Paul Petrelis

AGE 55
RESIDENCE Medford
PARTY Democrat
PROFESSION Electrician
REACTION Petrelis thought the whole debate was too short. He thought Patrick did well: ''I like the way he speaks,'' and he had a couple of good ideas, such as putting more police officers on the beat, Petrelis said. But Petrelis is skeptical of whether Patrick comes too late to help Massachusetts improve because the Romney-Healey administration ''just drained a lot of the programs that helped a lot of people.'' Taxes are a big concern for him, and Petrelis agreed with Healey's contention that taxes would go up under Patrick. But ''some of her ideas cost money,'' as well, he said. Petrelis was leaning toward Patrick before the debate, and Healey said nothing to overcome his view of her record: ''I think they did a lot of cuts over the past four years — cuts in the schools, health, mental institutions, local aid, they seemed to cut back quite a bit. . . . She and Romney could have done better.''

Jennifer Clark

AGE 26
RESIDENCE Norton
PARTY Republican
PROFESSION Litigation paralegal
REACTION Clark had grown tired of Healey's emphasis on negative campaigning against Patrick, even though she thought the questions those ads raised about Patrick's legal work on behalf of criminals were ''legitimate.'' Last night, she was hoping to see Healey shine — and she said she did. ''Kerry Healey has done her homework,'' Clark said. ''She is right on game.'' Clark thought Patrick had lots of ideas, but ''he doesn't throw out any numbers,'' she said. ''Deval Patrick reminds me of the sixth-grader running for class president, trying to get votes by telling people he'll get the cotton candy machine for the cafeteria.'' As for the other candidates, Ross's proposal to double the minimum wage was ''absurd,'' and ''Christy was Christy Mihos.'' Healey ''did a great job'' of putting Mihos's attacks aside, she added. Clark would have liked to have heard more about what the candidates would do for the public schools. ''In my town, the library in my daughter's school is closed because they can't afford to keep the school library open,'' she said.

Peter Sarantopoulos

AGE 35
RESIDENCE Bridgewater
PARTY Republican
PROFESSION Project manager for information management company
REACTION Sarantopoulos found the debate ''relatively disappointing.'' One hour was too short to accommodate four candidates, he said, and he complained that the exchange lacked substance. ''I was really hoping to really learn something new.'' He said he would love to see Patrick take Healey up on her one-on-one debate proposal. Though he's a Republican, Sarantopoulos thought Ross cut through the bickering of the others. ''I think she's very grounded, and I think she speaks factually, and I think she speaks from the heart,'' he said. After the debate he was still leaning toward Healey, however because he wants balance on Beacon Hill. But he thought Patrick had bested her again because he's ''smooth and speaks well and his timing is impeccable.'' At the same time, he said, he was more interested in Mihos than he was before the debate ''because he's a businessman and not a politician,'' and he believes the state government needs a leader who understands fiscal accountability.

Jackie Foster

AGE 22
RESIDENCE Dedham
PARTY Undeclared
PROFESSION Recent college graduate
REACTION Foster's favorite candidate, Mihos, was still her favorite when the debate ended. His personality, she said, more than made up for the fact that he seemed ''a little shaky'' at times. ''He just seems to have a little more character than the other candidates,'' she said. ''I feel like I could definitely walk up to him and have a conversation . . . and he makes me laugh with his comments.'' Patrick's positions on taxation and the economy need further explanation, she said, as do his reasons for offering legal help in a controversial rape case, something Healey has dwelt upon in her ads. ''I think he's taken it a little too lightly,'' she said. Clark thought Healey ''did all right'' but should have denounced Governor Mitt Romney's jokes about Massachusetts when a reporter gave her the chance. ''I don't appreciate our own governor talking about the state like that,'' she said.

Anthony McDowell

AGE 29
RESIDENCE Norwood
PARTY Democrat
PROFESSION Ticket seller for commuter rail
REACTION McDowell thought both Patrick and Healey had reasonable points of view on taxes and charter schools and argued them both well. But when the debate ended, he was still leaning toward Patrick. ''I liked his plan as far as expanding economic growth within the Commonwealth — in his opinion, one of the reasons people are leaving is because it's too expensive,'' he said. Healey ''on a lot of questions would mainly criticize the other candidates rather than answer the questions.'' McDowell also felt she did not adequately address a question about whether one of her ads had a racist undertone. ''I think the point of it was to instill fear in some people. . . . It was uncalled for.'' McDowell thought Grace Ross ''had some interesting points,'' but Mihos ''just seems like . . . a comic. It doesn't seem like he's really serious.''