"Billy" Romney Reconnects With First Grade Teacher

By: Scott Conroy
Topics: Mitt Romney

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

LIVONIA, MICH. -- Mitt Romney was prepared to discuss tax cuts and government spending at the Americans for Prosperity Conference here, but he probably wasn't expecting to talk about his first-grade report card.

The former Massachusetts governor and Michigan native was approached after the event by Gloria Blazo, his teacher during the 1953-1954 school year at Vaughn Elementary School in Bloomfield Hills.

Romney remembered his retired teacher as Mrs. Blazo, but she knew him by a nickname that has been unfamiliar to the rest of the country.

"This is my big secret," Romney said. "It looks like in first grade, I was still being known as Billy Romney, and I think it was first grade when I decided I didn't want to be Billy anymore because there was a song they sung back then: 'where have you been Billy Boy' … and I did not like that song, so I convinced my mom to let me use my middle name, which is Mitt."

The former Massachusetts governor's full name is Willard Mitt Romney.

Mrs. Blazo showed Romney her teacher's notes and briefly spoke to reporters about what she remembered from the young student she taught over 50 years ago.

"He was one person you never had to reprimand about talking, you know," She said. "He worked hard."

Scott Conroy
Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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by cbsespo January 13, 2008 3:00 PM EST: The Associated Press reported this week that on Romney''s watch "Massachusetts led the nation" in new fees imposed on taxpayers. In just his first year in office, Romney raised fees and fines by $501 million, including $140 million in what Romney called business tax "loophole closings."
Romney earned the nickname "Fee-Fee" after increasing fees paid by the disabled, gun owners, people seeking training to combat domestic violence, used car buyer -- even horseback riding instructors. [Associated Press, 8/28/07]; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo January 13, 2008 2:58 PM EST: Family incomes in both the United States and Massachusetts have become more unevenly distributed since 2000." [Boston Globe, 7/28/07]
7 ...But Housing Prices Rose Substantially. "There is one additional area in which Massachusetts was a national leader over the past five years, the rise in housing prices. Between 2000 and 2005, the median self-reported home price in Massachusetts increased by nearly 95 percent versus an increase of only 40 percent for the United States. The median home price ranked fourth highest among the 50 states, and the median value of homes relative to household income was the third highest in the country. The high affordability cost ratio encouraged the high levels of out migration from the state of young families with children." [Boston Globe, 7/28/07]

Romney is even running from his tax-raising record as Massachusetts governor. Romney%u2019s ad %u2013 which features him jogging near his summer home on New Hampshire''s Lake Winnipesaukee -- claims he inherited a state facing "huge deficits" and "turned it around" without raising taxes. [Boston Globe Political Intelligence blog, 8/29/07]; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo January 13, 2008 2:55 PM EST: Though Number of Employed People Rose Nationwide, It Fell in Massachusetts on Romney''s Watch. "While the number of employed people over age 16 in the United States rose by nearly 8 million, or close to 6 percent, between 2002 and 2006, the number of employed residents in the Commonwealth is estimated to have modestly declined by 8,500. Massachusetts was the only state to have failed to post any gain in its pool of employed residents. The aggregate number of people 16 and older either working or looking for work in Massachusetts fell over the Romney years." [Boston Globe, 7/28/07]

7 Wages and Income in MA Fell By 2% During Romney Years. "Between 2002 and 2006, the median real (inflation adjusted) weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in Massachusetts is estimated to have fallen by $10 or nearly 2 percent. The real income of the average (median) family in Massachusetts in 2005 was 1 percent below its value at the time of the 2000 Census while median household income was 3 percent below its 2000 value. Median household income fell even more sharply in the nation. Family incomes in both the United States and Massachusetts have become more unevenly distributed since 2000." [Boston Globe, 7/28/07]; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo January 13, 2008 2:54 PM EST: omney''s Economic Record As Governor Is Shaky At Best. "Since January 2003, when Romney took office, through the end of last year Massachusetts ranked 46th in job growth, up just 1.1 percent. In the last year, the gap between Massachusetts and the nation has widened, with the state''s employment rising only four-tenths of 1 percent, or less than a third the national average of 1.3 percent. That put Massachusetts tied for 44th in the country. If all things in life are measured against expectations, Romney will have a particular problem explaining away the economy. He was going to be our CEO Governor, the state''s top salesman who could talk businessman-to-businessman and bring home those good-paying jobs. It was all bunk, of course. But he said it, and he will have to live with it. There are 40,000 fewer people in the workforce than when Romney took over." [Boston Globe, 2/15/06]

Economic Performance During Romney''s Tenure as MA Governor Was "One of the Worst in the Country." According to economists at a Northeastern University, an analysis of the Massachusetts economy "reveals a weak comparative economic performance of the state over the Romney years, one of the worst in the country." [Boston Globe, 7/28/07]; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo January 13, 2008 2:50 PM EST: Mitt Romney and the Legislature, faced with a multi billion dollar shortfall, made it more expensive to get a marriage license or a divorce, file a court case, buy a house, renew a driver''s license, or tap into a host of other state services. The study by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that Massachusetts was one of 30 states that enacted fee increases this year." [Congress Daily, 8/28/03]

Property Taxes Rose to Highest Level in 25 Years. Romney''s cuts to local aid forced Massachusetts property taxes to their highest level in 25 years. [Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/16/05; Boston Globe, 10/24/05]

Associated Industries of Massachusetts: Romney Forced Hike in Local Commercial Property Taxes. Romney "signed a measure that allowed local officials to raise the commercial property tax rate, which cost business owners $100 million, according to Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state''s largest business group." [Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/16/05; Boston Globe, 10/24/05]; Reply to this comment


by drnewknee January 13, 2008 2:04 AM EST: So what has McCain done for Michigan these past 20 years?; Reply to this comment


by wendir8 January 12, 2008 11:25 PM EST: Mitt is such the obvious choice for this wonderful state, Michigan. He is the ONLY one who actually gets things done in times of crisis. Look at his accomplishments, and you''ll see that his vast experience in the world of economics will bring this nation together. No mon, no fun!!!!; Reply to this comment


by jrm229 January 12, 2008 10:27 PM EST: There are two reasons why Mitt can bring jobs bake to Michigan and no other president can. 1st he believes in fair trade and he will close the currency gap. Second, he knows how to reform health care, he did it is Massachusetts. Once the big three can compete on a level playing field of currency exchange and health care they will dominate. We have the best engineers and manufacturing processes in the world and we will blow away the competition if we can have a chance to compete fairly.; Reply to this comment