Panagiotakos won't seek re-election

Senator built legacy as a force for Lowell and the state

BOSTON -- Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, the longest-serving state senator in the history of Lowell, will not seek re-election this fall, ending an 18-year political career in the Legislature that saw him become a driving force in state politics and his city's redevelopment.

Panagiotakos, 50, said he considered retiring from the Legislature several years ago when Senate President Robert Travaglini resigned, but decided instead to stay to take the reins of the state budget. Over the past several years he has become one the most powerful lawmakers on Beacon Hill, and his departure will leave a void in the Democratic leadership of the state as well as Lowell.
Panagiotakos said he came to a final decision in the past week to forgo another campaign, telling his family and a close circle of friends that it was time to simplify his life and look for a new challenge.

To date, he does not have a challenger in the election.
"I never really looked at this as a career for myself. I enjoy it. I love it. But there has to be a time when I pass the baton," Panagiotakos told The Sun yesterday in an exclusive interview from his Statehouse office.

Despite ongoing financial stresses on the state, he said he finally feels comfortable walking away knowing he has helped steer the state budget through the worst of the financial crisis. He has also worked to put local projects, such as the Hamilton Canal District and the Emerging Technology Center at UMass Lowell, on the path to completion.

"I'll take a lot of great memories and pride in the work we've accomplished, but there is always time for another challenge in life," Panagiotakos said.
The news of his departure spread like wildfire through the Statehouse yesterday, with his colleagues heaping praise on the well-respected Panagiotakos. Most expressed sadness at his imminent departure, predicting it will be nearly impossible to replace his leadership and skill.

"Everyone loves 'Pange' because he brings no pretense, because he's smart, he's thoughtful and he's kind," said Senate President Therese Murray. "He's affable, and he's a straight shooter. He has served the commonwealth with such great pride and integrity over the years, it really is hard to see him go."

PROUD HERITAGE:
Sen. Panagiotakos outside Lowell City Hall observing

Greek Independence Day on March 25, 2007.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Murray called Panagiotakos one of her "closest confidants and friends in the Senate."
Gov. Deval Patrick, who meets almost weekly with Panagiotakos and legislative leadership, said he would miss working with the senator and has great respect for his candor and help in working with the Legislature.
"For me, professionally and personally, he has been a marvelous partner, friend and also a great coach," Patrick said. "He's a great problem-solver, very pragmatic, on the hill: politically sensible, but also brave and has a really strong compass. I'm going to miss him."
As the first Greek-American ever elected to the Legislature from Lowell (in 1992), Panagiotakos served two terms in the House of Representatives.
He was elected to the Senate in 1996, rising through the ranks to become chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where he was charged with helping to guide a $28 billion state budget through one of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression.

Viewed by many on Beacon Hill as the Senate president in waiting, Panagiotakos' leadership style has been marked by compromise with both Democrats and Republicans. Though he tended to shy from the spotlight unless necessary, his

He authored a significant pension-reform package, along with tax-credit programs for the film industry and historic landmarks, and an expansion of Patrick's growth-district initiative that brought millions to his hometown. He has also been a relentless advocate for higher-education funding.
Panagiotakos' immediate plans for the future are unclear. He said he will likely go back to his law practice but is open to opportunities elsewhere. He would not rule out running for elected office again, though he said he has no plans or ambitions for a specific office.
Panagiotakos grew up in the Highlands neighborhood of Lowell, the son of a middle-class Greek-American family. Though he dreamed of one day playing football for Lowell High School, he said his mother, Edna, encouraged him to apply to Phillips Andover Academy, where he was accepted and attended before going to Harvard University.

He earned a law degree from Suffolk University and entered politics as a 29-year-old newcomer when he ran for the Lowell School Committee in 1989. He won that race, and three years later ran for the House of Representatives.
"We didn't know a lot about politics when we started campaigning, but we knew it was about people," Panagiotakos said.
It wasn't long before Panagiotakos became one of the leading political figures in a cut-throat political city. First elected to the Senate representing a district that included Lowell, Tyngsboro, Westford, Groton, Dunstable and Pepperell, Panagiotakos became popular in both the city and the suburbs.
In every election year his name has been on the ballot, he has been the top vote getter in Lowell, besting the likes of former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas and presidential contenders from Bill Clinton to the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and U.S. Sen. John Kerry.

He accomplished that without ever accepting a political donation from a political action committee or registered lobbyist. He also refused to accept a $16,240 pay raise voted by legislators in 1994, giving up more than $260,000 in salary over the past 16 years.
Panagiotakos said he counts his "calm, steady hand at the helm" of the state budget the past four years as one of his proudest accomplishments.
Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, called Panagiotakos "a realist who showed a steady hand in a thankless position."
Widmer recalled a critical moment last May in the midst of the fiscal crisis and collapsing state revenue when Panagiotakos called an immediate hearing and dropped the state's revenue estimate by $1.5 billion.
"I'm sure he was under tremendous pressure not to drop it that much because of the impact those cuts would have. These moments cry out for leadership and he grabbed it," Widmer said.

In his career, he has helped secure funding and support for the redevelopment of the Lawrence Mills and the redevelopment of the former Julian D. Steele public-housing project into a development known today as Rivers Edge on the Concord.

He helped shepherd the expansion of Route 3 and secured $40 million to advance the nanotechnology manufacturing center at UMass Lowell.
Though he will leave the Senate before seeing several projects completed, Panagiotakos has also been instrumental in advancing the construction of a new judicial center in downtown Lowell and lining up state support for the Hamilton Canal District that promises to reshape Lowell's downtown.
"I hope I've left the city better than when I started. I think I have. But I did it as part of a team," Panagiotakos said.
Panagiotakos still lives in the Highlands neighborhood, just two streets over from where he grew up and two blocks from his law office.

He said he's looking forward to more time at home with his wife, Christine, and their two daughters, Giana, 15, and Alex, 13.   The thing that has made me the most proud was not being called 'Senator' or 'Mr. Chairman,' but when they said 'Steve Panagiotakos, from Lowell.' "

Source: Lowell Sun