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The Ass Clown
Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is planning an elaborate, weeklong inaugural event, the most expensive in Massachusetts’ history, costing over $1 million. (File)


By Casey Ross and Dave Wedge
Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is planning a privately funded five-day inaugural blowout that could cost $1.6 million - the most expensive political coronation in state history.

A tentative schedule for the weeklong January bash includes an inaugural ball in downtown Boston, a ritzy dinner in the Hub for campaign supporters and weekend parties stretching from Cape Cod to the Berkshires.
State records show Patrick has established a non-profit corporation that will allow him to circumvent state laws that prohibit politicians from accepting donations from corporations or individual contributions of more than $500.

“There will be an element involving corporate fund raising, but there will also be a very strong grassroots element, reaching out to ordinary people and families,” one aide said. “The Gov.-elect feels strongly about making sure that the inaugural and its activities are as accessible to people as possible.”
Sources told the Herald the series of events, crafted to echo Patrick’s campaign of inclusiveness, is expected to cost more than $1 million, a sum that would shatter the $750,000 spending record set by Gov. Mitt Romney in 2003.
The nonprofit method of raising money for inaugural celebrations is not unusual. It was also used in 2003 by Gov. Mitt Romney, who solicited donations from an array of corporations but refused to take money from tobacco companies and gambling interests.
Patrick’s aides said he expects to collect up to $1.6 million for his inaugural bash, but they cautioned that the estimate is based on details that remain in flux.
The plan is to kick off the bash Jan. 3 with an inaugural-event at Union Station in Worcester, where Patrick will join Lt. Gov.-elect Tim Murray in thanking Murray’s hometown supporters.
On Jan. 4, the party train pulls into Boston for an interfaith religious service at an undetermined church, followed by the official swearing-in of Patrick and Murray at the State House at noon.
In the afternoon, Patrick aides confirmed, there will be a youth inaugural, which may be held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury. At 6 p.m. corporate sponsors and supporters will attend an inaugural dinner, possibly to be held at the Museum of Fine Arts.
The inaugural ball, set for the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston, is scheduled to last until midnight, and will be followed by a weekend of party stops in several different regions of the state.
“This guy got votes from all over the state,” one campaign insider said. “He’s got to get out there and thank everybody and make them a part of the inauguration.”

cross@bostonherald.com.

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