Healey, Patrick blast away

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey last night assailed Democrat Deval L. Patrick as cozying up to Beacon Hill lawmakers, and he accused her and Governor Mitt Romney of letting the state down during their nearly four years in office.

In the first debate of the campaign to be held in Western Massachusetts, all four candidates for governor targeted the political establishment on Beacon Hill and sought to portray themselves as outsiders willing to stand up to the Legislature and special interests.

The debate, the second of the general election campaign, saw Healey moving more aggressively, after having been put on the defensive last week by repeated questioning from independent candidate Christy Mihos and Patrick.

Aiming for voters fearing Democratic dominance in the State House, Healey spoke of the need for a Republican in the governor's office to keep the Democratic Legislature in check and maintain balance and bipartisan power-sharing.

``If we have everyone from one party on Beacon Hill -- for example, if Deval Patrick is elected -- then we will have everything done behind closed doors." Healey said. ``You will never hear another public debate on Beacon Hill."

Mihos, a persistently harsh critic of Healey and Romney, continued to direct his rhetoric at her and not at Patrick last night. Patrick appeared calm throughout most of the hourlong debate, while Grace Ross, the Green-Rainbow Party candidate, made a plea on behalf of lower-income people.

At one point, Patrick countered Healey's call for partisan balance on Beacon Hill by pointing out that she can hardly profess to be an outsider after serving four years with the Romney administration.

``I think the balance people have really been voting for is a balance between an outsider in the corner office and a fairly entrenched inward-looking political establishment, not just limited to the Legislature, but people who get to play no matter who the governor is," Patrick said. ``And I bring that outsider perspective."

The Republican newspaper of Springfield cosponsored the debate, which was moderated by James Maddigan of WGBY.

Patrick was particularly harsh on Romney, whom he accused of criticizing Massachusetts outside the state as he seeks conservative Republican support for his potential presidential candidacy in 2008. He consistently tied Healey to the state's low rankings on school spending and job creation, and a lack of accountability at the Big Dig.

Healey challenged Patrick on his assertions of political independence, insisting the Democratic nominee is soliciting support from traditional Democratic sources, special interests, and the House and Senate leadership. She said he will be beholden to those interests and the politically entrenched lawmakers who rule Beacon Hill.

She referred to a Globe story last week that reported a private meeting Patrick held with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, where he consolidated their political and financial support for his candidacy. Both men have pledged to round up $50,000 each for the fund created by the Democratic Party to help Patrick's campaign, party sources said.

``Just last week, you went in and had secret meetings with the head of the Senate and the head of the House where they volunteered to do fund-raising for you from the very power brokers that keep them in power and direct their money and votes," Healey told Patrick.

While Mihos denounced the insider culture of both parties, he saved his sharpest criticism for Healey and the Republicans. He decried what he called ``this gridlock each and every day, this see-saw that they play with our money and our time while the state is losing people, losing jobs, losing opportunity."

``These last four years have been awful, because they've vilified this Legislature instead of working with them," Mihos said, adding that two former Republican governors, William F. Weld and Paul Cellucci, were far more effective than the Romney-Healey administration in getting things done with Democratic lawmakers.

Both Patrick and Mihos said they would work more effectively with the House and Senate to achieve their goals. They both criticized Romney and Healey for using the lawmakers as targets to score political points.

``What I understand is the importance of building relationships in order to get stuff done, not demonizing people who differ with me," Patrick said.

Patrick accused the Romney-Healey administration of one thing and doing another, arguing that the Republicans talk tough on crime, accountability, and immigration, but have facilitated the layoffs of hundreds of police officers, paid scant attention to the Big Dig, and done nothing to prevent the state from hiring contractors who employ illegal immigrants.

``If you're tired of talk, if you're tired of government by sound bite and photo op and gimmick and you want lasting and meaningful change, I ask that you support [lieutenant governor candidate] Tim Murray and me," he said in his closing statement.

Healey pointedly asked her opponents why they do not support an immediate rollback of the state income tax rate to 5 percent, which voters called for in a 2000 referendum.

``Why would anyone who is voting want to vote for a candidate who does not respect the will of the voters?" asked Healey, who backs the rollback.

She also taunted Mihos, suggesting he was a conspiracy theorist. ``Who's helping you with debate prep, Oliver Stone?" she cracked.

Ross, the Green-Rainbow Party candidate, won applause from the crowd at American International College for criticizing the state board controlling the purse strings of the financially troubled city, saying it had ``removed most of Springfield's voice in its own governance."

``You can't just bring the money in from the top; you have to build the economy from the bottom," said Ross, arguing for higher wages for the state's low-income workers and more support for small businesses. ``Springfield has brilliance that is not being tapped."

One of the big questions before the debate was whether Mihos would continue the relentless tirade against Healey and the Republican administration that he began in the first debate among the candidates last week. From the very beginning last night, it was clear the answer was yes.

Not 10 minutes in, Mihos asked Healey why an upcoming meeting of a state agency implementing the new healthcare law was being held behind closed doors, and whether she would call for making it public.

Healey answered by touting the healthcare bill as a ``crowning achievement of our administration."

``You didn't answer my question," Mihos said. ``It would be wonderful one of these times if you would."

``I will certainly let the administration know that you're interested in attending, how about that?" Healey said sarcastically.

Mihos then accused the administration of breaking the law, and Healey insisted they weren't.

``All right, you two," Patrick then said to laughs.

``We're just starting!" Mihos quipped.

Then Healey turned to Patrick and said, ``He's with you, so -- " a reference to the similar attacks Mihos and Patrick have leveled.