Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of stories exploring the North Shore connections of the three candidates for governor. Stories about Republican Charlie Baker and independent Tim Cahill will appear in future editions.
SALEM — Mayor Kim Driscoll still remembers the phone call.
It came sometime shortly after Black Friday, the day in January 2008 when Driscoll told a pack of alarmed parents, community leaders and TV crews that, because of mismanagement by the School Department's former finance director, the city would have to cut dozens of teaching jobs and close a nearly $5 million, midyear budget gap.
Then, the phone rang.
"The governor called," Driscoll said. "He reached out and said, 'Hey, let's see what we can do to help.'"
In truth, the city had already begun working with Patrick's administration to put together a rescue package for the school system, and Patrick was already well aware of the city's financial woes.
Still, Driscoll sees that phone call as symbolic of Patrick's genuine concern.
"I'm not sure you always have governors who see your problems as their problems," she said.
What happened over the next week was an uncharacteristically speedy passage of legislation allowing Salem to halt the scheduled teacher layoffs. Driscoll worked with members of Patrick's administration and finance team to cobble together essentially a $1 million loan to the city. On the night of Patrick's State of the State address, Driscoll, state Rep. John Keenan and Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry blitzed ranking leaders of the House and Senate and members of Patrick's administration to engineer the special legislation's passage.
The emergency money spared 29 teachers from midyear layoffs, and today the city has fully paid off the loan.
"I think he's the strongest partner cities and towns have had in 20 years," Driscoll said of Patrick.
Patrick's champions on the North Shore — and many trace their support to the early days, when he was considered an obscure long shot for governor — describe him as accessible, compassionate and committed to their issues.
Bill Wasserman, a retired newspaper publisher from Ipswich, first met Patrick in the winter of 2005 when he spoke at a Boston law office with just 20 people in attendance. Since then, Wasserman and his wife have held four fundraisers at their home. An event in May raised $22,000.
"He was, at first blush, everything I could hope for in a candidate," Wasserman said. "He's articulate, has the right long view of what should happen in the state in terms of industry, education, jobs, even civil rights."
But Wasserman said there's another side to Patrick that the public hasn't seen, but that Wasserman thinks Patrick should display more on the campaign trail.
"He's reluctant to show it, even in campaigns, but he is one tough son of a b," Wasserman said. "If he doesn't like something, boy, he lets you know. I don't think he raises his voice, but he can cut you dead. I've even been the object of it, so I know he can do it."
'Honest campaigner'
Beverly insurance salesman John Archer, another early Patrick supporter, remembers how he reacted candidly to a complicated question Archer stumped him with in the months before he announced his candidacy.
"I think I asked him something about a health care issue, and he said, 'I don't know a lot about that. That's one of my weak points,'" Archer said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, how honest can you get?'"
Keenan praised Patrick for investing in long-term goals, like infrastructure and education, especially in Salem. He credits Patrick for his commitment to the new Salem courthouse, an MBTA garage, the wharf project, and both a new dorm and new library at Salem State College.
"Whether Gov. Romney or a Gov. Healey would have done that at this time — I know it's October in Salem, but I don't have my crystal ball. I don't know if either of them would," Keenan said. "... The governor has been there at every turn for us."
Patrick's critics include police officers, upset over cuts to programs like the Quinn Bill, which gave police officers extra pay for college degrees, and a push to replace police officers on roadside details with civilian flaggers.
Republican Charlie Baker also hammered Patrick recently for raising sales, meals and alcohol taxes, for increasing spending, and for cutting education funding. Baker's campaign specifically cites Salem State College, where state funding has been cut by 20 percent over the last two years, forcing trustees to raise student fees 5.6 percent this year and 5.9 percent the previous year.
But education is personal with Patrick, Keenan said. He sees the governor's commitment to learning as a form of repayment for the unlikely opportunities he received as a young student at Milton Academy and later at Harvard University and Harvard Law School.
On the campaign trail, Patrick has frequently credited the chance to attend Milton Academy on scholarship as a turning point in his own life, having endured a tough upbringing in Chicago's South Side.
"Education is that important to him, and it really is him giving back to Massachusetts, which gave him an incredible life's journey," Keenan said. " ... If there's a message that comes out, I would hope people understand the decisions he makes are for the long run, and hopefully those investments are going to help the next generation of students grow up to be leaders and productive citizens.
I think a lot of that gets lost in the political shuffle," Keenan said, "... but I really think that's the core reason he ran and how he works as governor."
Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salemnews.com.
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