Grace Ross Issues Open-Letter to Candidates Regarding Conduct

TO: Kerry Healy, Deval Patrick, and Christy Mihos  FROM: Grace Ross 

Dear fellow candidates for Governor, 

I welcome Kerry Healy and Deval Patrick to their formal entry into the 2006  Massachusetts gubernatorial race. Likewise we are pleased to welcome  Christy Mihos into this final stage of the season as well. 

At this time our campaign is outlining our expectations for conduct for the  rest of the electoral season. I have been proud to run for Governor of  Massachusetts because of our long, revolutionary history and because I know  that the people of Massachusetts are a just people, a moral people, and a  compassionate people. Since the beginning, my platform has been based on  working for equality and justice; including an end to racial discrimination and  achieving equal rights for women. We believe that Massachusetts is more  than ready, all things being equal, to have a woman for governor. Likewise  we believe that Massachusetts is more than ready, all things being equal, to  have a person of color as governor. 

Decades ago, we won the right for women and people of color to participate  fully in this electoral system. In honoring the people who gave up their lives  for those rights we don’t accept those rights being rolled back, ignored or  trampled on.  

I will, and I expect all the other candidates in this campaign, to stand  up to any other candidate who tries to use an anti-people-of-color or  anti-woman strategy to try to get elected – the people of MA deserve,  and should accept nothing less from the person asking to represent  all of us.  

Sincerely,   Grace Ross and Campaign   Green-Rainbow Party Candidate for Governor 

Here is Healey’s speech:

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Healey’s speech: a transcript

And of course, my greatest thanks goes to my family. My husband, Sean, my children Alex and Avril are here tonight- can you raise your hands? Thank you. I also extend my congratulation to Tom Reilly and Chris Gabrieli on campaigns well-run. And I just had the opportunity to speak to Deval Patrick and congratulate him on an excellent race.

Now Reed and I want to thank you for your votes and we want to thank you for your commitment to making a positive difference in this great state of Massachusetts. Beginning tonight, the choice facing voters in November finally comes into focus. This election will bring change to Massachusetts. But what kind of change? We will have an option. Will we have two party democracy and balance on Beacon Hill or go back to a time when the people’s business was done behind closed doors by just one party and will special interests coming before interests of the tax payers? Now that’s Deval Patrick’s kind of change.

Deval Patrick will change our tax rates, making them higher to satisfy the special interests he had to court in order to win in this primary. Is that the kind of change we want? Deval Patrick will change spending. He’s already promised to increase state expenditures higher than they’ve ever been before. Is the kind of change we want? And Deval Patrick will change our criminal justice laws- weakening them and reversing the bipartisan tough-on-crime progress that this state has made in the last decade. Is that the kind of change we want? Deval Patrick’s kind of change puts our economy at risk, scares away entrepreneurs and innovators that make our state a great place to live and raise a family, and it piles burden after burden on the small businesses that create half the jobs in Massachusetts. Deval Patrick’s prescription of higher taxes, more spending, and weaker criminal justice laws are just the type of change we can’t afford to make and it’s a risk we cannot take.

What’s the alternative? We can have my kind of change. Like each of you, my experiences have shaped by beliefs. It’s the big challenges and small victories along the way that have shaped my values and taught me what’s important and what’s worth fighting for. I grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., and like families everywhere, we had our ups and downs. We had our years when my father couldn’t find work, times when every penny counted. We never took a vacation until I was 10-years-old because my father used his vacation time to go to army camp for the reserves. And when I was 15, my dad had a disabling heart attack and could never work again, but I could and I did. While I was in high school, I worked three jobs to help my mother and to save money for college, and one of the most important things that I learned during that time was that all honest work deserves respect. And I learned what it is to work for minimum wage and why getting an education is so important. Like all of you, I look at my paycheck every week and calculated how much time I had worked just to pay taxes. I know that there is work behind every dollar and the government should show more respect for that work. That’s why when I hear people saying that rolling back the income tax rate to 5 percent would only provide a couple hundred dollars in tax relief, and that won’t mean a thing to working families, I know they are dead wrong. $200 makes a big difference for people, whether it’s to cover the cost of groceries, purchase new school clothes, or set aside some emergency money in the savings account. A more affordable Massachusetts- that’s the kind of change I’ll bring.

When I was growing up, the one thing my parents never put a price on was the value of an education. For them, it was worth almost any sacrifice to help me get the best education I could. My mom was a public school teacher. She taught third grade until she retired and she never lets me forget the importance of public schools. She’s here tonight and I want to thank her for being my best teacher and mentor, thank you. Thank you for your love and support every step of the way.

I’m a graduate of public schools and I know first-hand the life-changing role public schools can play in kids’ lives if they’re filled with qualified teachers and a love of learning. The schools I attended weren’t the best and I worried about the lost talents of the kids who weren’t able to make it on their own. That’s why I’m such a strong supporter of public schools. But don’t mistake my support for satisfaction. We must do more to close the gap between our highest performing schools and our lowest. And I’m going to fight to provide more public school choice by lifting the cap on charter schools and we’ll fight to stop cold any effort to weaken the MCAS. I’m going to fight for merit pay for our best teachers and to give parents more information about how their kids are doing in school- that’s what we need to do. But I can tell you that these priorities aren’t welcome by the status quo on Beacon Hill and that’s why I’m convinced they’re not only needed, they’re necessary. And I’ll higher standards for public schools and more accountability- that’s the kind of change I’ll bring.

Public safety: it’s one of the most basic, but also one of the most important functions of government. When I was growing up, crime was a real problem in my community and it’s something that we always need to be vigilant about here in Massachusetts. Kids can’t learn if they’re scared at school. Parents don’t go to the park if they’re worried that there are drug dealers and sex offenders there. No one goes downtown to shop if they feel unsafe on the streets and businesses don’t open where there are no customers passing by. Public safety is the foundation for economic growth in all of our cities. Getting tougher on crime- that’s the kind of change I’m going to bring.

Now I’m asking all of you and all of the people of Massachusetts who want to make our state stronger, our future brighter, and bring the right kind of change to Beacon Hill, join us. We need your help to make this vision of our state a reality for everyone on November 7. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this great Commonwealth of Massachuse
tts.

Please share widely!

0

0