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at masspolitics@globe.com The Political Trail is a bi-weekly column about Mass. politics that runs in the Globe's City Weekly section.

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The positions of the candidates for governor on the issues of taxes and the economy, gambling, education, healthcare, the environment, public safety, and gay marriage.   Issues
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Following Mitt Romney as he eyes a possible run for president

In the nastiest debate of their campaign for governor, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey on Nov. 1 accused her Democratic rival, Deval L. Patrick, of not being truthful about his background as a prosecutor or about his role in defending a convicted rapist.

It was the kind of debate that Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey has urged Deval L. Patrick to accept-- a one-on-one with direct questioning.

The four gubernatorial candidates — (from left) the Republican lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey; independent Christy Mihos; Democrat Deval Patrick; and Green-Rainbow Party nominee Grace Ross — joined hands before beginning a debate on Oct. 25. (Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick)

Healey, Patrick get testy

(By Frank Phillips and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff, 10/26/06)

 VOICE OF THE VOTERS: Reactions to last night's debate

 GLOBE EDITORIAL: A pinch of substance

 JOAN VENNOCHI: For better or worse, they stuck to the script

 SURVEY: Who won?  Transcript  NECN Video

In their feistiest debate to date, the four candidates for governor slugged it out over crime, turnpike tolls, and taxes Oct. 19, with three opponents ganging up on Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey for the harsh tone of her advertising.

 BRIAN MCGRORY: Growing a governor

Barely minutes into the Oct. 17 lieutenant gubernatorial debate, Democrat Timothy P. Murray put on an exasperated look, turned to the man sitting on the stool to his right, and said, ``Please, Reed, no more pledges from you and Kerry Healey. Because every time you make a pledge it costs the taxpayers millions of dollars."

In his first and only scheduled debate with US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Republican challenger Kenneth G. Chase focused relentlessly Oct. 10 on two topics: energy independence and illegal immigration.

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 time in office.

The four candidates for governor sparred Sept. 25 over the Romney administration's handling of the Big Dig, forcing Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey to defend the administration's role in the project. They also drew sharp lines on issues of immigration, education, and taxes.

 GLOBE EDITORIAL: A warm-up debate

 DERRICK Z. JACKSON: A fool's gold issue

 JEFF JACOBY: One spicy debate

 SCOT LEHIGH: Mihos presses Healey

 JOAN VENNOCHI: Where was Patrick?

The three Democratic candidates for governor picked apart one another's positions on taxes, education, and crime in a robust debate on Sept. 13, but avoided the rancor that dominated a similar face-off last week.

NEEDHAM -- The three Democratic candidates in the race for lieutenant governor on Sept. 8 debated ways to improve healthcare costs, increase the number of jobs, and provide more money for local communities.

The three Democratic candidates for governor tangled in a spirited and tense debate on Sept. 7, arguing over the economy, tax cuts, healthcare, and, in heated exchanges, over personal wealth and career track records.

opinion:

 BRIAN MCGRORY: Taking aim, giving pause

 GLOBE EDITORIAL: It's all becoming clear

 SCOT LEHIGH: It's a two-man race

 DERRICK Z. JACKSON: Reilly's pit bull tactics

 JOAN VENNOCHI: Passing the competence test

 JEFF JACOBY: The tall and short of it

They waded through zoning exemptions, slogged into policies about judicial reform, and earnestly staked out positions against homelessness. But the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor perked up in the debate Sept. 1 only when the subject of their résumés came up.

WILLIAMSTOWN -- Four candidates for governor strafed the Republican administration's education policies and one of their rivals, no-show Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, before a largely approving audience August 7 at a forum sponsored by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly urged the Legislature on June 29 to vote on a proposed ban of same-sex marriage next month, using a debate among Democratic candidates for governor to say that lawmakers should not try to kill the measure through procedural maneuvers.

Two gubernatorial candidates say they oppose a Senate plan that would require local housing authorities to check the immigration status of anyone applying for housing.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Christopher F. Gabrieli and Thomas F. Reilly said June 21 they would be open to using state troopers to arrest illegal immigrants in Mass.

FALMOUTH -- Democrats Thomas F. Reilly and Deval L. Patrick traded heated accusations over ethics May 25 in a gubernatorial candidates forum sponsored by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

The three Democrats vying for governor clashed May 24 in the liveliest debate of the campaign, and one of the candidates quickly emerged as the target: Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, who has led in the polls and who is ahead in fund-raising.

Four candidates for governor -- three Democrats and an independent -- aired their differences May 18 on an array of issues ranging from economic growth, job creation, taxes, and education in the first live televised debate in this year's campaign.

Video of the debate by issue