UMass Lowell Chancellor and former Congressman Marty Meehan has a seat at the table on Governor-elect Charlie Baker,’s “transition team.” No surprise here. Having a reasonable, reliably “old style” Northeast Republican in the Massachusetts corner office will suit Meehan and his agenda just fine. In fact, Meehan’s access and influence might be better with Baker than with Martha Coakley in the seat. It’s a situation that arm-chair politicos will enjoy watching. Marty Meehan is perhaps the most astute politician around these days and that bodes well for the future of UMass Lowell and the entire Lowell community. As a dedicated alum that’s fine with me. In case you missed the articles about the Meehan-Baker alliance check them out here, here and here.

Yesterday Chancellor Meehan played host to Governor-elect Baker at the newly-opened University Crossing. Other guests included University of Massachusetts President Robert Caret, State Rep Dave Nangle ( a Baker endorser), Lowell Mayor Rodney Elliott, State Senator Eileen Donoghue, State Rep Tom Golden and Lt. Governor-elect Polito. Baker who had opened his campaign for Governor with a visit to UMass Lowell (sans Meehan’s presence at the event) got the full UML treatment yesterday – the sights, the sounds, the staff, the story…. Stay-tuned. (Photo by Tory Germann for UML)