The atmosphere was surprisingly civil last night during the Democratic gubernatorial debate held at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center, as candidates discussed healthcare policies, finance plans and leadership abilities.
After recent weeks of negative campaigning and the Democratic primary just two weeks away, the four candidates appeared willing to discuss the differences between their campaigns and backgrounds.
“I’m glad the Democrats have stopped throwing mud,” said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich after the debate. “Voters don’t want a slinging fest.”
The government on Beacon Hill is in disarray, candidates agreed.
“Beacon Hill is broken,” Reich said.
All candidates presented themselves as reformers with the ability to end insider politics in Massachusetts government.
“I will stand up to cronyism and business as usual,” said Clean Elections candidate and former state Senator Warren Tolman, adding, “The road to reform goes straight through [Democratic Speaker of the House] Tom Finneran.”
Each candidate’s relationship with the controversial and conservative Finneran was a focal point of the debate. Finneran has voted against several Democratic initiatives, including the Clean Elections reform bill on which Tolman’s platform is based.
Though Tolman pointed out State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien’s close relationship with Finneran, many Finneran dissidents also support her campaign, she responded.
“They know I’m the governor who can get the 81 votes necessary to go around him,” O’Brien said.
Focusing on her work as state treasurer, poll front-runner O’Brien said she possesses the independence and the experience to fix the budget and bureaucratic problems in Massachusetts government.
Despite criticism from Tolman and state Senate President Tom Birmingham, she highlighted her management of the state pension fund several times.
“Since I’ve been treasurer, the pension fund has performed in the top third of all pension funds in the country,” she said.
Birmingham was less congratulatory and said the state pension fund was “at the bottom of the heap” under O’Brien’s watch. O’Brien responded by saying Birmingham was distorting the facts.
Birmingham’s attacks indicate he is becoming “desperate,” according to an O’Brien campaign press release issued yesterday. Despite being the candidate who comes from a high-profile political position, who has spent the most money and who has received important endorsements from the nursing and teaching unions as well as the Massachusetts branch of the AFL-CIO, Birmingham has placed fourth in recent polls.
When questioned on this issue, Birmingham responded by saying, “a lot of people with normal stations in life” haven’t yet focused on the campaign or the issues.
However, Birmingham is confident his platform’s emphasis on education and labor rights will attract the masses once his word gets out. As senate president, Birmingham said, he has been instrumental in passing a comprehensive education reform bill as well as the highest minimum wage law in the nation.
“When that gets communicated, my response goes through the roof,” he said.
Birmingham also focused on making healthcare affordable by making insurance more easily available and lowering prescription drug costs. Someday, he said, universal healthcare will be available and “we will look back with disbelief at the gaping hole in the social safety net.”
Tolman continued the healthcare discussion by suggesting a single-payer healthcare plan, similar to the one endorsed by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. He questioned Reich’s plan, which he said still foisted a large expense onto working families.
“I want to get there,” Reich said, questioning the feasibility of the single-payer proposal. Reich suggested a more step-by-step approach, including bulk purchases of prescription drugs to provide more savings and discounts to those in need.
“These are ideas that work — you can put them into effect right away,” he said.
After managing an office of 18,000 while serving as labor secretary under former president Bill Clinton, Reich is well-prepared to put his ideas into effect, he said.
The extent of management ability is less important than other factors, Tolman said when asked about his lack of executive experience.
“This election isn’t about management, it’s about leadership,” he said, explaining his leadership skills would allow him to delegate responsibilities to experts and committees to deal with specific issues.
O’Brien described her strategy differently.
“I’ve been a hands-on treasurer. That’s what’s been missing,” she said. “I want to be a governor that works to solve problems.”
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