Can Romney and Healey go the distance
Published on May 15th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - Since Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Willard “Mitt” Romney has been hopscotching around the country on business and pleasure, we decided to interview the more accessible half of his Republican team, Romney’s choice for Lieutenant Gov-ernor, Kerry Healey.
This interview is the last in an eight part series. Every candidate for Governor except Romney has appeared on our pages over the last several months, including Libertarian Carla Howell, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Democrats Warren Tolman, Steven Grossman, Robert Reich, Thomas Birmingham and Shannon O’Brien.
KERRY HEALEY
(Republican)
Like Romney, Healey is rich, highly educated and the veteran of a losing campaign for political office.
Unlike Romney, Healey had to work her way through school. Her differences from Mitt are what make her an appealing choice for the Romney camp.
In April the Republican Party Convention endorsed James Rappaport for Lieutenant Gov-ernor. To win the Republican nomination he must beat Healey in the September primary. In the primaries the Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s races are separate, but they run as a ticket in the general election.
But Romney wants Healey. Healey is a woman with an Irish name. Although she is not a Roman Catholic, her Irish heritage may be significant if Shannon O’Brien — the Democratic front runner in most polls — wins the Democratic primary. Even though Healey grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., her Irish name adds ethnic flavor to what otherwise would sound like a super-WASPy ticket. Ironically, Romney is a Mormon and Rappaport’s father is Jewish, but this is politics where reality lags quietly behind perception.
Healey also brings public sector experience to the ticket, whereas Rappaport, like Romney, is a private businessman.
Healey is married to a successful businessman of her own, Sean Healey. The couple has two children and a home in the posh Beverly Farms neighborhood of Beverly, Mass.
Healey is 42, and her background sounds a lot like the lives of several Democratic candidates for Governor. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father, a World War II veteran, was a real estate broker. She graduated from the public Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach in 1978. She then attended Harvard College with financial aid, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in government in 1982.
Healey went on to study law and politics at Trinity College in Dublin on a Rotary scholarship. She met her husband, a fellow Rotary scholar, on the Emerald Isle. From 1984-1986 she worked as a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School and then began work at Abt Associates, a public policy consulting firm in Cambridge. Along the way she worked toward her law and public policy doctorate, which she received from Trinity in 1991.
At Abt Healey worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, researching issues such as drug policy, gang violence, child abuse and domestic abuse. She wrote numerous articles and four books on these subjects before leaving Apt in 1998 to pursue elected office.
Healey was a member of the Harvard Republican Club in college, and she has remained faithful to the GOP. First she tried to become one of that rare species, the Republican state representative. She ran as a resident of Beverly for Essex County’s Sixth District seat and lost in 1998 and 2000 to incumbent Democrat Michael Cahill. She didn’t get more than 35 percent of the vote in either race. The rap on her has been that she seems more comfortable in the classroom than on the campaign trail. She’s an adjunct professor at UMass Lowell and Endicott College.
Then after a brief stint as Chairman of the Republican State Committee, from Nov-ember 2001 to March of 2002, she jumped or was pulled back into the candidates pool.
She seems increasingly comfortable there, and Romney thinks she’s a winner, but is Healey ready for the race against Rappaport and maybe the task of running the state? Read on, and see what you think...
Question: Are you going to debate James Rappaport, and if so, when?
Healey: Yes. We have already set up two debates: one on June 28 hosted by The Boston Herald and one on Sept. 5 on John Keller’s TV show on Channel 56.
Question: How are you different from Mr. Rappaport, and what do you think makes you the better candidate?
Healey: With public safety on everyone’s mind after Sept. 11, I would have a good rapport with law enforcement. I have a long history of advocacy for victims of crime. I was a volunteer for DSS (the Department of Social Services) for five years. I’m very aware of the concerns of law enforcement and social services; this is unique to my candidacy.
Editor’s note: At the Republican Convention in April 6, Rappaport received 55 to Healey’s 45 percent of the vote, and he earned the Party’s endorsement. But Healey had entered the race for Lieutenant Governor only three days before the Convention, after Patrick Guerriero withdrew. Healey argues that under the circumstances her showing was impressive.
Question: The media has reported that you hired professional signature gatherers to obtain the 10,000 signatures needed to get on the September primary ballot. Does this indicate a lack of grass roots support?
Healey: We did hire some professionals, but the vast majority of our signature gatherers are volunteers. We have many more than 10,000 (as of May 1) already.
Question: There are six Republicans among the 40 state senators and 22 Republican reps out of 160. What efforts did you make in your brief tenure as State Party Chairman to recruit more Republican candidates?
Healey: We tried to broaden our recruitment, looking from Cape Cod to Western Massachusetts. I hired a consultant. We made a more aggressive effort than in the last 10 years. After the deadline for signatures (April 30) we won’t quit. The party is going forward with write-in candidates where we can to get as many Republicans on the ballot as possible.
Editor’s note: Republicans will be on the November 2002 ballot in 72 House races and 19 state Senate races. Jonathan Fletcher of the Mass Republican Party said as many as 15 write-in candidates for the House and four for the Senate are being wooed by the Party.
“Paul Casey (a Democrat rep for most of Stoneham) won’t be unopposed,” Fletcher said.
Question: The state is facing a massive deficit in fiscal 2003, maybe more than $2 billion. Do you favor freezing the income tax rate at 5.3 percent or allowing the voter approved rollback to continue to 5 percent for 2003? And what cuts would you make?
The people voted for the rollback, and I say we should continue it. I believe rolling back the income tax will stimulate the economy. Freezing it could result in lost jobs.
We have to cut patronage. This is something that won’t make either party happy. For example, the legislature took the authority away from the judiciary to appoint probation officers, and now the legislature give the courts extra people the judges don’t want.
Editor’s note: Healey did not speak about program cuts in as much detail as many of the candidates in this series, but, in fairness to her, she is running for Lieutenant Governor, not Governor, and was asked the same questions thrown at the gubernatorial candidates.
Question: What are your positions on abortion and the death penalty?
Healey: I’m pro-choice with a history of involvement with the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus. And I support the death penalty.
Question: Do you support the Clean Elections Law, which provides public money for state candidates who agree to fund-raising and spending restrictions?
Healey: I would not support the use of public money for campaigns, but the people approved Clean Elections, and I believe in Democracy. It is outrageous for the Democratic leadership in the House to defy the people and the Supreme Judicial Court.
Questions: What must be done to improve healthcare in Massachusetts?
Healey: We must work to make the reimbursement process more efficient, especially from the federal government for Medicaid expenses. Also, we should ask Medicaid recipients to seek treatment at non-teaching hospitals because the costs are lower.
Question: The Libertarian Party has put a proposal to eliminate the state income tax on the ballot. Should voters get rid of the income tax? And do you think this issue will draw Republicans to the Libertarian Party?
Healey: No. The Libertarian Party goes too far. They don’t understand the impact eliminating the state income tax would have on residents and education. I grew up in Florida with no income tax, and municipal rates were high and education suffered.
I think voters will understand that this proposal is ludicrous.
Question: What makes Republicans Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey better candidates than the Democratic challengers?
Healey: There is a clear distinction. We are the team least likely to seek tax increases and most likely to get good government. The Democrats are content to spend $23 billion and ask for more during a time of financial crisis. We will be responsible managers with new ideas.
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