Democrat Steven Grossman says he has the experience to get the job done
Published on March 13th, 2002
STONEHAM – MA, This week readers meet Steven Grossman, the second of five Democratic candidates for Governor to appear in this series. Readers have already heard from Libertarian Carla Howell, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Democrat Warren Tolman.
In the following weeks, the rest of the Democrats will introduce themselves, and the series will conclude with an interview of Acting Republican Governor Jane Swift. If he jumps in, we’ll talk to Republican Mitt Romney as well.
The interviews begin with a brief summary of the candidate’s background followed by a question and answer format.
STEVEN GROSSMAN (Democrat)
Steven Grossman says he has not lived in the ivory tower, but he did spend a night at the White House. His life has been an interesting blend of privilege and hard work.
Grossman, age 56, grew up in Newton, and he and his wife Barbara, a professor at Tufts University, have raised three boys in the same town. As a young man, when not in school, Grossman worked on the floor of his family’s printing and graphic design business in Somerville. His grandfather, Maxwell Grossman, founded the family business, known today as MassEnvelopePlus, in 1910. Grossman has been President since 1975.
Grossman attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. After graduating from this elite high school, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Princeton in 1967 and an MBA from Harvard in 1969. After business school Gross-man satisfied his military obligation in the U.S. Army Reserves. He then worked briefly at Goldman Sachs before rejoining the family business in 1974.
Although he has never run for public office, Grossman’s dual career as a fund-raiser and political activist began in the 1970s. He developed his talent for convincing the rich to share their wealth as a volunteer for the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Anti-Defamation League, the Museum of Fine Arts and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. As Chairman of the Democratic State Committee in the early 1990s, Grossman helped the Democratic Party dig itself out of debt. He raised millions of dollars as the Co-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 1997-1999, a job for which he was hand picked by President Bill Clinton, a friend of his.
But Grossman, a well-connected multi-millionaire, works in Somerville, running the family business of 130 employees. During the campaign his two sisters and son are picking up the slack so Dad can run as a full-time candidate, but like every business owner, Gross-man admits he couldn’t quit cold turkey. He checks in daily to make sure his printers and managers are crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s.
Grossman must convince voters that he is, at heart, a hardworking native son with tough no nonsense business sense and not a rich dilettante. He argues that his much assailed work as Co-Chairman of the DNC revealed his commitment to campaign finance reform and that the way he runs his business, paying employees 30 percent more than some competitors, shows that he is simply a man of the people who has done extremely well and wants to give something back. Listen to what he has to say, and see what you think...
Question: Mr. Grossman, your television adds emphasize your private sector experience. Could you describe that experience and why it is relevant?
Grossman: My grandfather started the business in 1910. MassEnvelopePlus is a fourth generation, family-owned business. I’ve been President for 27 years. We’ve been a union shop for 50 years, and the average worker has been with the company 22 years. When the people are happy and empowered, they contribute to the success of the company. I’ll be a Governor who brings that to the people. To enrich people’s lives by investing in healthcare and job training will benefit us all. We need to invest relentlessly in workplace training; this is important in the current knowledge based economy. I’m the only person in the race who has ever created a job in the private sector and met a payroll in the private sector. In a time of economic insecurity, who better to run the State than a person with proven, real world experience.
Question: What did you do as Co-Chairman of the DNC?
Grossman: I was brought down to Washington after the fund-raising problems [of the DNC during the Clinton and Gore administration] in 1995-1996. President Clinton said, the Democratic Party is in trouble – clean it up. I restored the integrity of the party.
And there are parallels between my work for the state and national party and this race. Like Massachusetts, the Democratic Party was plagued by uncertainty and in debt. It required leadership with three qualities: decisiveness, accountability and high standards...
Editor’s Note: Although the DNC accepted $55,000 from Enron and millions from the usual suspects of big industry, Grossman says he ran the organization with "good solid business practices." Some critics have called these practices business as usual because Grossman backed away from several of his own reform initiatives, such as limiting individual donations to $100,000, admittedly to avoid falling behind Republican Party fund-raising. But Grossman had a job to do, which he says he did well and honestly. The DNC raised $45,365,000 during the 1997-1998 election cycle.
...We never had to return a check on my watch.
Question: I understand that you favor the rollback of the state income tax to five percent as voted by the public on the 1998 Massachusetts general election ballot. How do plan to do this and balance the budget in the face of a $2 billion deficit?
Grossman: I’ve never made a "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge, but I believe we can balance the budget with the rollback if we use our resources more wisely. The first place to go is not right back into the taxpayer’s wallet.
I have a plan that will enable us to save $1.6 to $1.7 billion. The elements of the plan are using half of the State’s rainy day fund, using the remainder of the tobacco settlement trust fund, which is $150 million, increasing the tobacco tax, to get another $150 million, bulk purchasing of prescription drugs with other New England states, which could save $1 billion, bulk purchasing of electricity, tinkering with the lottery payments, and implementing a tax amnesty program [a program designed to get something from people who owe so much they’ve taken off instead of paying anything]. And this doesn’t even touch squeezing out fat, patronage and waste.
Question: What is the biggest issue facing Massachusetts, and as Governor what would you do about it?
Grossman: Jobs and economic insecurity. People need to know that their economic future is in good hands. The Governor must be able to reach out to industries in trouble, to be out early to help smooth out down times and to have innovative ideas to train people for the new economy. Massachusetts needs someone who will invest in people and knows how to run a business, a grownup in charge.
Healthcare and education are also crucial. I want to use some of the tobacco money to fund a hospital stabilization fund. We already talked about the importance of prescription drugs. As for education, I’m opposed to vouchers; public education is the core of success.
Editor’s note: Grossman graduated from Phillip’s Exeter, one of the most expensive private high schools in America.
I also do not favor MCAS as a single, high stakes graduation requirement. And as for special education, the State is not doing enough. Nationwide states pay 53 percent of special Ed costs. In Massachusetts it’s 17 percent. I think the State should set up a risk pool for communities to draw on, so when special education needs arise suddenly, the money doesn’t have to come from cutting a firefighter.
Question: The Acting Governor favors increasing tolls on the Mass Pike to pay for the Big Dig. Other candidates have talked about raising the gas tax. What would you do about the Big Dig?
Grossman: The problem with the Big Dig is that no one is riding herd on the contractor. There have been $167 million worth of overruns. This is a leadership failure. If the Board of Selectmen in your town did this, they’d all be recalled.
Just increasing tolls is not fiscally responsible. I’d look into giving people a frequent user discount and adding a toll booth at the New Hampshire border on Routes 93 and 95. This would raise $37 million. You can’t eliminate toll increases totally, but at least you can give people a break.
I’m not a fan of raising the gas tax because if you live in Springfield and rarely come to Boston, you’re already paying for the Big Dig in your taxes, and you shouldn’t have to pay more for something you won’t use much.
Question: What are your positions on the death penalty and abortion?
Grossman: I am opposed to the death penalty in all cases. And I’m pro-choice unequivocally. I favor insurance coverage for contraceptives also, so women with limited resources do not have these choices, in effect, made for them.
Question: What is your position on the Clean Elections Law?
Grossman: If I was presented with a budget that did not fully fund it, I would veto the budget.
Editor’s note: Grossman is not running as a Clean Elections candidate.
Question: How much money have you raised and spent so far? How much of your own money have you contributed to the campaign? And how big is your campaign staff?
Grossman: We’ve raised $3 million from 7,000 individuals, 75 percent of whom are from Massachusetts. [In addition] I contributed a little more than $1 million of my own money. We have $2 million in the bank. We have hundreds of volunteers and 22 paid staffers.
Question: Will you have the necessary 15 percent of the delegates at the Democratic State Convention in June to get on the September primary ballot? How many delegates have committed to you thus far?
Grossman: We have more than 500, and we’re getting more every day. We have every confidence that we’ll have the 15 percent.
Editor’s note: 750 delegate votes should be enough to put a candidate on the primary ballot.
Question: Why are you a Democrat?
Grossman: I’m one of those people who have grown up with heroes. My grandfather believed in taking care of his employees and giving back to the community. Public service is as honorable a profession as there is, but Beacon Hill creates cynicism and apathy. I’m running to bring strong progressive government to Massachusetts. That’s the real Democratic Party.
In 1937, in his second inaugural speech, President Franklin Roosevelt said, and I’m paraphrasing, "The test of our progress is not whether we continue to add to those who already have much but whether we can provide for those who have too little – too little money, too little jobs, too little dignity."
Question: Why should the people of Massachusetts vote for Democrat Steve Grossman?
Grossman: I have not lived in the ivory tower. I want the people to look at my experience and my values. My family business has been a union shop since 1952, and we’ve never had an issue go to arbitration. That says a lot about the relationship Governor Steve Grossman will have with the people.
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