That's right, Senate President Therese Murray used the r-word yesterday while addressing the fiscal plight facing the MBTA.
"I think the pressure is on for us to come up with a revenue (solution). ... We've done the reforms," Murray told a group of political and business leaders gathered for the quarterly meeting of the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development at Salem State University.
Her comments came in response to complaints from representatives from Salem and Gloucester regarding proposed cutbacks in commuter rail service. Under one scenario being considered by the transit agency, all weekend and late-night service on the commuter rail system would be discontinued.
The MBTA is currently conducting a series of hearings on proposals for fare hikes and service cutbacks at which users of the system can have their say. (There's one Wednesday, Jan. 25, at Salem's City Hall annex; another Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Lynn City Hall. Both are at 6 p.m.).
But Murray made it clear that maintenance of service will require new revenue. The question that will likely be debated this spring is whether that new revenue can come entirely from fare hikes, or whether it will require an increase in taxes. The MBTA currently receives a penny of every 6.5 cents raised by the sales tax, but there's been talk recently of a possible gas-tax hike to help fund public transportation.
It appears Murray is bracing for this discussion and will make the point that there have already been significant reforms — new employees can no longer retire after 23 years with full pensions and health benefits for life — so now it's time to talk about revenues.
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There has long been a close bond between Murray and Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry. No one has greater access to the president; on the other hand, Murray said no one other than her longtime pal could have gotten her to make the trip from Plymouth to Salem for an 8 a.m. meeting.
"You have some big shoes to fill now that's he's leaving," she declared to an audience that included one of those seeking to succeed him, Salem City Council President Joan Lovely.
Former Tierney aide Gary Barrett of Salem, currently interim president of the North Shore Alliance, by the way, says he's decided not to enter the race for Berry's seat after all.
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Though his head is spinning with all the demands placed upon the mayor, Peabody's freshman chief executive, Ted Bettencourt, hasn't lost his sense of humor.
He laughingly tells the story about how a few days ago an assistant to a prominent business executive called his office seeking to set up a meeting with "Mayor Fitzgerald."
Bettencourt, who beat Sean Fitzgerald last November for the right to succeed Michael Bonfanti in the corner office, has been making the rounds of the various regional business meetings. Last week, he was at the head table for a North Shore Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Danvers, and yesterday was joined by Salem's Kim Driscoll, Beverly's Bill Scanlon, and several other legislators and municipal chief executives at the North Shore Alliance meeting in Salem.
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Only a win tomorrow in South Carolina could salvage this week for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who continues to be pummeled regarding how he's managed his wealth and now discovers he didn't receive the most votes in the Iowa caucuses after all. Worst of all, the economy continues to improve.
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Former Gov. Paul Cellucci has endorsed Richard Tisei in the race for the GOP nomination for the 6th District seat currently held by Congressman John Tierney.
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