Senate President Karen Spilka, left, and House Speaker Ron Mariano, right, take part in a January State House ceremony. Photo by Sam Doran | State House News Service

With political opponents like House Speaker Ron Mariano and Sen. President Karen Spilka, who needs allies? 

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker must be congratulating himself after successfully outmaneuvering the two Democratic legislative leaders on the politics of when and how to spend billions in federal stimulus cash. 

The moderate Republican is now looking downright progressive as he battles to spend somewhat over half of the $5.3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds immediately on housing creation, first-time homebuyer aid and other pressing issues. 

That has left Mariano and Spilka looking completely ham-handed, stuck making the most un-Democratic of arguments: Arguing against spending money in favor of sitting on it, for months or maybe even years, so the legislature can take forever figuring out what to do with all that largesse. 

Given we are just coming out of a pandemic that turned the economy upside-down and, strangely enough, sent already-inflated home prices into the stratosphere from the Cape to the Berkshires, it’s not a particular appealing or winning argument. 

Baker Has Right Idea 

Certainly, Mariano and Spilka, in their own, blundering way, have been far more helpful to Baker than what should be his natural allies, the Massachusetts Republican Party. 

The state GOP has degenerated into a pathetic spectacle, with Trump-loving whack-a-doodles and homophobes battling to retain control amid a belated effort by more moderate members to oust them. 

But while Baker has skillfully handled the question of how to spend the federal aid, this is an issue that goes beyond partisan politics. 

Simply put, the governor’s position on how to spend this windfall is all that more powerful because it is also self-evidently the right thing to do, especially in contrast with what the legislature’s likely course would be. 

With home prices hitting new records, Baker wants to spend $1 billion on housing initiatives, including boosting homeownership opportunities. 

The governor also wants to immediately funnel $100 million to four of the state’s hardest-hit cities – Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph – which were shortchanged during earlier federal relief payments by an outdated formula. 

Another $240 million would go to job training and workforce development and related initiatives, all badly needed in a state with one of the nation’s higher jobless rates.  

Baker’s plan would also use $225 million to help keep financially struggling hospitals afloat and pay for addiction programs, while providing $450 million for downtown development. There’s even $900 million tucked in there for the state park system, which saw a surge of interest as people flocked to the outdoors amid the pandemic. 

Legislature Will Take Too Long 

And the legislature’s counterargument? Give us the money and we will take our own sweet time in deciding how to spend it – literally. 

Legislative leaders plan to kick things off with a State House hearing this week, what is likely the first of months of such dog-and-pony shows. 

In a joint statement, Mariano and Spilka anticipate that they may wind up spreading these “investments … over a number of years to ensure our continued economic vitality.” 

Given the excruciatingly slow pace at which Beacon Hill is known to address major issues, especially the state’s housing crisis, this is not a very comforting statement. 

It took years of hemming and hawing for the House and Senate to pass Baker’s Housing Choice bill, a relatively modest attempt to loosen up stifling suburban zoning restrictions that have helped create an epic housing shortage in Massachusetts. 

Beacon Hill’s Black Hole Beckons 

The other big problem here is transparency – there is none when it comes to the inner workings of the Massachusetts legislature. 

Sure, there will be State House hearings on what to do with the $5.3 billion in federal cash, but the crucial jockeying and committee votes that will determine the fate of the money will be effectively screened from public view. 

Scott Van Voorhis

Most probably we will be looking at business as usual, which for the legislature will mean months of silence on the issue as the fate of the stimulus money gets hashed out by Mariano, Spilka and their lieutenants. 

Or those months could morph into years, with the money simply swallowed up in the black hole of one of the least transparent state legislatures in the country. 

In the end, though, the state’s two top legislative leaders control the votes in the House and Senate needed to seize control of the full $5.3 billion and override any veto by Baker. 

But while Mariano and Spilka are likely prevail in this battle, politically they have long since lost the optics war. 

Scott Van Voorhis is Banker & Tradesman’s columnist; opinions expressed are his own. He may be reached at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com.