Patrick aides hint at Tocco's removal

The Boston Globe ^ | October 16, 2007 | Frank Phillips

[Disturbin]

Governor Deval Patrick, determined to exert control over the University of Massachusetts system, is undaunted by his failed bid last month to remove UMass board chairman Stephen P. Tocco and is still planning his ouster, according to administration officials.

Patrick aides have been testing sentiment among UMass trustees and said they expect the governor to have sufficient support to remove Tocco in a matter of months.

Patrick was publicly stung when his allies on the board could not muster enough votes last month to force out the influential Tocco, who is an appointee of Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, but has strong ties to Democratic leaders.

Despite that setback, the governor is not giving up, said aides who requested anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issue. He is the first Democratic governor to appoint UMass board members since Michael Dukakis left office in 1991, and he wants to gain greater influence over the 19-member board by appointing his own chairman.

[Disturbin]

Translation: Tocco is a conservative who believes in public higher ed (God bless him, beause I do not). DP is a spinless liberal who wants to spend ONE BILLION DOLLARS of our money on a public "stem cell bank" at ZooMass.

Unlike most state hacks, Tocco holds this chairman of the board position as a volunteer. His stated goal after assuming control of the board a year ago is to make UMass one of the top ten schools in the country (pipe dream alert).