McPhee: Friends of Gov. Patrick worry not this recession

There are murmurings of layoffs in Boston of people I would call “essential” employees. You know, the police officers, firefighters and ambulance workers who actually show up for work in snow storms. There are threats of $7.00 tolls in Eastie and toll hikes on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Property taxes are about to be raised and teachers could be axed. In a word, Massachusetts is a mess.

But Dana Harrell from Milton is not worried. Harrell is one of the many campaign contributors to Deval Patrick’s gubernatorial war chest and lives less than a quarter-mile from the governor’s abode. He is earning $120,000 a year courtesy of the beleaguered taxpayer. Harrell’s job: Director of Real Estate Services; a position that never existed in Massachusetts before; a position created during a statewide hiring freeze.  

Harrell, 60, is one of the many real estate workers who have taken a financial hit in the current market. But Harrell’s cash flow into the governor’s campaign coffers two years ago was an insurance policy. He’s all set now.

 So are the folks in Newton. Well, at least the people with kids who will attend Newton North High School. Last week, Patrick’s administration funneled $46.6 million in state taxpayer money into the staggering $200 million building that will only benefit an absurdly small population of Bay State residents. Now, one of the wealthiest municipalities will take money from the pockets of some of the poorest cities and towns in the Commonwealth.

Then there’s the money doled out to Parsons-Brinckerhoff. The Big Dig boondogglers were forced by Attorney General Martha Coakley to pay $47 million in fines after a woman was crushed to death in the tunnel. Like Patrick’s buddy Harrell, the company has nothing to worry about. They are already $30 million richer with a Massport contract for a parking lot we don’t need at Logan Airport. The company is slated to collect another $300 million to rebuild a bridge in Amesbury.

If only the Director of Real Estate Services could find Patrick a new home in D.C.

The Michele McPhee Show can be heard on 96.9 FM WTKK weeknights 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon.