Blue Mass Group

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Patrick’s new ad hits Healey’s “seniors are overhoused” line

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First, an apology for a blip that some of you may have experienced in getting to this site! Something very odd happened with some of the DNS settings for our domain names. I have no idea how it happened, but I think we’re all set. Sorry for the inconvenience — and please let me know if you’re still having problems.

And now to business: Deval Patrick’s new TV ad takes on Kerry Healey’s now-infamous effort to get seniors out of their homes.


DEVAL PATRICK AD “HOME”

10/19/2006

AUDIO

FEMALE VOICE: We’ve been here for 37 years. John built this house for me. Our two youngest children were born here. It’s home.

NARRATOR: Throughout Massachusetts, seniors are being squeezed by rising property taxes, up dramatically statewide.

Yet, Kerry Healey opposed tax relief for seniors saying older people are over housed and should free up those properties.

FEMALE VOICE: To leave this house, to go out that front door and close the door. It will be devastating. It will be a heartbreak.
VISUAL

Outside of house, family photos, family video

News article: Property taxes still on rise in Mass.: State’s median will top$3,000

-Boston Globe 12/18/05

Kerry Healey opposed property tax relief for seniors. Healey said seniors are “overhoused.”

-Boston Globe 3/22/2005

Family photos, family video

Sign: For Sale.

Good idea to link the property tax theme with one of the biggest mistakes Kerry Healey ever made, namely, the “overhoused” comment.

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Comments

  2. The reason why Healey is opposed to property tax breaks for senior citizens is very simple.  They want seniors to be reliable votes against property tax overrides.  If low income seniors get property tax relief or circuit breakers, they won’t play their role in the campaign to starve local governments of revenue.

    • And tell me, Mr. wizard, what happens when 60% of your town’s homeowners are over age 65?

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      Hey – them kids over there!  They have a new bike!  Let’s tax THEM!

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      It is no accident we have government subsidized senior centers and golf courses, and no after school programs except for volunteers like Scouts.

      • This is why the 5.3% income tax with property tax relief is much more fair than a 5.0% income tax with no property tax relief for low income seniors.

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        Deval wants to keep the income tax at 5.3% and reduce the property tax for low income seniors.

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        Muffy wants to keep the property tax pressure on low income seniors and favor high-income people with a reduction in the income tax rate.  That’s more money in the Healey household for more attack ads.

        • The seniors live in places like Cape Cod that aren’t worthy of Deval’s property tax relief.

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          Look at the distribution of seniors sometime.  Like I said, my town is 60% over 65.  The OLDEST district in the state is 4th Barnstable.

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          Cynthia Stone Creem in Newton, who wrote the new law, has 15% in her district.  So mega abatements are no problem for her.

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          But would you want to find your family in that 40% that has to pick up the freight for the whole town?  This is why our workforce is moving away.  Even if they ARE paying only 13% of their income as property taxes instead of the full 15%.  BTW – did you know many water and fire departments down here are not town departments, but deliver a seperate bill?  Think THAT might make a difference?

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          Oh, and the FAIR plan just increased our homeowners insurance here by 25% – Cambridge was zero.

          • But if 60% of the population is over 65, and Newton has just 15%, doesn’t it stand to reason that Newton will have to support a lot more schoolkids?

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            What is your town spending its money on?

            • The reason why Porcupine doesn’t want property tax relief is that the Cape has the lowest property taxes in the state.  Think of all those $million plus oceanfront homes that generate no kids for the public schools and very little demand for town services.  Second homeowners also pay excise tax on the content of their homes in addition to the property tax for the real estate.

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              For most of us, pressure off the property tax and user fees is a good deal.  Obviously, the porcupine does the math and finds his self interest in a different place.  Nothing  wrong with that.

              • Pablo – we also don’t have paid councillors.  We don’t have trash pickup.  We have a county assessment.  WE LIVE IN A RURAL AREA.  If we institutied all those things as town services, or added together all the things you get a unifed tax bill for – like fire service in Barnstable, or water in Dennis – then our tax rate would be much higher.

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                No effort is made to understand our financial system.  Then again, since you’re shipping all the money to Lawrence and Lowell anyway, why bother?

          • *[new] One problem –  (0.00 / 0)

            The seniors live in places like Cape Cod that aren’t worthy of Deval’s property tax relief.

            Look at the distribution of seniors sometime.  Like I said, my town is 60% over 65.  The OLDEST district in the state is 4th Barnstable.

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            Last I checked, seniors were everywhere. I just came back from  grocery shopping in Leominster where (I guess) a busload of Cap Cod escapees was clogging up the aisle…

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            Neither, I venture to guess, does this issue effect only seniors, but all homeowners… a full 100 percent of whom plan on being seniors someday and probably plan on living in the homes they own until they’re carried out in a box.  I sure as @!#^#@!  don’t want to be shoved outta my house (when I finally own one…) by Kerry Healey or Deval Patrick or anybody.

      • No, no, they’re not taxes, they are fees.  Please get your terminology straight.  Here’s an idea, let’s not put our towns in a position to raise property taxes by 35% like they needed to do over the past few years with the crippling cuts in state funding.

  3. Healey runs rape ads attempting to put a wedge between Deval and his strongest demo: Women
    Conventional Wisdom says she overplayed her hand

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    Deval’s new ad attempts to put a wedge between Healey and the demo group most likely to vote: Seniors
    My sense the conventional wisdom around this ad will be a) what took you so long and b) when can we expect some more of this?

    • At one point, the group of 700 senior citizens with canes and gray hair drowned out Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey with boos as she tried to criticize Democratic candidate Deval Patrick on taxes.

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      Oh, I would pay money to see that in an ad….

    • Barnstable holds municipal elections in November.  Towns hold spring elections.

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      Barnstable doesn’t have a Town Meeting.

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      According to the Secretary of State, there are eleven communities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government, though they wish to be known as “The Town of”. They are: AGAWAM, AMESBURY, BARNSTABLE, EASTHAMPTON, FRANKLIN, GREENFIELD, METHUEN, SOUTHBRIDGE, WATERTOWN, WEST SPRINGFIELD, and WEYMOUTH.

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      The state should get rid of this “make believe town” status.  If a municipality wants to have a city government, they should accept the designation as a city.

      • What does anyone else care if a town wants a city form of government but wants to retain its title of ‘town’?  What difference could it possibly make to someone who doesn’t live in that town?

        • It is a source of confusion, because the term “town” describes one form of government and “city” describes another.  It corrupts the language.  I

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          t’s like solving the goose problem by passing a law requiring people to describe them as ducks.  I might be picky, but it is a pet peeve of mine.  Let towns be towns and cities be cities.

          • …but until they incorporate as a city, they remain a town regardless of what form of government they adopt.

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            Even now, you can’t get people in Cotuit and Hyannis to admit they live in the same municipality, let alone city!

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            But, language corruption aside – Barnstable is ONE of FIFTEEN towns on Cape.  ALL the others are governed by open town meeting.  IT IS A RURAL AREA.

      • We specifically wanted the label of “Town” despite our strong mayor system in Agawam precisely because we’re one community that strongly resists ongoing sprawl. Our Council-Manager system was in such a mess that we needed a Mayor – but a very strong minority favoring the Mayoral system also sought an urban flavor for the neighborhood. We did not opt for the label of “Town” for purely romantic reasons – but in very many ways chose the label as a symbol of growing community desire for community-centered direction in growth and sustainable development. We’re a “city” politically – that is, we have a Mayoral system – but do not intend to become an urban center.

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