The Big Dig, Dug Up Again

Traffic enters the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, the major component of the Big Dig, on Dec. 8, 2007, in Boston. (AP)

For those keeping score at home, the Big Dig has occupied a significant portion of the current governor’s race (it was a main focus of Monday’s final debate) and is now eliciting comments from both a previous seeker and an occupant of the Corner Office.

First, to bring us up to date:

• Throughout this race, Gov. Deval Patrick (and others) have continually hit Republican Charlie Baker for his Big Dig financing role as the state’s onetime secretary of Administration and Finance. Patrick has called it the Big Dig “financing scheme.” Baker has defended his actions and has said the governor is deliberately and incorrectly inflating Baker’s financing role.
• On Monday, the AP found a 1998 memo written by Baker that acknowledged the Big Dig’s “amazing” cost and warned of “draconian” cuts that would have to be made elsewhere because of the project’s spending. The AP reported that the memo “appears to legitimize (Patrick’s contention that) … Baker and his fellow Republicans concealed the true cost of the nearly $15 billion Big Dig project.”

Then, another AP story today talks to contenders for the 1998 governor’s race. Former Democratic candidate Scott Harshbarger said Baker’s memo validates criticisms his campaign had of the Big Dig at the time.

The article also includes a noteworthy comment from the race’s winner, former Gov. Paul Cellucci:

In an interview, Cellucci denied misleading Harshbarger or the voters.

“Both he and (Republican primary challenger) Joe Malone raised it, but I was relying on what I had been told, and I wasn’t getting any different information from A&F or the state treasurer, who had to sign off on bond issuances. It wasn’t until late 1999 or early 2000 that concerns were brought to me, and I acted on those concerns.”

It seems clear that Cellucci is putting the onus on Baker. Is the former governor attempting to mend his reputation on the project at the expense of Baker’s? And will Baker contradict his former boss?

Analyzing Monday’s debate, conservative Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby called the Big Dig Baker’s “Achilles’ heel.” The latest story today makes clear that the dug-up issue won’t let Baker go.