For the past 12 years or so, the state has somehow managed to get by without an executive secretary for the Division of Insurance’s Board of Appeals. But that didn’t stop Governor Patrick from filling the long-vacant slot with one of his former campaign volunteers.The Boston Herald broke the story yesterday that Patrick supporter Mark Bracken was hired earlier this year to the $45,532 a year post, following what we’re sure was a competitive nationwide search. The Herald draws parallels between Bracken’s hiring and Governor Patrick’s aborted efforts to appoint Senator Marian Walsh to another long-vacant position at the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA) last year. Of course, Walsh was in line for a much larger $175,000 salary before dropping out, but the latest move still smacks of what the Herald calls “politics as usual.”
Be sure to check out the Herald’s story and today’s editorial.
