Healey Should ‘Kerry’ the Day

To be realistic, next week’s election looks bad for Lieutenant Governor Kerry M. Healey ’82. The Republican nominee for governor trailed Democrat Deval L. Patrick ’78 by 27 percent in a poll released last week, indicating that a Democrat might sit in the corner office of the State House for the first time since 1991. But as the end of the campaign draws near, Healey deserves another look and the opportunity to earn your vote. If elected, she will maintain balance in the state government and promote sound policies. While Patrick’s charming personality and infectious optimism have carried his campaign, Healey has the edge on the important issues, particularly those that matter to college students.

Healey’s economic plan emphasizes the importance of retaining college graduates to work in the Bay State. The plethora of colleges and universities in Massachusetts presents the state with an unparalleled opportunity to develop a highly skilled labor force and attract businesses. Currently, however, higher taxes, insufficient housing, and an overall higher cost of living squander this opportunity by chasing recent graduates away. Indeed, Massachusetts was the only state in the Union to experience negative population growth in 2004, as the cost of living skyrocketed.

Healey has made it a priority to reverse that trend by attracting people and businesses alike. The only candidate to sign a “no new taxes” pledge, she has campaigned vigorously to reduce the state income tax to five percent. The voters supported such a rollback in 2000, but a recalcitrant legislature has refused to heed their will, even while the state enjoys a budget surplus. Although he has not specifically stated that he will raise taxes, Patrick has refused to sign the “no new taxes” pledge, leaving voters to suspect that a tax hike would be a distinct possibility under his administration.

Healey has also articulated a plan to work with companies to forgive loans for students entering high-demand fields, including engineering. And she will reduce the cost of housing by incentivizing re-zoning practices that would increase the stock of apartments and by working with banks to make down payments on houses less burdensome. Healey recognizes that recent graduates from Massachusetts colleges like Harvard will form the backbone of the state’s economy, and she is committed to making sure that they can afford to stay.

Another element of Healey’s appeal, surprisingly enough, is her party affiliation. Despite the overwhelmingly liberal opinions of Massachusetts voters, the state has had a Republican governor for the last sixteen years. This streak can be partially attributed to weak Democratic opponents, but it also illuminates another crucial factor that has weighed heavily on voters’ minds—balance. Out of 200 State Senators and Representatives in the legislature, only 27—or 13.5%—are Republicans. With a Democrat as governor, the Democratic super-majority will have virtually unlimited leeway.

Conflict and disagreement are necessary ingredients in our democratic process, since they force politicians to refine and question their ideas and check excess. Regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats dominate the government, when a single party gains disproportionate power, radical and unwise policies are bound to ensue. The nagging opposition’s counterarguments and criticisms can be safely ignored, allowing the majority to adopt imprudent policies without thinking them through. Nowhere else in the nation is the need for balance more urgent than in Massachusetts. If Kerry Healey is not elected as a check against the legislature, we run the risk of becoming a literal one-party state, with the objections of a handful of prominent dissenters drowned out by the din of the majority.

The Commonwealth’s recent fiscal crisis serves as an excellent example of the importance of balance. Instead of endorsing the tax-and-spend mentality that led the state into debt, Governor W. Mitt Romney and Healey refused to raise taxes and balanced the budget each year by reducing waste and cutting excessive spending. In the fiscal year 2007 budget alone, the Governor cut almost $600 million from the legislature’s proposals to ensure that the state would not dip too much into its rainy day fund. Over the last four years, a $3 billion state deficit has been converted into a $1 billion surplus, thanks in no small part to the executive branch’s restraint. Patrick will not exercise such discipline. The presence of a Democrat who might support a tax increase and who will not veto its appropriations will only embolden the legislature to spend more, sending the state into fiscal peril once again.

Ultimately, voters have a choice between a moderate candidate and a left-of-center candidate. Kerry Healey is a true Massachusetts Republican—in other words, she would be a Democrat in most states. She publicly disagreed with Romney’s veto of a bill expanding access to the emergency contraception pill and has repeatedly affirmed that she is pro-choice. She has dedicated her career to public safety, and her tough stances on repeat drunk drivers, sex criminals, and domestic abusers display her genuine concern for victims. Far from being the isolated snob portrayed in the media, Healey went to public school in Florida and worked her way through Harvard.

Despite the stigma attached to her party affiliation and preppy media image, Kerry Healey is a true moderate. Support responsible and balanced government by voting for her on Nov. 7.

Adam A. Solomon ’09, a Crimson editorial comper, is an economics concentrator in Lowell House. He worked for the Healey campaign last summer.