{news} (MASS) Candidates for Governor debate Cape Wind, global warming

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Home                        Milford Daily News  Candidates for governor debate Cape Wind, global warming
By Jon Brodkin
Sunday, July 23, 2006 

When 1,100 environmentalists filled an MIT auditorium for a gubernatorial debate this month, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey was a no-show to no one’s surprise, Attorney General Thomas Reilly pulled out of the forum at the last minute, and Green Party members were planning to disrupt the event because their candidate was being excluded. 
            Yup, it’s an election year. And four months before Massachusetts chooses Mitt Romney’s successor, environmental advocacy groups are making sure their concerns will not be ignored. 
            Despite Healey and Reilly not showing up, the debate on July 12 gave the public its clearest views yet on where candidates stand on environmental issues from Cape Wind to global warming. 
            While Healey simply chose not to respond to an invitation from organizers, Reilly committed to the debate, then canceled because of the Big Dig tunnel tragedy. 
            "We were really disappointed he didn’t come," said Lora Wondolowski, executive director of the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, the debate organizer. "We recognized there was another crisis happening in the city....I can’t help but think having over 1,000 people there and him not being there may hurt him a little bit among environmentalists." 
            Wondolowski acknowledged that because Reilly has an established record from his time as attorney general, he may not have needed the debate as much as the other candidates. 
            His decision not to attend left the door open for Green-Rainbow Party candidate Grace Ross to join the debate, even though she was originally excluded because of low poll numbers. Organizers let Ross in just before the start, preempting a protest planned by her supporters. 
            Ross was joined by candidates Deval Patrick and Chris Gabrieli of the Democratic Party, and independent candidate Christy Mihos. 
            A strict one-hour time limit interfered with the ultimate goal of a debate - to illustrate differences in opinion - because most of the questions were directed to just one candidate with no opportunity for others to respond. 
            The most significant disagreement may have been Mihos’s opposition to Cape Wind compared to Patrick’s embrace of the project to build a wind farm at Nantucket Sound. 
            Though Mihos pledged to move the state "expeditiously, massively into on-shore wind power," he blasted Cape Wind as nothing more than a boon to private interests. 
            "If you like the Big Dig, you’ll love Cape Wind," Mihos declared. "I have never ever ever seen a land grab...of $72 million each and every year by one private concern to enrich a private concern. There won’t be a kilowatt produced there that will reduce anybody’s bill at all." 
            Mihos said Cape Wind would be fine if it were operated by the state instead of private developers. Patrick supports the project the way it is. 
            "Cape Wind is not easy. Not all people who oppose Cape Wind are just rich, beachfront property owners who worry about their view," Patrick said. "On balance, this project is important for us from an environmental, and energy and an economic point of view." 
            All four candidates were asked for their views on climate change. Ross said global warming is one of the main reasons she ran for governor. 
            "We have monsoon season now in Massachusetts. We have increasing pollen rates that are making all of us sick and research shows that will only get worse," Ross said. 
            Gabrieli and Patrick both called for Massachusetts to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pact among Northeast states to reduce global warming emissions. Gov. Romney helped develop the agreement, then refused to sign it when seven states announced a deal in December. 
            "The decision to step away from that is a hallmark of what is wrong with this administration, a decision made clearly in the crucible of politics," Gabrieli said. 
            The most probing question of the evening was asked by moderator Steve Curwood, a National Public Radio host, who asked Patrick if he owes an apology to the indigenous people of Ecuador, who were on the losing side of a battle over oil pollution when Patrick was general counsel for Texaco. 
            After taking the Texaco job in 1999, Patrick argued that the indigenous people had no right to sue the company in the United States, and that the claim should be heard in Ecuador instead. A federal appeals court dismissed the case in 2002, agreeing that Ecuador was the logical site for the trial. Patrick changed jobs the same year, moving to Coca-Cola. 
            Patrick said he does not owe an apology to the people of Ecuador, but regrets not being able to negotiate a settlement. 
            "I think we took an appropriate position in the case. The issue that was litigated was where the case should be litigated," Patrick said. "I did that job as I have every other job, without leaving my conscience at the door." 
            The Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters is working on a report detailing the environmental records and positions of all candidates for governor. Wondolowski said she believes Mihos and Gabrieli gained the most from the debate. 
            Mihos expressed a stronger stance on environmental issues than he had previously, she said, while Gabrieli won points with her by speaking of a comprehensive energy plan based on conservation, alternative fuels and renewable energy. 
            Wondolowski was disappointed Patrick "waffled" when discussing a plan for a liquefied natural gas terminal on Outer Brewster Island in the Boston Harbor. She hoped he would oppose it outright. 
            Her harshest judgment was reserved for Healey, who not only ignored an invitation to the debate but was the only candidate who failed to fill out a questionnaire drafted by the League of Environmental Voters. 
            "I am concerned she is writing off the environmental vote," Wondolowski said. 
            Environmentalists hope Healey will take stronger positions on the environment than Romney, but haven’t heard enough to form a judgment yet. 
            "Many of us in the environmental community have been unhappy with Gov. Romney’s record on the environment, from his underfunding of environmental agencies, to his cutback in spending on open space protection, to his pulling out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative," said Jim Gomes, who was a high-ranking state environmental official under Gov. Michael Dukakis, and is now president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. "We hope that Lt. Gov. Healey will try a different course." 
            Healey won’t debate anyone until after the primary, once "the Democrats have figured out who they’d like to be in the race," said Healey spokeswoman Amy Lambiaso. 
            Healey plans to announce an energy policy within two weeks, but until then will remain silent about her environmental goals. 
            "We’re not ready to announce any environmental priorities," Lambiaso said in a phone interview. 
            As one of three panelists in the debate drawn from local media, I had the opportunity to ask questions of Ross, Patrick and Mihos. Mihos delivered the most direct answer of the three, after I asked if he would reverse massive staff cuts at the Department of Environmental Protection. These cuts led to an 18 percent drop in the agency’s annual inspections of potential polluters. 
            Pledging to restore all the staff lost by the department, Mihos delivered an impassioned attack on big-money special interests. 
            "Being independent and not taking money from lobbyists, state workers, state contractors and political action committees, you can do the right thing," Mihos said. "You are not bought and sold by special interests who get in there and absolutely foul the environment." 
            I asked Patrick for his thoughts on how environmental problems disproportionately affect poor people and minorities. One report found that Massachusetts communities with high minority populations have seven and a half times as many hazardous waste sites per town than communities with low minority populations. 
            Patrick said he wants the approval process for new industrial projects to take a closer look at the effects on the poor and minorities. 
            Paraphrasing John F. Kennedy, Patrick said, "In Massachusetts, there are a handful of people who have the connections, the power and the influence to ensure their interests on Beacon Hill. Everyone else is the responsibility of the governor, and I intend to assume that responsibility." 
            I asked Ross whether she supports a pending bill in the Legislature that would mandate fluoridation of water statewide, given that new research from Harvard University found a link between fluoride in water and bone cancer in young boys. 
            Ross said "there is definite proof that fluoridation is a problem," and that an even bigger concern is the overall quality of our water supply. 
            "As governor, we have to have a commitment not only to deal with the fluoridation issue, but to deal with the fact that we now have more heavy metals in our water than we did, and we have not done the upkeep of the water systems we need to," Ross said. 
            Earlier in the debate, Ross was asked by Curwood to defend her decision to run for governor, given that third-party candidates sometimes play the spoiler role, like Ralph Nader in 2000. 
            Ross responded, "why does it ever make sense to have regular people running for office, when we could just have millionaires and career politicians?...If you think having the strongest voice for the environment excluded from the race in some way moves us closer to that goal (of protecting the environment) then I guess you and I have different perspectives." 
            While Ross criticized Boston University’s project to build an infectious disease laboratory in a South End community densely populated with minorities, Gabrieli risked the crowd’s wrath by supporting the venture. He argued that BU’s medical center offers a logical site for the biolab and that research on "infectious diseases (is) crucial." 
            Some in the crowd responded angrily, but Gabrieli elicited a big round of applause when he came back with this statement: "I understand I’m not saying what you want to hear, every single one of you. That’s because you want to elect a governor who will tell you what they really believe, not a governor who panders to you." 
            Environmental stances alone won’t win any of these candidates a spot in the governor’s office, but Wondolowski believes the environment is taking on a prominent role in this election. 
            "It’s far enough post-Sept. 11 that some of the more backyard issues are starting to play a little bit more," she said. 
            Gomes is also counting on voters to take a close look at the candidates’ environmental records. 
            "The great majority of people in Massachusetts and indeed in the country care a lot about whether their water is clean, whether our natural areas and parks are protected, whether they’re safe from toxic chemicals and waste," Gomes said. "If the candidates distinguish themselves on those issues, I think it would be very important in moving voters." 
            Jon Brodkin can be reached at 508-626-4424 or jbrodkin at cnc.com. 
            


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