Bay State first lady Diane Patrick scolded the Boston Herald’s coverage of her husband’s Cadillac upgrade as “racist” in Gwen Ifill’s new book on race and politics.
Patrick took particular offense to the description of the Cadillac as “tricked out” during the DeVille debacle that engulfed her husband, Gov. Deval Patrick, during his first days in office.
“It didn’t have boom boxes, speakers on the outside, but they called it tricked-out,” Ifill quoted Patrick as saying.
Herald Editor Kevin Convey said the term “tricked out” had no racist implications.
“We’re sorry that the first lady feels the way she does, but the term ‘tricked out’ as a synonym for decorated or adorned is over 100 years old and has no racial connotation whatsoever. Moreover we meant none,” Convey said.
Gov. Patrick raised eyebrows when he switched his state car from a Crown Victoria to a Cadillac DTS and upgraded his office with $12,000 drapes and new sofas shortly after he took office in 2007. Patrick had also hired a $72,000 chief of staff for his wife.
Admitting he mistepped, Patrick later moved to pay for the Cadillac and the staffer stepped down.
