House Speaker Tom Finneran

A little more than two months ago, Finneran, who had been the dominant figure on Beacon Hill since becoming Speaker in 1995, looked like he’d lost his edge. Finneran seemed stymied by Romney’s ability to use television to put forward his agenda. The Speaker also appeared uncertain about how to deal with a governor prepared to use all the powers of his office to push for his policies (see " Finneran's Funk, " News and Features, February 13). But that’s all over now.

On Friday, Finneran delivered the morning address at the National Conference of State Legislators, a gathering of state representatives and senators from across the country — an event that drew roughly 400 attendees to the Park Plaza's ornate Georgian Room. Finneran’s rhetoric was sharper and his speaking far more precise than that of most of his colleagues from around the nation. He readily acknowledged that the 2002 gubernatorial election had influenced his decision to hold the line on taxes. " Virtually every serious candidate ruled out new taxes, " the Speaker said, mentioning the $1.2 billion tax hike he had pushed through in 2001. " Both executive and legislature are in agreement that taxes are not going to be part of the solution this year. " Asked by the session organizers how the state’s budget troubles had affected relations between the executive and legislative branches, Finneran said, " The honeymoon might be starting to wear a little bit thin on both sides. It’s far too early to say whether [Romney will] become irrelevant or whether he’ll become dominant. "

Speaking to the Phoenix following his remarks, Finneran commented in more detail on how he had handled the early months of Romney’s governorship. For one thing, he acknowledged that he had chosen to remain quiet. " If I seemed somewhat reticent during the early months of the early part of the session, it’s because the governor had under the constitution — and out of fairness — extra time to prepare the budget, " Finneran explained. " For me to be offering commentary, honestly, I think it would just be seen as inappropriate. It’s his moment in the sun. "

The Speaker also noted that Romney’s release of the budget back in February gave him an opening to challenge the new governor. " I think upon examination, some of his claimed savings have not materialized, " said Finneran. " Some well beyond the halls of the legislature have looked at it and are shaking their heads. " He added that Romney himself has all but admitted the original budget’s lack of substance. " He himself and many of his secretariat have acknowledged there are any number of shortfalls from what they had originally planned, " said Finneran, observing that the governor doesn’t make these acknowledgements with the same fanfare or publicity of his original statements. " He doesn’t go on and make a statewide address. He’ll prefer to make these concessions one-on-one to a reporter or privately — but no sweeping announcement. " The difference between the budget Romney prepared and the House’s, Finneran asserted, is reality. " I’d be the first guy in the Commonwealth, maybe the second after Mitt himself, if there was a way to reform and reorganize and come up with $2 billion. There is nobody in the Commonwealth who thinks that is real, " he said, taking a moment to reflect on the budget gap. " I’m not overwhelmed by the complexity of this, " he continued. " But we’re capable of doing it, and we will do it. But it’s much, much better to be very frank and up-front with people. People can handle the truth. When you try to gloss it over or fake your way out of it or do the smoke and mirrors, that’s when you make a fool of yourself and the institution you’re leading. "

Finneran’s outlook seems reflected in the House budget, which cuts UMass funding without any broader reform of the state-university system — for which there’s little public appetite. " I think some people have described [Romney’s proposed reforms] as an overreach. I’ve heard members of the House and Senate remark that if the university president’s name was John Jones, there probably would have not been any mention or reference to the university president’s office, " the Speaker says, noting the lack of public support — even among Romney’s presumed supporters — for the changes: " What I thought was an interesting response was the response of the business community to it. I think he’s off by 180 degrees. You can’t be more way off than 180 degrees. " Nonetheless, Finneran is hesitant to declare victory. " I certainly haven’t felt a sense of triumph or anything else, " he says. " The system is designed to prevent anybody from being triumphant. "

Finneran is right to talk of checks and balances. And it's true that while momentum has gathered behind the Speaker, thanks to the governor’s overreaching, he must be careful to not interpret the Romney’s current weakness as carte blanche to accrue even more personal power. A bad sign came last month, however, when the Speaker moved forward with a proposal to give him more control over pay for committee chairs. (Finneran doles out committee chairmanships — which come with stipends of $7500 or $15,000 — to key allies as a way to reward them.) Last month, the Public Service Committee approved the proposal over protests by House dissidents. " It’s a terrible bill, " Back Bay state representative Paul Demakis said at the time, according to a State House News Service account. " The only purpose of the bill is to increase the Speaker’s control to make it easier for him to give stipends to members who will then be expected to support him legislatively. " If Finneran tries more such maneuvers, he could provide the governor with fodder to gain the upper hand on Beacon Hill.

Senate president Robert Travaglini

The wild card on Beacon Hill is the new Senate president, the successor to former state senator Tom Birmingham of Chelsea, who had held the post since 1996. Until this year, Travaglini, a senator from East Boston and a former Boston city councilor, preferred to remain in the background. Now he has been thrust into the limelight. Addressing the National Conference of State Legislators prior to Finneran’s official comments last Friday, Travaglini scored points with an informal quip prompted by mention of legislators from Utah, the state where Romney gained a national reputation by running the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and contemplated running for higher office. " I want to thank the Utah delegation for giving us your governor, " Travaglini said to roars of laughter from the audience. He followed that home-run with a somewhat bland and subdued statement about the obligations all state legislators face. " Our capacity as elected officials is clearly going to be tested and is on the line right now, " Travaglini said, invoking the need for " good government. " " These discussions ... will hopefully realize some reorganization and enhance the potential for all of our re-elections. "

For seven years, political observers knew what to expect from Travaglini’s predecessor. Birmingham, a gubernatorial aspirant, would fight both Republican governors and Finneran for increased funding for education reform and other social programs. On several occasions, most memorably in 1999, when the budget was four months late, and in 2001, when it was even later, the Senate president was at the center of extremely acrimonious budget battles; often, the budget negotiations between Finneran and Birmingham continued on the State House balcony. Travaglini seems determined to avoid Birmingham’s mistakes. " They’re both smart enough to stay off the balcony, " says State Senator Richard Moore of Uxbridge. For his part, Travaglini is eager to emphasize the differences between himself and his predecessor. " I’m not Tom Birmingham, " Travaglini insisted after his remarks to the national legislators’ group. " At the outset of my tenure as president, I realized the conditions were very serious. To remedy them in a professional way was going to take a significant level of cooperation with the Speaker and my Senate colleagues. "

Still, Travaglini has a reputation for being significantly more amenable to social-services spending than either Romney or Finneran. Social-services advocates are looking toward the Senate president as the one person on Beacon Hill who can champion their interests, as Birmingham did. While Travaglini has not come out and endorsed new taxes, he does indicate there will be differences between the Senate budget and those released by both Romney and Finneran. " There are going to be differences of opinion and differences in our recommendations for reform and reorganization, " Travaglini says, adding that the same applies to social-services spending. " There will be a difference in that area, " he says. " I don’t want to fall into the historical pattern of predicting what the Senate is or isn’t going to do, but obviously [for] those programs we have demonstrated a greater degree of concern than our colleagues. I think that’s going to remain constant. "

The private rap on Travaglini four months into his tenure is that he has failed to assert himself as Senate president. That charge is partly unfair. Birmingham and Finneran were peers who came into their roles at roughly the same time. Travaglini is having to find his way alone at a difficult time — and that seems to empower Finneran. " There’s a tremendous difference, " Travaglini says. " We don’t have any money. It does not make sense to me — and I’ve had this discussion with the Speaker — to be fighting over what we’re going to be cutting. It makes more sense to create this chemistry that’s going to allow an environment that is compatible to being able to make decisions mutually. " Travaglini emphasizes that the drastically different fiscal climate (Birmingham was Senate president during a time of fiscal surpluses) has altered the atmosphere on Beacon Hill since he rose to leadership. " People won’t tolerate two things right now — chaos and delay, " he says. " If they see us pointing fingers and engaging in political rhetoric, it’s only going to heighten the flame and their animosity. I don’t believe that’s appropriate at this time. "

That said, Travaglini maintains, the Senate budget will be different from the House budget. " After the House deliberates their budget next week, it will be the Senate’s turn and the focus will come on us, " he says. " Then judge us on that. The legislative year is not going to end on July 1. This problem wasn’t spawned overnight. It’s not going to be cured overnight either. "

IN THE COMING weeks, as the budget battle continues, the dynamics of personal power on Beacon Hill will become more fixed. Even Finneran is not yet declaring victory over Romney, who still maintains considerable popularity outside the State House. One likely outcome is, of course, a stalemate: Finneran becomes the dominant player inside the building, Romney continues to campaign outside the building to build popular animus against the Speaker, and Travaglini remains in the background. What this means for the state, however, remains to be seen.

Seth Gitell can be reached at sgitell[a]phx.com