Off of his very strong debate performance last Thursday and as the final debate nears, Chris Gabrieli is drawing attention to the key issues that differentiate him from his opponents. This article appeared in today’s TELEGRAM & GAZETTE.
I have cut and pasted some key passages from the article. I have also included the link for those of you who would like to read the entire piece.
Now with only seven days left in a tightly contested three-way primary campaign, Mr. Gabrieli, who already has spent some $8 million to position himself as the less partisan, results-oriented moderate in the primary, is reminding Democrats to consider electability and who has the resources to win Novembers election.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., he graduated from Harvard, then quit medical school to help turn around his fathers medical software business. Later, he spent 15 years and accumulated significant wealth as a venture capitalist while working as a partner in Bessemer Venture Partners, financing medical software and medical device companies.
Were 46th in the nation in job creation, he said in announcing his candidacy. We have the highest cost of housing. Millions of tax dollars are wasted every year, and there is no accountability.
He has maintained a degree of independence from partisan ideologies, frequently making statements such as: I dont think the people care whether the next governor of Massachusetts is a Democrat or a Republican. They care that it is someone who will do the job.
He has laid out positions against the death penalty and in support of gay marriage, and has pledged a tax credit of $2,500 for first-time homebuyers with incomes less than $90,000. He has tiptoed down the middle on the income tax rollback, saying hes for it if state revenues rise after his first year in office.
As gasoline hit $3 a gallon and home heating costs soared, he went against Mr. Reilly and came out in support of the controversial Cape Wind turbine farm proposed for Nantucket Sound…
Last week during a live televised debate, when asked to respond to the view that he is using his considerable wealth to try to buy his way into office, he surprised many with a humorous comment that his wife just heard the question. He then offered this explanation:
All my life I have poured myself into the things I have gone after. Im an immigrants son. Its amazing to me that I am in the good fortune that I can do that. Six years ago I decided to focus on how to make a difference. I put in $1 million directly, and I raised $35 million from other people. There are thousands of kids in after-school programs as a result, he said of his work in co-founding the Massachusetts 2020 Foundation.
On key issues on which Democrats could face harsh attacks from Republican candidate Kerry Healey in the fall, Mr. Gabrieli has carefully distinguished himself from Mr. Reilly, a longtime Democratic political figure, and Mr. Patrick, who has embraced many traditionally liberal groups to build a formidable grass-roots network of support.
His two opponents support charging children of illegal immigrants in-state college tuition rates. Mr. Gabrieli said he does not, emphasizing the need to spend that money on other pressing educational needs.
All three are pro-choice, support raising the minimum wage and oppose MBTA and commuter rail fare hikes.
Mr. Gabrieli is committed to a longer school day and more after-school programs. He has said he supports bringing casino gambling to the state to avoid loss of gambling revenues to Connecticut casinos.
He has shown an interest in Worcesters development efforts, explaining it is a city much like his native Buffalo, struggling with the loss of manufacturing. He has said he will support expanded commuter rail from Boston to Worcester, criticizing the Romney administration plan to add 10 new trains by 2020 as inadequate.
He has proposed a $10 billion state bond to be used over 10 years to develop advanced technology industries from stem cell research to renewable energy technology, and supports a proposed life sciences research center in Worcester associated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School that the Romney administration failed fund.
In this campaign, yeah, Im putting in everything Ive got my time, my energy and significant personal resources because I care about this state. I dont need the job. I care about whether this state finally gets back on track.
