Delahunt Bowing Out?

Could Bill Delahunt be the next Democrat from Massachusetts to be replaced by a Republican?

US Representative William Delahunt said yesterday that he is considering retiring from his congressional seat representing the South Shore and Cape Cod, although he portrayed his deliberations as routine and said they are not related to challenges from Republicans who are energized by Scott Brown’s upset victory in last month’s special Senate election.

“Every election cycle, I take my time, I think it through, and I think, not about whether I can win or lose, but: ‘Am I in a position to make a difference?’ ’’ Delahunt, a Quincy Dem ocrat, said in a telephone interview. “Can I achieve what I want to achieve outside of public life?’’

Delahunt, who has not faced a serious challenge since he was elected in 1996, has a campaign war chest of more than $600,000 but has not been aggressively raising money this year, according to federal records. He said he will announce in March whether he will seek reelection.

If he departs, it would signal a continued shift in New England’s political landscape after the Republican Brown stunned Democrats when he won the seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy. Kennedy’s son, Patrick, said yesterday that he will be quitting his US House seat in Rhode Island.

“I have held elected office for almost 40 years,’’ said Delahunt, a former prosecutor. “I understand that there is always an ebb and flow. Today you are up and tomorrow you are down. That is the rhythm of political life.’’

Delahunt has held office so long that Democratic strategists said it is not clear who in his party might seek the seat if he were to retire. Some have floated the name of Therese Murray, president of the Massachusetts State Senate, who is from Plymouth. But she has recently indicated that she believes Delahunt will run and win.

Still, several Republicans see a chance to recapture one of the state’s conservative districts, where Brown received some of his highest margins of victory on Jan. 19. And they have seized on an unlikely issue: Venezuela. Or, more specifically, Delahunt’s good relations with Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, who once called President Bush “the devil’’ in a speech at the United Nations.

One of those Republicans is State Rep. Jeff Perry, who recently announced his candidacy. Obviously, the dynamics of this years elections changed  when Scott Brown won his election. Every seat is in play now. If Delahunt does retire this offers even more hope for the Republican Party since taking an open seat is easier than defeating an incumbent. In a district handily won by Scott Brown, it is safe to say that the Democrats’ one-party stranglehold on the state is weakening.

First Lady

History in the making…

Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday tapped veteran trooper Marian McGovern to be the first female leader of the Massachusetts State Police, promoting a 30-year veteran who was among only a dozen women in the agency when she began her career.

“She has done just about every job in the state police,” Patrick said of his pick yesterday. “She is very well-prepared and very well-regarded.”

McGovern, 55, of Millbury, goes from second-in-command to top cop on Dec. 16, replacing Col. Mark Delaney.

McGovern said she was “on cloud nine” over the new post but also acknowledged the significant financial challenges the force faces in the coming months and years. She said, however, that she is ready to meet those challenges.

“I know and I certainly understand we have a tough road ahead of us,” she said. “I think that is when leadership needs to take a stand.”

Delaney recalled how there were no female troopers on the job when he began 35 years ago. Now, McGovern is among 173 women on the 2,250-trooper force.

Senate President Therese Murray praised the move.

“Like so many other superintendents before her, she worked her way up the ranks,” Murray said.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

…And Action!

This story is kinda ironic, considering that the Patrick administration is the ultimate troubled production…

The state will keep its new film-industry tax credit even as the Patrick administration eyes tightening other tax laws to raise money for the cash-strapped state.

Greg Bialecki, Gov. Deval Patrick’s secretary of housing and economic development, said the film tax credit is one of many tax exemptions, deductions and incentives that the administration is now eyeing for possible changes as the state grapples with a $600 million budget deficit.

Bialecki said the governor thought it was only fair that the state looks at tightening tax laws while also moving toward major cuts in state spending. He declined to mention which tax laws the administration is now reviewing.

But he indicated eliminating the film tax credit is off the table, though it may face some adjustments. “No, we’re not going to eliminate it,” he said, noting that some have estimated the credit has created thousands of jobs.

Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Bob Deleo yesterday signaled strong support for the film tax credit, despite criticism that it’s costing the state more than $100 million a year.

UPDATE: Please join us Wednesday night at 8:00pm EST for The Notes on Blog Talk Radio our guests will be authors Marvin Rogers and Dr. Jerome Corsi! Also, More from the Herald, Globe, WBZ and Red Mass Group.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: More from WBUR, the Globe and Herald.

Circular Logic

Talk about lacking basic common sense…

State tax revenues are on pace to fall as much as $200 million below projections this month, signaling a disappointing year in tax collections that could trigger new rounds of emergency budget cuts, preliminary figures show.

The projected shortfall, based on figures from the state treasurer’s office, may require Governor Deval Patrick to slice hundreds of millions more from this year’s budget, which he signed only three months ago. It would be the fourth time in a year that Patrick has been forced to make midyear cuts.

The lagging revenues, despite increased taxes this year and signs of life in the state economy, could hurt Patrick politically as he heads into a reelection campaign next year. His opponents, running on themes of fiscal responsibility, argue that they would be better than Patrick at guiding the state out of its economic doldrums.

“We’re obviously watching the revenues very, very closely, and I don’t want to say anything about where we are until we get the final figures,’’ Patrick told reporters yesterday before heading into a meeting with House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray. “We have a whole host of different scenarios, as you can imagine, that we have thought about and reflected on because we want to be prepared.’’

Can one not make the argument that tax revenues are declining in part because the Bay State has a business-unfriendly climate–and that Gov. Patrick and other legislative leaders haven’t done enough to change that climate?

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

Here We Go Again…

To hell with Beacon Hill!

Legislative leaders on Beacon Hill believe they have narrow majorities in both chambers to give Governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint an interim US senator, in a sign that the controversial measure may pass. But the bill must still survive Republican attempts to delay or kill it through parliamentary maneuvers.

In a key development, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who has been publicly noncommittal, made a decision to back the proposal and was privately calling members yesterday to make the case. House vote-counters said support among lawmakers numbers in the mid-80s – more than enough in the 160-member body.

Patrick has signaled privately that he’d like to sign the bill by Friday and make an appointment within days, possibly having an interim senator in place by next week.

But in the other chamber, Senate President Therese Murray has remained far more reserved in her support, talking with senators but not advocating for the change, according to Senate sources.

One high-ranking Senate official familiar with the vote count said the numbers are there for passage – but narrowly. It is that chamber that Republican Richard Tisei, the Senate minority leader, will try to table the bill with the hopes of delaying it beyond its usefulness, or shaming Democrats who are on the fence over to his side.

“The fact that they think this is going to move like a knife through a stick of butter – that this is going to be a ‘shazamm’ bill that goes through – well, it’s not,’’ Tisei said in an interview last night. “We’re going to slow it down.’’

Republicans don’t oppose the concept of an interim senator, but they think it’s unfair for Democrats to change the law for this appointment.

Murray and DeLeo both declined to comment last night.

UPDATE: Please be sure to listen to The Notes Wednesday night at 8:00pm EST on Blog Talk Radio! Plus, more from Howie Carr, Scot Lehigh and the Globe.