Lt. gov candidates battle over economy, education, health care

From health care to the economy, Massachusetts lieutenant governor candidates debated these issues and more at an on-campus debate, hosted by the Massachusetts League of Women’s Voters and Student Union, on Wednesday.

About 30 students and interested voters gathered at the College of Arts and Sciences to watch Democratic incumbent Tim Murray, Republican state Sen. Richard Tisei and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Richard Purcell answer questions about issues in the upcoming election.

Moderator Nancy Carapezza began the debate with a series of questions on the Massachusetts educational system. They ranged from the government’s increased financial investment in the University of Massachusetts and other higher education institutions to the dropout rate in urban areas.

While Murray pointed to his government’s “aggressive” efforts to decrease dropout rates in schools, Tisei argued for an increase in education investments while still cutting back in other areas of the budget.

“Cutting local aid makes it very difficult to have great education. We need to free up money elsewhere to invest more in the education system,” Tisei said.

Purcell attacked the existence of charter schools.

“Public funds should be used as public funds, not to help the privatization of the education system,” he said. “We need to stop giving away public money to private companies.”

On the topic of health care, Tisei said the 2006 Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Law succeeded in providing almost all citizens with insurance, but “instead of less mandates and more choices, there have been more mandates, less choices and costs have gone up.”

“Over the next four years, we need to create transparency in the health care system and put together plans that are affordable,” he added.

Purcell, however, called for a complete overhaul.

“We need to eliminate the bureaucracy by starting a single-payer system,” he said. “We do it here and set a standard for the rest of the nation.”

The state of the economy provided for the most debate among the candidates.

Purcell and Murray offered similar plans for economic stimulus, both revolving around green jobs and innovation, while Tisei emphasized the need to make Massachusetts more business-friendly.

“We can create 50,000 green jobs, and by creating a green economy, you’ll fix everything,” Purcell said.

Murray viewed the issue as “all about innovation,” stressing the importance of the science and biotech sectors in the future

The candidates also responded to questions about the economic future for college students in Massachusetts.

Purcell brought up the important role health care will play for studentS.

“We can fix the health care system, use that $14 billion and change it so that students get a free education. Then they won’t be bankrupt,” he said.

Tisei stressed the need to encourage business in Massachusetts.

“As long as taxes increase and there is no reform of state government, students will walk into a terrible job market,” he said.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Samantha Craig said the debate shed light on candidates she did not know too well.

“I was definitely leaning one way going into the debate,” she said. “Health care is the most issue for me, and though I had not heard of him before, I was pleasantly surprised by what Purcell had to say and how much he values it.”

CAS junior Vito Siciliano said though he enjoyed the debate, he thought Murray failed to step up to the plate.

“When asked about the eight tax raises over the past four years, Murray in particular got very defensive and he did not really respond to the actual question,” he said.

CAS senior Matthew Stern, a spokesman for the BU College Republicans, said he thought Tisei spoke best.

“Hands-down Tisei won the debate because of his respectfulness during the debate, but also because of his set of proposals for the future of Massachusetts,” he said. “He was saying the truth about how the state government has been over the past four years.”