Sunday,
June 29, 2008
Massachusetts Senate President Robert E. Travaglini
Feted
The
ANNOTICO Report
Robert
E. Travaglini was the first Italian-American to hold the position of
Massachusetts Senate President after a long time Yankee dominance ( English, Irish, and Scot. ) He held the position for
4 years before retiring to become a
A Picture of Change Emerges on Senate Wall
His portrait,
hung in the ornate room just off the Senate chamber yesterday, joined the
renderings of other onetime Senate leaders during an unveiling that attracted
more than 100 of Travaglini's former colleagues and
friends.
The painting by
artist Tom Ouellette is done in an 18thcentury style and shows him turning to a
bank of windows, his hand on a desk, his head tilted up.
A small model
ship can be seen behind him, reminiscent of the portraits of old
Indeed, one close
friend from his working-class
"He looks
like a Yankee," the friend said in private jokingly as the crowd applauded
when the red veil was dropped. His thin, good looks in the portrait also did
not go unnoticed.
One state senator
whispered that he looked like a young Tony Curtis. Said
another friend, discreetly: "He hasn't weighed that much in 30
years."
Travaglini
resigned as Senate president in 2007 after four years in the job and is now
pursuing a private-sector career as a
The theme struck
over and over in remarks yesterday was that he was the first Italian-American
to wrest the post from generations of Yankees and Irish-Americans. As if to
emphasize the point, his portrait is slightly larger than the painting of his
nearest neighbor, former Senate president William M. Bulger,
who did not attend the unveiling ceremony.
"For so
long, we were left out and settled for second place," said James Aloisi, the
Travaglini's reputation for focusing
on providing his constituents with state jobs played into the remarks.
"He had a
full-employment office," quipped Senate President Therese Murray, an ally,
speaking of Travaglini's hiring in the Senate before
he rose to the presidency.
Travaglini
countered that at least his patronage hires were not among the 10 turnpike
toll-takers charged this week with stealing thousands of dollars.
"None of
them were my guys," he boasted in jest. "I offer no apologies."
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