Video of the governor's inaugural address with analysis from political editor David Dahl, commentary on race by editor Ann Scales, and discussion about symbols from Living/Arts reporter Joanna Weiss. (Globe Staff Photo / David L. Ryan)
Deval Patrick took the oath of office yesterday as the state's 71st governor, and the first African-American, presenting himself as a symbol of optimism and change who will restore faith in government after 16 years of Republican rule. ()
(By Andrea Estes and Scott Helman, Globe Staff, 1/4/07)
Governor Mitt Romney took the ceremonial "lone walk" out of the State House and into the 2008 presidential race yesterday, concluding his final day as governor by filing papers to set up an exploratory committee for a campaign for president.
Jobs are up slightly, and unemployment is down. More high school students are passing the MCAS, but more are dropping out, too. Business leaders are more bullish, and crime is down statewide. But homicides in Boston are up sharply, and the tax burden is heavier for many across Mass.
Governor Mitt Romney passed through Memorial Hall yesterday as he formally ended his term. (Globe Staff Photo / Dominic Chavez)
The Rev. Richard Richardson (right), associate pastor of St. Paul AME Church, and the Rev. Miniard Culpepper of the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church with Deval Patrick and his wife, Diane, Tuesday night at Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan. (Globe Staff / Pat Greenhouse)
A raucous crowd of 1,000 worshipers, most of them African-American, greeted the state's first African-American governor-elect with a rousing service Tuesday night celebrating Deval Patrick's history-making electoral victory.
What has fueled Deval L. Patrick's success as a lawyer, civil rights prosecutor, and corporate executive, according to people from every stage of his life, is his ability to draw on his background to float comfortably among many different worlds.
PHOTOS: Deval Patrick's inauguration day
NECN: Watch the speeches
SLIDESHOW: Voices from the crowd
