State’s dysfunction shows through Baker’s indecision
If Massachusetts strikes out on getting Amazon, you can blame it on politics.
The state’s inability to get behind one or two regions, instead submitting an absurd two dozen applications, shows a lack of political will that is typical of the Bay State.
And it all starts with Gov. Charlie Baker.
The Republican governor is up for re-election in 2018, and the last thing he wants to do is be seen as favoring one city over another, or one region over another. Not with the potential of angry voters from Worcester or Fall River wondering why he excluded them from being Amazon contenders.
And Baker can’t afford to snub Boston. Mayor Martin J. Walsh is unlikely to endorse Baker, but he can make sure his powerful organization doesn’t work too hard at rolling up the Democratic margin in Boston and unseating his pal in the Corner Office. “Our bid is basically, ‘This is why Massachusetts is great ,’” Baker said cheer fully.
No, no, it’s not. It’s why Massachusetts is dysfunctional.
“Frankly, there’s a lot of good options here for Amazon,” said Baker’s Secretary of Housing and Development Jay Ash.
Yeah, way too many options. And when a politician says “frankly” you can count on the next words to be a lie.
Amazon has made clear it wants cities or regions to consolidate their bids into one, but the state is choosing to ignore this guidance. The spectacle of the state submitting a 150-page application with two dozen contenders is almost embarrassing.
Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a Democratic candidate for governor, at least zeroed in on one pick, saying that he favors Worcester as an Amazon applicant. But that also smacks of political pandering.
No offense to Worcester, but it’s not the state’s best hope at snagging Amazon. But the city is heavily Democratic and the suburbs around it are crucial battlegrounds in any statewide election.
So it’s a political win for Warren no matter what the outcome. He can say he stuck up for the city and the much-ignored central Massachusetts region.
It’s unfortunate that no one in Massachusetts has the political backbone to pick one or two regions based on merit, and which ones are most likely to succeed.
Boston is a natural fit for Amazon, with its closeness to Harvard, MIT, and dozens of other universities. The city would have a decent chance of getting the 50,000 jobs Amazon is offering.
But Baker can’t put his political capital in one city — a Democratic one at that.
If Amazon does pick Massachusetts for its new home, all the pols will be lining up to take credit.
But if the online giant says no thanks and goes elsewhere, they have no one to blame but themselves.