Gov. Patrick assigned to energy issues

Mass. Gov. Deval L. Patrick has been chosen by the New England Governors’ Conference to serve as the regional group’s vice chairman for 2008 and 2009. He’ll also serve as the region’s lead governor on energy issues.
The NEGC, heir to an informal alliance that dates back to the Colonial era, was formally established in 1937 by the governors of the six-state region. The states’ governors continue to serve as the nonprofit policy group’s board of directors.
As lead governor on energy issues, Patrick said he will focus on energy and transportation issues related to global climate change, promoting smart-growth development and the use of public transportation as part of a policy of smart energy use.
Also elected by the New England coalition were Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas as chairman; New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as vice chair; New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine as lead governor on transportation; and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch as lead governor for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The regional governors convened last week during the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., where Corzine and Spitzer also joined in a new multi-state alliance to reduce state and municipal borrowing costs. &#8226