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Galvin: Serving as second-in-command 'no big deal'

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has plenty of practice as gubernatorial understudy, a role he'll reprise when he becomes second-in-line in a week.

The 62-year-old Brighton Democrat becomes something of a backup governor when Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray resigns on June 2.

Galvin will serve as acting governor when Gov. Deval Patrick travels out of state. And he could serve in that role through the remainder of Patrick's term if the governor takes a post in the Obama administration.

Galvin told the Boston Globe (http://bo.st/17e7W6W) he hadn't considered the possibility of Patrick leaving office early, and he said he's not too concerned about the prospect of serving as backup. He ended up in the post twice after Govs. William Weld and Paul Cellucci left to serve as U.S. ambassadors to Mexico and Canada.

"It's not a big deal, to be very honest," Galvin said.

Galvin has served as the state's top elections official since 1994. Before that, he served in the Legislature where he was known for working behind the scenes to cut deals.

Francis X. Bellotti, a former state attorney general, said he thought Galvin would've made a good governor. "But he doesn't do the political stuff with the delegates and things like that," he said.

Patrick seemed relieved to find a seasoned governor-in-waiting after Murray announced Thursday that he was resigning to run the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Patrick soon called Galvin to talk about serving as his temporary replacement. "He's had a lot of practice with this," the governor said.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe