At rally, Patrick tries to turn Healey's ads back at her
Addressing thousands of supporters on Boston Common yesterday, Democrat Deval L. Patrick delivered an aggressive rebuttal to Republican opponent Kerry Healey's attack ads, saying she was trying to divert attention from her record as lieutenant governor.
Patrick vowed that in the final three weeks of the gubernatorial campaign, he would force Healey to discuss how she has handled the economy, healthcare, and education.
``We will insist that she deal with her record of inaction and neglect and explain why, based on that record, anybody ought to trust her to do better in the next four years than they've done in the last four years," he said.
He also told the crowd to brace itself for more attacks because, thanks to the Healey camp, the political atmosphere in Massachusetts had grown ``toxic."
``What Kerry Healey doesn't understand is that leaders set the tone," he said. ``Organizations take their lead from the person at the top, and Kerry Healey has set a tone of unprecedented nastiness and negativity in this campaign."
Tim O'Brien, Healey's campaign manager, said Patrick was complaining because things were not going his way.
``We welcome a debate on taxes, we're right; he's wrong," he said. ``Our candidate has fought for victims, he's worked to get a convicted rapist out of jail. We oppose driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, he supports it. He might think those are attacks, but really it's just his record."
Earlier, Healey met with about a dozen South Shore residents over brunch at the Egg & I Too in Quincy to discuss how to make Massachusetts more affordable. She told them she wanted to lower the income tax, deregulate the auto insurance market, and lower health costs for businesses. She also said Patrick would spend more money, raise taxes, and provide in-state tuition and drivers' licenses to undocumented immigrants.
For Patrick, yesterday's event was a critical opportunity to rally his troops and to try to gain control over the debate. Some polls have shown his numbers slipping after television ads by Healey criticizing Patrick's legal work on behalf of a murderer and a rapist.
Patrick's campaign advertised yesterday's event in e-mails and phone calls to supporters; Patrick aides later said the crowd numbered more than 5,000.
Patrick assailed Healey's record on jobs, the Big Dig, and crime. He said that businesses want faster state permitting more than they want her proposed 0.3 percent income tax cut, and that schools need smaller classes more than her proposal for teacher merit pay.
Eva Clark, a Mattapan lawyer who runs a nonprofit in Jamaica Plain, applauded Patrick's appearance. ``I needed this," she said. ``This is like a shot in the arm."
Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com. 