Thursday, 4:30 PM
Healey, Patrick start swinging
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey laid out a 50-point platform today, setting her agenda for the seven-week race to the general election just hours after Deval Patrick accepted the Democratic nomination.
"We have a lot of big ideas about how to make Massachusetts a better place to live," Healey told a room full of reporters at her campaign headquarters.
Her initiates included a focus on immigration policies, a move that may thrust a polarizing issue into the middle of the governor's race.
“We need to be very clear on making sure that there’s distinction between people who are here illegally and people who are not,” Healey said.
Without offering specifics, her plan also includes "severe penalties for companies that hire illegal aliens."
Patrick, still surging from Tuesday's sweeping primary win, toured Marlborough this afternoon and had a rally scheduled this evening in Boston. He reacted to charges Healey made Tuesday night in a speech, characterizing him as free-spending liberal who wanted to raise taxes.
"I don't have a plan to raise taxes," Patrick said.
He explained that he wanted to cut the property tax and end what he called a "fiscal shell game" by Republicans.
"She's nervous and surprised," Patrick said. "And she should be nervous and she should be surprised."
