[statecom-discuss] Candidates for Governor debate Cape Wind, global warming

[Mike Heichman]

Owen ent this report on the 7-12 gubernatorial forum on the environment.

Mike Heichman

Owen Broadhurst wrote:

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Green Party-CT <greenpartyct at yahoo.com>
> Date: Jul 23, 2006 4:25 PM
> Subject: [usgp-dx] (MASS) Candidates for Governor debate Cape Wind, 
> global
> warming
> To: NG GREENS <natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org>, ctgp-news at ml.greens.org
>
>
> 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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