At the Lincoln DTC’s attorney general candidate forum in Bemis Hall were (left to right) candidate Maura Healey, moderator Mara Dolan and candidate Warren Tolman.
By Gary Davis
Dozens of voters from Lincoln and several other towns in gathered in Bemis Hall on May 10 to hear two candidates for Massachusetts attorney general. It was the third of four candidate forums organized by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee (DTC).
This forum was the first to be broadcast live on radio station WCAP (980 AM). That broadcast expanded the potential listening audience from the borders of Maine to Rhode Island and west to Worcester. As with the other forums this year, a video will soon be uploaded to the Lincoln Cable TV.
Candidate Maura Healey described her background working in the attorney general’s office as a division and bureau chief for organizations including the Civil Rights Division, the Business and Labor Bureau, and the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau. She has also represented the attorney general’s office in court cases and worked as an attorney in private practice and later as special assistant district attorney in Middlesex County.
Candidate Warren Tolman was a state representative and senator for eight years and was candidate for lieutenant governor in 1998 and governor in 2002. He highlighted his work on issues like campaign finance reform, environmental protection, early childhood education and fighting “big tobacco.” Since 2002, he has been an attorney in private practice.
The forum’s moderator, Mara Dolan of Concord, asked the candidates about criminal justice reform and whether or not they supported reduction of mandatory sentences for nonviolent offenders. Both candidates focused on prevention and treatment by providing mental health and behavioral counselling, life-skills training, and education including job training.
In an answer to a question about gun safety, Tolman said he would use the consumer protection law to implement smart gun technology to improve public safety. Healey said she supports the technology as well as U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s bill in the Senate but said the attorney general in Massachusetts does not yet have the authority to implement smart gun technology in Massachusetts. Both candidates indicated their interest in pursuing gun safety based on Massachusetts law.
In answer to other questions, both candidates also voiced similar positions against hiring on patronage and in support of a ballot initiative to allow a citizen vote on casinos as well as the need to protect the 10 percent of citizens who are responsible for 90 percent of casino profits. In addition, Healey said she supports the repeal of the gaming law, saying the industry creates more problems than it professes to solve.
Both candidates voiced support for advancing and protecting women’s rights and equal pay. Tolman said the issue was particularly important to him in the context of his daughters’ futures, while Healey spoke about her protective and advocacy work for women’s rights in the attorney general’s Civil Rights Division.
Audience members asked the candidates whether they would prosecute banks for mortgage fraud, how important was climate change to them, and how they would respond to mergers and closures in health care industry. Healey pointed to her consumer protection experience as leader of the attorney general’s Public and Protection Bureau in prosecuting abusive mortgage lenders and said she would strictly apply anti-trust laws when evaluating consolidation or closing of hospitals. Warren voiced his support for environmental protection and believes that Massachusetts should be a leader in combating global warming.
The final event in the DTC’s candidate forum series will be on June 7 in Bemis Hall featuring the three candidates for state treasurer: Tom Conroy, Barry Finegold and Deborah Goldberg.
Gary Davis is chair of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee.