Election day is Tuesday, November 5, 2002.  We are electing all members of the House of Representatives, some Senators, some Governors and other state officials, and a host of other elected officials.

With less than two weeks left to the November Elections, every word the candidates utter publicly,  carries that extra punch, that urgent note to press the point home. Your intrepid reporter tracked down some of the candidates with relative ease but boy, that Mitt, he is one tough fish to hook.

While Jill Stein wins one over with her easy charm and logical arguments on why she, the Green Party candidate deserved to be governor, Shannon O Brien’s confidence in herself and her bold stance on issues is truly tremendous.

Carla Howell’s articulate and professionally to-the- point attitude is brilliant and Kerry Healey, Mitt Romney’s running mate and candidate for Lieutenant Governor is smooth and convincing in her arguments.

I posed four questions to each candidate for governor

1. Where do you stand on the issue of MCAS as graduation requirement? What about Bilingual education?

Jill Stein

We should abolish the MCAS graduation requirement immediately. Then, we must reform MCAS to make it truly comprehensive, and keep the results of a single test from distorting the purpose of education.

I support bilingual education using effective programs designed by educators and parents, not by politicians or the ideologically motivated opponents of public schools. I will actively campaign against the "Unz Initiative," which seeks to force non-English speaking children into one-year immersion programs.

Kerry Healey (for Mitt Romney)

I support the MCAS test as a requirement for graduation. The MCAS test ensures that students are able to meet the high standards expected of them. The challenge now is in focusing resources on schools where large numbers of students are failing the test

Massachusetts’s schools have benefited from the use of standardized testing, and now failing schools need to be identified and improved. Passing the MCAS is one part of a strong education system, but it is not enough. My goal is to prepare every student for a good, well-paying job.

I want to replace the failed bilingual education system with one-year English immersion for non-native speakers. In schools where a high percentage of the student population does not speak English, I will put in place full-day kindergarten with intensive English immersion.

Shannon O’Brien

I support high standards for schools, but I acknowledge the fact that MCAS has to be fair. I want to see the final test and see if there should be changes made. I think keeping the pressure on to improve the quality of instruction is most important.

Rather than abandon the high standards of MCAS, we need to work to improve it. I will be guided by the following: Teachers must be trained and provided with resources to prepare students for the MCAS. Ensure that the state frameworks, curriculum and MCAS test are aligned. Commit to close the achievement gap. Students who have not done well on MCAS should have the opportunity to demonstrate their competency in other ways

I am also adamantly opposed to the Unz initiative that would eliminate bilingual education & replace it with sheltered immersion instruction

Carla Howell F

MCAS testing needs to be repealed immediately. There should be no state-mandated testing or certification requirements. I advocate ending all government funding of and control over education. Local communities must be responsible for education, as they are small, simple, and accountable.

"It's the state government's version of 'Trivial Pursuit'...I trust parents and teachers, not bureaucrats." Seven cents out of every school dollar spent in Massachusetts comes from the federal government, but they impose the lion’s share of mandates and regulations and strings. The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to involve itself in education in any way, shape or form. Federal involvement makes things worse. Our illiteracy rates keep going up, our dropout rates keep going up. We need to get the federal government completely out of education.

2.Where do you stand on the issue of Gay marriage / Civil unions ?

Jill Stein

I fully and unequivocally support extending the definition of "marriage" to give full legal protection to committed domestic relationships of all citizens, regardless of gender. I will use the office of Governor as a 'bully pulpit' to advocate for these rights and oppose DOMA-like legislation.

Kerry Healey (for Mitt Romney)

It is my view that all citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of their sexual orientation. While I do not support gay marriage, I believe domestic partnership status should be recognized in a way that includes the potential for health benefits and rights of survivorship.

Shannon O’ Brien

I support full and equal rights for gay & lesbian citizens, and believe that committed couples should be able to enter into civil unions and receive full benefits and protections in Massachusetts. I oppose the "defense of marriage" legislation as well as the constitutional amendment proposals that would forever deny these protections to the families of gay men and women. I believe that recognizing gay and lesbian families will strengthen our society.

Carla Howell

Government should have no say in the relationships of consenting adults. All adults should be treated equally under the law. Government representatives should not condone nor condemn any particular lifestyle. Individuals should be free to choose their own moral values and their own moral leaders.

3.What is your position on Abortion rights?

I have always supported a woman’s right to choose. Through my universal health care proposal, I will also extend medical coverage to all women, so that choices about reproductive health care, education, career, and personal relationships are made with the individual woman's best interests in mind.

Kerry Healey (for Mitt Romney)

I would protect the current pro-choice status in Massachusetts. I believe the choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal one and that women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government.

Shannon O’Brien

I support a woman's right to choose, and as a state legislator, I have had a strong pro-choice voting record for eight years in the House and Senate. Having voted to protect the accessibility of abortion services for all women; I helped ensure passage of the Clinic Access Bill; supported efforts to create buffer zones around abortion clinics; and co –sponsored legislation to create funding for abortion counseling for victims of rape and incest.

Carla Howell

I encourage everyone in the abortion debate to support easy adoption, to stop shouting, to start listening, and bring love to this issue. I will vote to Separate Abortion and State for the same reasons that Americans Separate Church and State. My wish is to get the government’s hands off abortion. Neither encourage nor discourage. Neither subsidize nor penalize. Neither condemn nor condone.

4.What is your position on the Death Penalty?

Jill Stein

I am morally opposed to the death penalty, which offers no solution to the problem of crime. Historically it has been applied in a racist fashion, and it is more expensive than life imprisonment. It is not a deterrent. I am an advocate for real solutions, such as crime prevention, that heal our communities, reduce crime rates, and save lives.

I support the death penalty for certain crimes, including terrorism, the assassination of public safety officers and first-degree homicides committed with extreme atrocity.

Shannon O’Brien

I oppose the death penalty, and instead support sentences of life without parole for criminals convicted of first-degree murder.

Carla Howell

I am opposed to the Death Penalty.

5.What will be your policy on Health Care?

Jill Stein

 As a physician, I know the tragic difficulties people face when they are uninsured or cannot afford the health care they need. As governor, I will work for a single-payer health care system that will save the millions of dollars currently soaked up by elaborate billing systems, unnecessary advertising, shameful executive salaries, and outright profiteering. That money should be spent on providing health care instead.

I will also work for an end to the scandalous pricing of prescription drugs that results in our citizens paying two to three times more for prescriptions than people in other countries. Universal health care is absolutely achievable - if only we decide to put people first. The people of Massachusetts deserve nothing less, and I will make single-payer, universal health care a top priority of my administration.

Kerry Healey (for Mitt Romney)

The Health and Human Services bureaucracy needs to be restructured and made more "user-friendly." Healthcare jobs must be preserved and affordable, quality healthcare needs to be expanded. I will call for a single health care plan for all state and municipal employees and reform to achieve fair medical malpractice judgments. All parties involved in the pharmaceutical controversy need to work together to deal with the rising costs of prescription drugs. I also support applying federal "most favored" prescription pricing to all Prescription Advantage participants.

Shannon O’Brien

    I would make prescription drugs more readily available on Medicare/Medicaid Plans. I would also coordinate health services between state/local agencies better to reduce overhead and identify those in need.
I will work to expand alternatives to nursing homes like home care tax credits and improve patient education

Carla Howell

Healthcare in this country is pathetic compared to what it could be. This is a result of big government involvement. Big government accounts for more than 50% of spending on healthcare in this country and it regulates 100% of the dollars spent. It has failed. It has made things worse. People have far fewer health options, less privacy, less control, and pay radically more than they would with small government and free market healthcare. We need to get big government's hands off healthcare.

I will seek to repeal and remove Big Government health care laws, rules and regulations so that costs will plummet. Families will be able to afford heath care – and health insurance – with ease.
With small government, we’ll have private, free-market health care where practitioners, insurance companies, and hospitals have to compete for our business.

 

 

 

 

|

---

You may also access this article through our web-site http://www.lokvani.com/