Democratic gubernatorial candidates at the Bemis Hall forum were (left to right) Juliette Kayyem, Steve Grossman, Martha Coakley, Don Berwick and Joe Avellone (click to enlarge).
By Gary Davis and Barbara Slayter
Lincoln Democratic Town Committee
Despite swirling snow and slippery roads, more than 150 people gathered on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 18 at Bemis Hall for a gubernatorial forum featuring all current Democratic candidates.
The candidates are surgeon and former Wellesley Selectman Joe Avellone; Don Berwick, a pediatrician and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley; state treasurer and former Democratic National Committee chair Steve Grossman; and Juliette Kayyem, a lecturer at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a former Boston Globe columnist.
The Lincoln Town Democratic Committee and Third Middlesex Area Democrats co-sponsored the event. Moderators were Mara Dolan, co-chair of the Concord Town Democratic Committee, and Peter Koutoujian, Middlesex County Sheriff. The forum was recorded by Lincoln Cable TV and is available to the public on its website.
In their opening statements, the candidates summarized their primary reasons for running and aspirations for the role as governor. Avellone said he seeks to create jobs and control health care costs. Berwick noted that Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to realize that health care was a right, and he added that he wants to create a government that fights for everyone and in which everyone can participate in the economy.
Coakley stressed the economy, saying she supports a higher minimum wage and wants to be sure the state provides the education everyone needs to contribute to the economy. Grossman said he wants to focus on jobs and economic security, saying that economic inequality is the central challenge of our time. Kayyem said she believes in the capacity of government to do good and wants to break down doors that perpetuate income inequality, and that she wants to help Massachusetts prepare itself for a sustainable future.
Candidates were asked what they might do differently than Gov. Deval Patrick. All were generous in their praise of Patrick but also offered nuances reflecting their individual priorities, including reducing the achievement gap in education, controlling health care costs, furthering goals of social justice and inclusion, enabling an economy to work for everyone, helping small business so no one is left behind, and focusing on criminal justice reform to reduce recidivism and the costs of incarceration.
When asked about minimum mandatory sentences or life sentences for juveniles, all five candidates agreed that mandatory minimum sentencing has not achieved its goal. They collectively support the need for flexibility in sentencing and judicial discretion that are needed to tailor sentencing to the individual circumstances.
Candidates were also asked what they would do to address the concern that by 2020, the state will have only half the number of health care graduates it will need. Avellone and Berwick emphasized their experience in the health care field and supported a commitment to raising educational achievement and better utilization of community and state colleges. Coakley, Kayyem, and Grossman emphasized strengthening relevant educational opportunities and greater involvement by the health care industry.
When the candidates were asked how they would develop funding to support new programs, Kayyem said she would fund them within the current budget. Grossman said he would not rule out raising taxes but said that increases would have to be accompanied by tax reforms. Avellone said we don’t need to raise taxes; instead, we must control health care costs.
Berwick argued for cutting waste of health care funds, closing tax loopholes, and ensuring fair taxation commensurate with income levels. Coakley offered a two-step approach: look at waste, fraud, and abuse to improve revenues and then look at what we need to invest in.
Despite some surprise snow, it was standing room only at Bemis Hall for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum.
Audience member Peter Braun, chair of the Lincoln Board of Selectmen and the town’s liaison regarding the future of Hanscom Air Force Base, asked whether or not the candidates were committed to supporting the continued presence of Hanscom Air Force Base, noting Hanscom’s role in local financial and cultural well-being as well as its importance for the state’s economy and national defense. In response, the candidates committed to continuing base preservation efforts, with Coakley, Avellone, and Berwick indicating their commitment to providing support to mitigate the potential of negative impacts on area towns.
Other audience members asked about climate change issues, including greenhouse gas emissions and whether the candidates would support carbon tax legislation. Berwick and Avellone said that that climate change is not just a reality but also a moral issue and that Massachusetts needs to be in the lead in developing scientific solutions. Grossman, Berwick and Avellone said they support a carbon tax. Kayyem and Coakley agreed on the science of climate change but said they are not yet committed to individual approaches.
Grossman ended with a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”