Gubernatorial Candidates Say Slash Taxes, Government
PHOTO/BRANDON BUTLER
Republican Charlie Baker, Republican Christy Mihos and Independent Tim Cahill participated in a forum at the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce in Westborough Thursday morning.
The election may be a year away, but the three candidates vying for Gov. Deval Patrick's job met in Westborough Thursday morning to pitch how they would reform government.
Tim Cahill, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to run for governor as an independent, emphasized his experience since 2002 as the state treasurer, while republican Christy Mihos, a convenience store chain owner, declared himself an outsider. Former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care President and CEO Charlie Baker, a Republican, said his experience in both the public and private sectors prepares him well for the job.
If there was one issue all three candidates agreed upon, it was that change is needed.
"We cannot continue the policies of the current administration," Cahill said. "We cannot continue to spend money we do not have, we have to live within our means, just like every business and every household in the United States has had to do. We need to bring down our debt, and we need to start focusing on what we can do with the money we have, while at the same time we have to be willing to say no to the things we can't do with the money we don't have."
Cahill said as treasurer he helped reform the Massachusetts School Building Authority, an organization that finances school construction projects, by paying off $7 billion of the program's $11 billion debt through a dedicated revenue stream from the sales tax. Cahill said he would fight for the middle class and small businesses, who he said "bear the brunt of our decisions."
Mihos cast himself as the outsider of the group and said he's "embarrassed" with the way state government is run. He advocated for reducing the sales tax to 3 percent, after it was raised earlier this year to 6.25 percent, and said he would cut 10 percent of the state government employees to make up for the decreased revenue.
"That's a stimulus for the rest of us," Mihos said about the sales tax cut.
Mihos touted his forecasting of problems with Boston's Big Dig project while he served on the then Massachusetts Turnpike Authority in the 1990s and said as governor he would eliminate tolls along the Mass Pike.
Mihos also pledged to not take a state pension if elected governor and criticized Cahill's management of state finances; Baker's increasing of insurance premiums while leading Harvard Pilgrim; and Patrick for increasing taxes.
"An insider will not do it this year, we need an outsider," Mihos said.
Baker also spoke about the mismanagement of state government and said he would look to shrink government, pursue regulatory reform and education reform and would work with regional partners to encourage and retain businesses in the state.
"We've been hoping for the best, waiting and seeing, then making short term decisions of clip, clip, clip around the edges and not taking seriously the notion that now is the time, a historic opportunity, to restructure, simplify and change the way big government works," Baker said.
Baker said Evergreen Solar, the Devens-based company that recently announced it would be relocating production lines to China, is an example of why government should not invest in specific companies, but rather specific regions of the state.
The candidates were hosted by the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce and held their first forum together at the Double Tree Hotel in Westborough. Mihos and Baker will face off in a primary next year. The winner will face Cahill, an independent, and Patrick, who is seeking reelection in November, 2010.
The candidates took brief questions after their speeches, including one about health care reform, working with a Democratically-dominated state legislature, and local aid cuts.
Baker and Mihos said unequivocally they would not cut local aid to cities and towns as governor, while Cahill said he would not take any options off the table.
After the event the candidates were asked what the best way is to attract and retain businesses, especially in Worcester County. Mihos said reducing the sales tax would create more jobs, while Cahill and Baker both said they would support rolling back the sales tax to 5 percent. Cahill also said he would look to cut corporate taxes and would look to create tax incentives for businesses that hire new employees. Baker said he would put a moratorium on any new regulations for businesses, but said the most important issue is to fix the overall state budget, which he said creates uncertainty in business.
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