Baker owes us explanations

The Baker administration continues to have challenges with complete transparency in matters of the public trust. The latest example is the recent suspension of Environmental Police Chief Col. James McGinn, a former campaign chauffeur for Gov. Charlie Baker. McGinn was suspended Oct. 4, but officials declined to cite reasons for the suspension. Sources said McGinn was asked to resign but he refused, and subsequently was put on unpaid suspension.

“Col. McGinn is currently suspended without pay pending the completion of an internal review of operational issues at the Massachusetts Environmental Police,” said Peter Lorenz, spokesman for the state office of environmental affairs. Lorenz did not expound on those “operational issues.”

McGinn was appointed to the post, which earns him $132,000 a year, by Baker though he had no previous environmental experience and his tenure has not been a smooth one.

When he appointed a law school classmate as his top deputy, longtime environmental cops were rankled. Separately, one of his assistants claimed she was punished because her fiance was running as a Democratic senate candidate. An internal investigation corroborated her claims and led to one termination and a resignation at Environmental Affairs. But the investigation steered clear of McGinn.

Baker also refused to act against McGinn when questions were raised by a WCVB-TV report about whether some environmental police officers were working their full shifts and getting paid for working at home.

Baker should be forthcoming about McGinn. Both work at the behest of the taxpayer, who is entitled to transparency when it comes to ethical questions surrounding the administration.

The Herald has exposed lavish spending and employee benefits being enjoyed at both the Mass Cultural Council as well as MassHousing, and in both cases the Baker administration deflected for as long as possible.

In June, a woman aboard a JetBlue flight told state police that A.J. Baker, the governor’s son, had groped her. State police removed Baker from the plane and questioned him, but he was turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which moved forward with an investigation. We still don’t know what happened.

Politics being what they are, perhaps Gov. Baker will be more forthcoming after the Nov. 6 election, but this negligible level of transparency cannot sustain. Though he’s the perennial winner of the “American Idol” of politics nationally, at some point Bay Staters will have had enough.