Excerpts from last night's debate by four gubernatorial candidates
Four candidates for governor took questions from a panel of journalists last night at a one-hour, televised debate at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Here are edited excerpts:
Question for Chris Gabrieli: Massachusetts is currently ranked 45th in the nation for job growth. What specific innovative proposals do you have to create jobs?
Gabrieli: We have to invest to create jobs in Massachusetts. I proposed, for example, last week, that we put, over a decade, a billion dollars, at $100 million a year, out of bonding, into . . . technology, stem cell research for example, renewable energy. . . . By making those investments, we build on our greatest assets, our ability to innovate, we keep those industries here, and we avoid letting California and other states steal our future.
Question for Christy Mihos: As governor, where would you find the money to repair the state's roads and bridges and to build up its commuter rail and mass transit systems?
Mihos: I absolutely oppose any increases in the tolls, especially on the Massachusetts Turnpike. In fact, when I'm governor, I'm going to take them down. Certainly the money is in Beacon Hill. This state does not have a revenue problem at all. For the last two years, we've had a budget surplus of over a billion dollars each year. . . . The state has all the money it needs.
Question for Deval Patrick: If state incentives (to encourage affordable housing) prove insufficient, what would you do to overcome local resistance to new housing?
Patrick: We are the only state in the nation to have lost population in each of the last two years, most of them young, well-educated, well-prepared, and the number one cited reason for those folks leaving is the high cost of housing. I don't have a magic bullet here, but I do think there are two strategies that help. One is supply. Frankly, developers find it hard to get going here, to make it through the long and circuitous and uncertain approval processes. The Legislature just yesterday took some steps to streamline regulation. I think that's a part of it, but we also need to enable cities and towns to deal with the impact of those new families on their communities by increasing local aid so that they have a way to cope with the impact of those families on the schools, on the infrastructure generally. . . . I think the other strategy is public transportation. We've got to invest in public transportation.
Question to Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly: You've switched positions and now favor rolling back the state income tax . . . . to 5 percent even from its present 5.3 percent. The move will save the average family roughly $200 a year, which is your figure, or about $4 a week. But it will cost the state an estimated $700 million by some estimates. . . . Can you tell us tonight which of those you're willing to short-fund in order to save taxpayers four bucks a week?
Reilly: Well, first of all . . . I think it's absolutely remarkable that Kerry Healey is not here to defend the dreadful record of this administration over the last four years. . . . In terms of your tax question, I believe that taxes are too high in Massachusetts, and I'm not just talking about property taxes. I am also talking about the income tax and all the other tax burdens on people. People are hurting here in Massachusetts right now. We don't have a deficit right now here in Massachusetts. We have extra revenues, and the next governor will have at least $800 million in excess revenues, $500 million after the tax rebate.
Question to Gabrieli: Everyone's talking about this apparent exodus from Massachusetts and what it means for the state. One aspect of this puzzling phenomenon that we haven't talked about very much is that that population loss would be much greater were it not for this influx of new immigrants, many of whom come with limited training, limited education.
Gabrieli: What do we do to embrace these immigrants and help them succeed? First off, give them the English as a Second Language that they need. There are waiting lists in our major cities and in other communities for people who are willing to work a tough job during the day, go to school at night. My hat's off to them. I've met with people who do that. Why is there a waiting list? It's small money. They get better jobs, they're better parents able to help their kids with their homework, better citizens. It's an embarrassment that in a state like this we don't give them those sets of opportunities.
Question to Reilly: We're still cleaning up from a 100-year flood in Massachusetts this week. What is the proper role of the state, where does the money come from, and what would you do as governor?
Reilly: First of all, this is where experience kicks in, OK? And I've had experience, not dealing with floods, but in emergency situations throughout Massachusetts. The first thing the governor does is what this governor did. He went to the area. The second thing, do an assessment. The third thing he does is access federal funds. . . . The state has to step in and help those businesses and help those homeowners get back on their feet.
Question to Reilly: Would you give up the income tax rollback to help the people in Haverhill?
Reilly: Right now, I think there's sufficient revenues. It's all a question of priorities, and how you spend your money. I think taxes are too high, and that's my position.
Patrick [answering question about the floods]: Part of the response is about emergency response. It is about showing up. It is about showing leadership. When I was at the Justice Department, I managed what was, before 9/11, the largest criminal investigation in American history. It was the response to the attacks on black churches and synagogues in the South. And that meant pulling together the federal prosecutors, the FBI, the ATF, FEMA, HUD, HHS, all these agencies that had a reputation for never working together -- and they were proud of that reputation, by the way -- and getting results. So I understand how to get the most out of government. 