Never before have Massachusetts voters faced so clear a choice at the ballot box. This year’s gubernatorial race, widely regarded by political pundits as one of the closest races in the nation, is a race between two candidates of wildly different backgrounds, experiences and ideologies.
Something is seriously wrong with Massachusetts government almost no one denies that. Government spending is out of control, corruption and patronage are rampant and our per capita debt is the highest of any state in the nation. Consequently, Republican candidate Mitt Romney and Democratic candidate Shannon O’Brien have both portrayed themselves as reformers. However, only one candidate in this race has the knowledge, experience and will to truly reform our state government.
Mitt Romney is a management genius. As the chief executive officer of Bain Capital, Romney invested in more than 100 major companies on the verge of bankruptcy and turned them into successful enterprises. Romney’s experience in job creation and waste-cutting served him well as president and CEO of the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney mobilized more than 23,000 volunteers, turned a $379 million operating deficit into a profit for the games and oversaw the implementation of unprecedented security measures in the wake of Sept. 11. Romney was asked to head the Salt Lake City games because of his exceptional leadership skills, and he delivered: Romney took over a scandal-plagued, debt-ridden Olympic committee and produced one of the most successful Olympic games in our country’s history. Time and again, Romney has demonstrated exceptional leadership ability.
As governor, Mitt Romney will fight to reform Massachusetts government. Instead of raising taxes, he’ll cut $1 billion of wasteful spending from the state budget. Romney will put his experience in the private sector to good use: he’s turned failed companies around, he turned the 2002 Olympics around and he’ll make sure that every dollar spent on Massachusetts government goes to good use. At the last gubernatorial debate, Romney pointed that he’s ‘never worked in a place where if you couldn’t balance the budget, you get to raise taxes.’
Mitt Romney will put his experience in the private sector to work and create good jobs in Massachusetts. Romney believes in supporting small businesses as well as creating incentives for larger business to employ people here in Massachusetts. Romney supports merit pay for hard-working teachers and is in support of Ballot Question 2, which would end failed bilingual education programs, though he does not believe that teachers should be sued if they continue to use bilingual education.
On social issues, Romney is a pro-choice moderate who supports civil unions. Romney supports the death penalty in the most serious cases and is also in support of tougher punishments for serious sex offenders. He has also proposed an innovative plan that calls for trial court judges to serve 10-year terms instead of their current life appointments, allowing for the removal of judges who put criminals before victims.
Shannon O’Brien, on the other hand, is the very embodiment of everything that is wrong with Massachusetts state government. As state treasurer, she lobbied to raise her salary by $45,000 and raised the budget of the treasurer’s office by more than $1 million. As a state legislator, she voted to raise taxes on numerous occasions. Her only experience in the private sector was a brief stint at a health care company that was so disastrous, she omitted it from her résumé. O’Brien has been an integral part of the out-of-control spending and patronage that have characterized Beacon Hill politics how can we trust her to stop it?
Furthermore, O’Brien is out of touch with mainstream voters on many issues. She won’t rule out the possibility of raising taxes next year and her record in the state legislature proves that she probably will. Even if the voters approve Question 2 and eliminate bilingual education in Massachusetts’ schools, O’Brien says that she will do everything in her power to overrule the will of the people. Similarly, O’Brien says that even if the voters vote down publicly funded elections this year, she will remain a staunch supporter of the Clean Elections law. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is a Massachusetts Republican in the best possible sense: he combines the fiscal conservatism and socially moderate stances that resonate with the majority of Massachusetts voters.
Mitt Romney is more than just a manager he’s a true leader. Romney’s fiscal responsibility will provide a needed balance to the out-of-control spending of the state legislature and will prevent Massachusetts from becoming a completely one-party state. Massachusetts is in trouble and it’s in times like these that we need a strong leader the most. Mitt Romney is that leader. Honest, principled and experienced, Romney is exactly what this state needs right now. He’ll make a great governor.
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