Library Lovers Advocate for Funding at Patrick Campaign Stop
 Photos by Nichole Dupont
Gov. Deval Patrick meets with supporters on Sunday morning outside the Riverbend Cafe in Great Barrington. |
With the state facing still more financial cuts, Patrick's campaign kick off this weekend is clouded by fiscal belt-tightening as the Bay State struggles to shake off a stubborn recession. (A hundred police officers protested cuts at his Lowell rally on Saturday.)
At the Riverbend Cafe, one of many stops Patrick made this weekend in his whirlwind tour across the commonwealth, more than 100 concerned citizens, press and supporters gathered to meet, greet and plead their case to the governor.
Nancy Hahn, director of the Bushnell-Sage Memorial Library in Sheffield, was there with more than 25 Western Massachusetts Regional Library Systems patrons carrying signs in support of local libraries. Hahn's concerned about the future of reading and resources west of Springfield if the state follows through with plans to eliminate funding for the 50-year-old book-sharing network.
"We need to advocate support for libraries and rural villages more and more as the economy remains difficult," she said. "Right now we're level-funded but with the cuts, our summer reading programs will be gone. We need to support them, the kids. They may not be voters now, but they will be."
Hahn was not alone in her concerns for the future of WMRLS. Supporter Bill Shein of Alford also voiced his concerns for the future of local libraries and Western Massachusetts in general.
"This is something that is so fundamental to the commonwealth," he said. "The library is opening doors for people who don't have access to other resources. The libraries can't take another hit, neither can the schools."
While Patrick was sympathetic with Shein's concerns, he did remind the crowd that the state has been operating on a $300 billion deficit and that many public organizations are suffering.
"You don't have to persuade me about the value of libraries or of education," Patrick said. "But what would you take it from? That's not a rhetorical question. If it's not that, then what? The state budget has to be cut by one-third across the board. Imagine cutting a third of your household budget. Where do you start?"
Despite facing tough money decisions in the coming months, Patrick reminded the crowd that Massachusetts is one of the few states still able to submit a budget at all.
"We continually submit a responsible, balanced budget that's on time. Some states can't say that. We're still first in the nation in education and health care. We're building our infrastructures bit by bit."
And, bit by bit, Patrick is building a campaign based on three principles.
"Be informed, make it personal and believe," he said. "Don't model the kind of politics that says we have to agree on everything before we agree on anything. All over America, we need to help people help themselves. It's not a math issue."
He cited his own fondness and loyalty to the state as the force that is driving his 2010 campaign.
"I'm not motivated by entitlement, I'm motivated by gratitude," he said. "In 1970, I moved here from the south side of Chicago, from welfare. Massachusetts people gave me blessings I couldn't even imagine. If you believe in those values, act like you do. We will win and we deserve to win."
