No letup on Healey from feisty Mihos

DEDHAM -- He was like the bratty brother Kerry Healey never had and never wanted.

Christy Mihos, the independent candidate with the broad Boston accent and everyman persona, prodded, taunted, and interrupted Healey during the entirety of last night's debate at the Fox 25 studios.

He blamed her for political gridlock. He blamed her for people moving out of Massachusetts. He teased her for her admiration of former acting governor Jane Swift.

His presence added feistiness to the forum and may have even drawn sympathy for Healey from some viewers.

But his emergence in the debate -- and his relentless talking -- suggests one of the prickly problems for Healey as she attempts to connect with voters and focus her fire on Democrat Deval L. Patrick. Mihos seemed to rattle and occasionally exasperate the lieutenant governor, who was seated beside him.

When moderator Chris Wallace asked about immigration, Mihos charged that Healey talks tough on illegal immigrants but supports a plan promoted by President Bush to eventually allow some undocumented workers already here to remain.

As she did all night, Healey at first tried to ignore Mihos and focus on Patrick. But Mihos kept peppering her while she was talking. She couldn't ignore him any longer. ``You make some interesting connections," Healey finally said dismissively.

Mihos's attacks on Healey seemed driven in part by strategy. Her conservative and moderate voters may be more open to supporting him, with his libertarian and antitax leanings. But he appears disenchanted with Republican leadership and offended by his past treatment by the GOP.

Wallace also asked if Mihos considered himself a spoiler in the race because independent candidates historically do poorly in Massachusetts.

``How can you spoil a system that is rotten?" asked Mihos, who detailed problems at the Big Dig and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, where he once was a board member. Mihos was fired from the board by Swift, then reinstated by the court.

``When I was getting fired by Jane Swift . . . because I took on big business, big government, big labor, and spoke truth to power when Jane Swift, your hero, was firing me," Mihos said, addressing Healey . ``People are fed up with both of these parties. That's why people are checking out of politics. An independent will speak truth to power."

Healey deflected the criticism with some humor. ``You're my hero, Christy," she quipped.

Months ago Republican Party officials tried to avoid this kind of showdown. They tried to persuade Mihos to run for another state office. But the convenience store magnate refused.

Patrick and his aides looked satisfied after the debate. But Healey advisers say any support Mihos picks up will come from Patrick, not Healey, because Healey's not going to get the disaffected, anti-incumbent voters anyway.

Mihos was asked after the debate whether his main target was Healey and whether his attacks were to boost Patrick. He answered by saying ``Deval doesn't do it for me at all," but he was hard-pressed to say much that was negative about Patrick. Then he continued his tirade against Healey.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.