would place a betterment charge on the homeowner?s property taxesThe homeowner will get the benefit of low cost financing plus they will be able to take a Federal write off on their income taxes of a percentage of the cost of their betterment as part of their property taxes.  An added benefit is that if they decide to move the new owner will take over the payments Patrick stated, ?The high cost of the initial investment is the primary barrier for people seeking to improve the energy usage of their homes.  This bill would put another tool in the tool box of the municipalities to help make Massachusetts less dependent on imported fossil fuels and maintain the affordability of our housing stock Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:20:27 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=81 Dear State Representative Matthew Patrick: I used to spend a lot of time in Worcester. Over the years, something called the Asian long-horned beetle has been eating the place, one tree at a time. There are parts of Worcester that, once sylvan, now look like the unforested steppes of Europe and Asia. Hence, your crusade against the winter moth down on the Cape (it has already damaged other parts of the state) finds a sympathetic audience here. However, your budget item has drawn the ire of local Republicans, who are now squarely on the side of bugs that eat trees. A whole party that's soft on blight, they're apparently bothered that you want to spend $150,000 to control and eliminate the winter moth on the Cape, and that you've also voted for some tax bills. This occasioned some snark from across the aisle, possibly because, among the brainless carbon-based life-forms indigenous to the Commonwealth, trees generally make more sense -- and are usually much better spoken -- than Republicans, who (to be fair) do have a marginally greater representation in the Legislature. This may have occasioned some jealousy. Don't despair, though. I see a way out. The winter moth came here from Europe. Pitch it to the talk-show crowd as an immigration issue. And as a bonus, having declared the moth an illegal immigrant, you could have some fun putting a bunch of them to work on Mitt Romney's property. Charles P. Pierce cpierce@globe.com Article was first published in Globe Sunday Magazine, May 17th, 2009 Published on this web site with permission of the author, Charles Pierce Tue, 19 May 2009 15:50:51 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=80 This is a very difficult time for state and local governments but we have survived bad times before and we will survive this downturn.  The economic downturn and background budget pressures that have been growing for a decade are placing unprecedented challenges before us. But it is important to remember that we have survived bad times before.   It is equally important to remember the constructive role that government has played in helping us weather past recessions paving the way toward recovery.  In the midst of the current crisis it is easy to forget the essential role that our public systems play in the quality of life we enjoy in Massachusetts.   We must keep in mind that our state and local governments provide the services and infrastructure that we couldn?t create as individuals.  I think most of us would agree that the Commonwealth provides a fairly good life for our citizens.  It?s not well known but Massachusetts leads in most quality of life indicators when compared to other states.  For example, we rank in the top five in levels of education because we have more high school and college graduates than most other states.  We rank in the top five in terms of income.  We have a lower divorce rate, lower unwed mother rate and lower teen pregnancy rate than most other states.  We provide more care for our needy citizens.  We also have one of the more healthy populations in the country and more than 93% of us have health insurance. Yet when you compare our total state and local tax burden as a percentage of our income, we rank only 24th in the nation in 2008.  Why use total tax burden as a percentage of income?  It?s a fairer gauge because we earn a lot more than most other states.  Using a per capita tax ranking is like putting a light weight in a boxing ring with a heavy weight.  Comparing us to the southern states is not fair to them because they earn less and pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes greatly reducing their spending power.  In addition, our sales tax is the 44th lowest of all states and the current gas tax is ranked even lower and hasn?t gone up in 16 years.  Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:08:24 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=79 Rep. Patrick's testimony before the Cape Cod Commission 3/30/09 Regardless of all the planning, regulations and laws, a good deal of any project's potential approval is left up to the judgment and subject to the prejudices of you, the people on the Commission. In the end, most of our elected and appointed boards' decisions are subject to the perspectives of the people on the them and the frame of mind they have been given by local media and adopted as their own before really hearing the other side fully with an open mind. Framing the issue in a negative light is exactly what the right wing does on talk radio. They made us believe that "liberal" is a bad word and that all Democrats are all "tax and spend" Democrats. That's framing issue and if you read, "Don't Think of an Elephant" you will get a better picture of it. Nothing has received more negative framing than Cape Wind. One needs only to look at the Cape Cod Times editorial today to be reminded of their constant drum beat of opposition for seven years. Early on the Cape Cod Times framed the issue for most Cape Codders in terms of "Industrial Wind Farm" in "pristine" water, "land grab" etc. They and other anti wind farm groups appealed to base emotions with fictional information and grossly distorted depictions of the prospective wind farm to arouse opposition. The wind farm has gone through the CCC's EIR right along with the State's and the Fed's EIRs and 13 other entities. They have found nothing damaging to the environment or the economy that cannot be mitigated. The review has lasted seven years and taken longer to approve than most nuclear power plants. This current issue is over the cables and the irony is the CCC just approved putting down more cables to Nantucket. Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:25:52 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78 ?It?s what they do,? said Governor Patrick in a fitting response to a question from the press about what he thought of the critical comments made by Republican leaders regarding the proposed gas tax. The Republicans want you to believe that the Governor and Democratic legislators are too lazy to look for efficiencies in government and will tax you because it?s easy to do. It?s not easy. It?s a lot more difficult to raise taxes than it is to cut budgets even in what people think is a liberal legislature, which it isn?t. The majority of the Democrats in the legislature consider themselves fiscally conservative and even liberals don?t casually suggest taxes. Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei is showing his party?s desperation with his broad brushed critique of the Governor and Democrats in the legislature. He?s only got four Republican colleagues in the Senate and sixteen in the House. The extreme example is the pill popping, multi-millionaire, right wing, radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh who proudly says he wants President Obama to fail when he knows full well that he is saying he wants America to fail. The irony is he accused Democrats of being unpatriotic or worse for disagreeing with the former President but I never recall hearing a Democrat say they wanted the President to fail. As Robert F. Kennedy said, ?The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of Country.? You may disagree with the President but nobody says they want him to fail, except for rightwing prima-donnas. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:42:19 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=77 The radio propaganda machine is in full gear cranking people up with misinformation about the Governor?s position on the gas tax. Good for them because they forced me to make my position public and provide facts instead of hyperbole. First let?s consider if we need a gas tax. Do we want to maintain our roads and bridges? Do we want more mass transportation? I think we do and most people agree with me after remembering what happened to the price of gasoline just last year. We have already seen how the price of gas can become unaffordable in a matter of months and eventually, it will happen again and again with more and more frequency. There is no question that we must be prepared for it by encouraging people to get out of their big inefficient cars and get onto mass transportation whether it is the MBTA or our local Regional Transportation Authorities. Some people will be living in such rural circumstances that they will never have access to mass transportation. In those cases we should be able to provide incentives so they can afford fuel efficient cars. Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:53:35 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=76 Some body has to ask the Sandwich Selectmen if they expect citizens who do not live in their town to continue to pay their tax bills and whether it's worth keeping the plant open if just one family will have a member suffer and perhaps die from an illness created by the pollution coming from the plant. I know it's a tough economic hit for the town but there is no rationale to keep a power plant running that can't compete. I would rather just contribute to their annual $2 million tax bill than to keep the Canal Power Plant running at an annual cost of about $100 million. It's just plain illogical. Good Capitalists know that the way ISO NE was allowing that plant to operate even though it couldn't compete economically, was the equivelent of nationallizing the power plant. Sandwich has had a good thing going for a long, long time but they need to deal with economic realities. If Mirant doesn't install new combined cycle gas turbines, it is very likely they will shut the plant down. That is a fact. The SEMA issue caught my attention roughly four years ago at an Energy Committee hearing. I learned for the first time that the Canal Electric plant, one of the dirtiest power plants in New England, was being kept running even though it couldn't compete on a cost efficiency basis. The Independent System Operator of New England (ISO NE) ordered that it be kept running at less than 20 percent capacity for reliability purposes. They deemed it would protect the grid from failure if two of the 345 KV power lines went out at the same time even though the chances of that happening are extremely remote. It's only happened once in the history of the system when there was a fire at the Canal Power Plant in 2004. The power plant operation out of economic merit, in ISO NE code words, costs all of southeastern Massachusetts about $19 million a month at the peak oil costs this past summer. This is on top of electric rates that are the highest in the continental U.S. The total from 2005 through 2008 is more than 350 million dollars. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:00:33 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=75 ELECTION RESULTS NOVEMBER 4TH 2008 Well, the election has been over for quite some time now and it?s time I updated my website with some reflections about it.  Hopefully, you know that I won convincingly by almost 60% of the voters that voted.  There were a considerable amount of blank votes which I?ll talk about later.  What?s interesting is I won in every precinct for the first time.  Even in Cotuit, Osterville and New Seabury.  These are precincts that I have traditionally lost every time when I?ve had opposition.  Those precincts crushed me by a two to one margin the first time I ran for re-election in a significantly changed district that took away traditional precincts of the Third Barnstable like Buzzards Bay in Bourne, the southeastern precincts in Sandwich and three northern precincts in Mashpee.  That was the year that Romney won.  I later heard that he won in Osterville, a traditional Republican precinct, by a greater percentage than anywhere else in the Commonwealth.  That was also the year Cape Wind was introduced and I was the sole Cape Cod based legislator, state or federal that supported it as long as there were no environmental impacts that could not be resolved.  My opponent, a former JAG officer for the Coast Guard, came out of nowhere to almost win.  He ran hyping his veteran status, which he thought would help him during the beginning of the Iraq war after September 11th, but mostly in opposition to the Cape Wind which would explain why the Osterville, Cotuit and New Seabury precincts buried me because they border Nantucket Sound where the wind farm will be located.  Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:10:56 -0500 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=74 Rep. Patrick sweeps all endorsements, Cape Cod Times, Enterprise and the Barnstable Patriot all endorse the 4th term legislator Cape Cod Times says, "Patrick for House, Experience, strength of character give incumbent the edge." ?...Patrick is a good mix, in background and philosophy, for the 3rd Barnstable District. He?s a hands-on guy (a former plumber and contractor) who has learned to make use of the convoluted legislative rules. When a complicated bill to close corporate tax loopholes was nearly dead on Beacon Hill, Patrick helped convene a caucus and methodically organized the effort to revive it. He argued that about 1,200 corporations that post $100 million to $1 billion in sales each year in Massachusetts pay the minimum corporate excise tax of $456, and the average Massachusetts family pays $2,700 in state taxes. The bill, which returns $200 million to state coffers, is now law. Patrick?s signature environmental credentials have grown over the years; this year, he successfully added four or five provisions to the Green communities Act. A longtime advocate for reducing toxic pollutants at the Canal power plant, Patrick is now trying to convince state regulators that its costs far outweigh its benefits. He has teamed up with state Sen. Robert O?Leary and other legislators from southeastern Massachusetts to request a hearing on the Plant. ?We believe that it is irrational to throw $200 million a year at a supposed reliability problem because there is a slight risk that the Cape and Islands will lose two lines at the same time. What we have is a base load plant acting as a peak demand plant and we can?t afford it,? the legislators wrote. In April, Patrick and O?Leary cited the plant?s inefficient operation as one reason the average electric rates in the region are higher than the average rate in every state except Hawaii. This proactive stand resonates with Cape voters, who have repeatedly shown that the environment is an important issue with them. He?s not a glad-hander and told us, ?I don?t worry about pleasing everybody.? He hasn?t pleased us with his pro windfarm stance, but on balance his eight years of service and seniority at the Statehouse are worth endorsing. Which leads us to one of our more important criteria for recommending a candidate: strength of character. Patrick is not afraid to take unpopular positions, and his sense of duty, humility and courage under fire set him apart. Patrick is a sincere, principled and intelligent man?? The Enterprise says, Matt Patrick Deserves Reelection  "... Matt Patrick has served his district and the state well since he was elected in 2000.  He is known as a constructive and productive leader on alternative energy issues and he is quietly dogged on legislation to help taxpayers wherever possible.  He successfully led the fight to close the corporate tax loopholes that allowed companies operating in different states to shift their income reporting to the state with the more favorable tax code for them...He also plays a thoughtful and legislatively creative role in matters ranging from health care to homeowner insurance to rising energy costs..." The Barnstable Patriot says, "...In his dealings with the leadership, Patrick has been something of a maverick, but an atypical one who actually has something to show for his independence..." Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:17:21 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=73 You're invited to meet Rep. Matt Patrick with the founder and CEO of Cape Air, Dan Wolf Date: Friday evening, October 17th. Time: 5:30 Where: Cotuit Grocery, 737 Main Street, Cotuit Please join us to hear how Dan?s opinion of Cape Wind evolved over time. Refreshments will be served. Paid for by the committee to Re-elect Matt Patrick, Ken Braga Treasurer, POB 3252 Waquoit, MA 02536, 508-540-6308 To learn more or to contribute got to www.mattpatrick.org Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:03:10 -0400 http://www.mattpatrick.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=72 Boston: State Representative Matthew Patrick, Senator Robert O?Leary, and other legislators from the southeastern part of the state sent a letter today requesting a hearing regarding the high cost to continue the operation of the Mirant Canal Plant. The letter asks the Chairs of Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy to, ?conduct a hearing as soon as possible into the operation out of merit of the Canal Power Plant.? The letter states, ?We believe that it is irrational to throw $200 million a year at a supposed reliability problem because there is a slight risk that the Cape and islands will lose two lines at the same time. What we have is a base load plant acting as a peak demand plant and we can?t afford it.? In April Rep Patrick, Senator O?Leary sent a letter to the public utilities Commissioner Timothy Wolf. The letter cited the plant's operation as one reason the average electric rates in the southeastern part of the state are higher than the average rate in every state except Hawaii. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:55:36 -0400