A question of openness

CANDIDATE questionnaires that seek to pin down political hopefuls on every issue from capital punishment to cat allergies are no doubt an annoyance to busy campaigns. But this fall's election is unusual in that not one of the candidates for governor, from any party, has ever held legislative office. That means none has a voting record to guide the citizens in their choices, making it especially important that the candidates err on the side of transparency and reply to a fair sampling of the pesky surveys.

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey made headlines yesterday for refusing to answer questionnaires from three prominent women's groups. In fact, Healey is an equal-opportunity dodger: She has also failed to respond to questionnaires from the AFL-CIO, the League of Conservation Voters, and the immigration reform group MIRA, among others. But the Healey campaign's official silence on abortion rights and related issues in the three women's surveys makes some particularly uneasy. ``It's raising unnecessary questions about her commitment to choice," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts. ``It doesn't have to become a campaign issue."

Although Healey has repeatedly professed her support for abortion rights, some activist women are twice shy about her steadfastness because they were badly bitten by Governor Mitt Romney, her boss. When they campaigned for election in 2002, Romney and Healey did respond to the questionnaires, and Romney put himself on record supporting abortion in many circumstances as well as the emergency contraception known as Plan B. Many felt betrayed in July 2005 when Romney announced in a Globe opinion piece that he was really ``a pro-life governor in a pro-choice state," and vetoed precisely the bill to expand access to the emergency contraception he had endorsed on a Planned Parenthood questionnaire in 2002. Healey said she disagreed with the veto, but her critics think her credibility was tarnished along with Romney's. This year's questionnaires give her a chance to clear the air.

Healey, a Republican, did fill out the questionnaire of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, whose endorsement was a near-sure thing because that group only endorses pro-choice women, and Healey is the only woman from a major party in the race.

Now Healey is saying she wants a sit-down to reassure the leaders in the state chapters of NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization for Women. Rather than closed-door sessions with a few political queenmakers, however, Healey -- and all the candidates for high office this year -- ought to put their views on paper for all to see.