Mitt Romney, a 55-year-old venture capitalist who was swept into office on the promise of independent leadership, took the oath Thursday as the 70th governor of Massachusetts, vowing to resolve the state's fiscal crisis with " fast, hard action" that will include deep spending cuts and the elimination of popular programs.
"We are facing a financial emergency," Romney said in his inaugural address, delivered before a packed House chamber and a statewide television audience. "There is no easy way out of this mess."
Reflecting his corporate background, Romney promised sweeping changes to state government, saying that restructuring and streamlining represent the "the only permanent solution" to a budget gap for next year that he pegged at $3 billion — $1 billion more than his fiscal aides had estimated in recent weeks. But he warned that such changes would take time.
Though the day featured history-laden pomp and extensive celebration, it also simmered with tension as the icy relationship between outgoing governor Jane Swift and her successor was on display. Within minutes of taking office, Romney rescinded 27 appointments to state commissions that Swift made in the last two weeks, saying he wanted to review their qualifications.
Romney also did not shrink from criticizing other Beacon Hill leaders. In a slap at both the Democratic Legislature and the three previous Republican governors in his address, he blamed the current financial mess on overspending during the 1990s. The state failed to institute permanent cost controls on what he said is a government "ripe with patronage" and plagued by "our slow and bureaucratic ways."
"It is the structure of state government itself that is at fault," said Romney, a Belmont Republican who made his fortune as founder of Bain Capital. "The economic downturn exposed our problems, it didn't create them."
Romney's scolding brought a quick rebuke from House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, who told reporters after the speech that Romney was "glossing over recent history." He said the governor should be reminded that the Democratic-controlled Legislature had the foresight to build up a $2.3 billion rainy day fund, even as Republican governors demanded the money be used for tax cuts.
His family, including his wife, Ann, and four of his five sons, looked on from the visitors' gallery as Romney took the oath of office shortly after noon. Romney, the son of the late Michigan governor George Romney, used one of his father's pens when he signed the official state registry.
The political drama over Romney's rescinding of Swift's appointments underscored the contentiousness between the two figures. While a governor has the right to withdraw any gubernatorial nominations up to 15 days after they are made by his predecessor, the move seemed to surprise Swift aides. Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney may reappoint "at least some of these individuals" if he believes they are qualified.
Most of the appointments were to obscure regulatory panels and volunteer positions, but several were to high-profile posts, including the reappointment of Robert E. Mahoney, a Citizens Bank executive, to the University of Massachusetts board of trustees. He is considered a strong ally of embattled UMass president William M. Bulger. Another appointment was for press secretary James Borghesani, whom Swift sought to install on the Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
"I wanted to serve somehow in a nonpaid positon, but if the Romney administration wants to go in a different direction, that's his decision," Borghesani said.
The chilly relationship between Swift and Romney, who elbowed the acting governor out of the race and suggested she was part of the "Beacon Hill mess" during his campaign, was also evident during the ceremonial exchange of items, which are passed down from governor to governor.
Ordinarily, the outgoing and incoming governors meet privately to chat before the simple ceremonial exchange, but Romney waited for Swift in the Governor's Council chamber. And in public, the new governor and his predecessor usually engage in light banter and pleasantries — even political enemies Michael S. Dukakis and Edward J. King did. But Thursday there was no light talk.
Swift walked in to the chamber from her adjacent office, shook Romney's hand and said, "Congratulations." Romney responded: "Good to see you." Swift then read from the inscription that she wrote to Romney in a 19th-century copy of the Massachusetts General Laws: "May you be blessed with courage and wisdom as you assume the awesome responsibility of governing with compassion in these challenging times. Best wishes!"
Swift quickly returned to her office. Moments later, she joined her husband and children, and made the traditional walk down the front steps of the State House.
Romney and Lieutenant Governor-elect Kerry Healey arrived on Beacon Hill shortly after 11 a.m., just after serving breakfast at a homeless shelter. Two sport utility vehicles ferryied them to the west entrace of the State House, where they enthusiastically greeted a Girl Scout troop and then walked up the stairs, which were lined with about 100 red-jacketed City Year volunteers.
They paused outside the entrance to the building, stopping about 10 feet short of a statue of John F. Kennedy to listen to the band from Beverly High School — Healey's hometown — strike up Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer," a campaign theme song.
With their families in tow, Romney and Healey wound their way through the building on the way to the governor's office, greeted by supporters at every turn. They were ushered into the House chamber by a group of legislators, trailing the top-hatted sergeant-at-arms down the third-floor hallway that connects the governor's office and the chamber.
In the chamber, House and Senate members were joined by the state's constitutional officers, district attorneys, members of Romney's new Cabinet, justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, and four of the state's 12 representatives and senators in Congress, including US Senator John F. Kerry. Folding chairs filled the aisles and the area in front of House members' wooden desks, but the chamber remained standing-room-only on the House floor and in the galleries.
The ceremonies were clouded by the state's budget crisis, which was the central theme of Romney's 15-minute address. He laid the blame for the crisis on Beacon Hill leaders, saying that "in state government, our slow and bureaucratic ways have led to leviathan budget deficits and tax hikes." He also said state leaders failed to understand that the revenue surge caused by the Internet boom in the 1990s was temporary, and that they not only spent the windfall, they did not make the structural changes needed to make government more efficient.
"I took some issue with what seemed to be a rather glib characterization that the political leadership of the state had not been either attentive or responsive to the challenges," Finneran said. "That does not square with the facts. The restraint on the larger part of the budget was remarkable and very favorable compared to other periods of prosperity . . . We built up the reserve fund, and whatever spending occurred, in large measure, was applauded by Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, and Jane Swift."
Senate President Robert E. Travaglini agreed.
"The situation that we're confronted with is not due to fiscal mismanagement," Travaglini said. "It's due to the collapse of the stock market, a terrorist attack, and a recession. . . . It's not our role to cripple and eliminate programs."