Politics

Deval Patrick selling his home in Massachusetts

Patrick Howley Political Reporter
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Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s house in Milton, Massachusetts is on the market for $1.5 million, raising further questions about Patrick’s political and professional future.

Massachusetts does not have a governor’s mansion.

Though Patrick has another home in the Berkshires, the fact that he’s selling his primary residence in the Bay State suggests that he may not be prepared to finish the final two years of his term.

Patrick will not run for the governorship again in 2014, and is currently the source of political speculation in both Massachusetts and Washington.

He is widely rumored to be a prospect for John Kerry’s U.S. Senate seat in a 2013 special election, should Kerry be confirmed as U.S. secretary of state, as expected.

A poll released by MassINC Polling Group this week found Republican Scott Brown easily topping Democratic Reps. Ed Markey, Mike Capuano and Steve Lynch, as well as former Rep. Marty Meehan by 17 to 19 points in each theoretical special election race. If Democrats cannot convince Patrick to run, they risk losing Kerry’s seat.

Patrick has also been rumored for a position in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, presumably attorney general, in the president’s second term. The governor and his wife had a “social dinner” last month with Obama and the first lady at the White House.

Nevertheless, Patrick publicly vowed last month not to leave the governorship early to become attorney general, according to the Boston Globe.

“I promised [my wife] Diane that I’d go back into the private sector, and I’m going to keep that promise,” Patrick said.

There’s also the possibility that Patrick may not be able to afford the home any longer. Patrick and his wife have taken on at least ten different mortgages, including sometimes three at a time, on the Milton residence, the Globe reported in 2006. Patrick and his wife’s mortgages totaled $5.9 million as of 2006.

Milton assessed the house more than six years ago at $1.8 million — $300,000 more than its current listing.

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