JIM BRAUDE BEGAN Tuesday evening’s GBH debate among the three Democrats running for lieutenant governor by asking a standard opening question to candidates: Why are you running for this office?
But in the case of the state’s lieutenant governor, what he really meant was, why in the world are you running for this office? It comes with no prescribed powers other than serving on and chairing the Governor’s Council and stepping into the governor’s role if the state’s top elected official leaves or is unable to serve.
A long-range hope to eventually run for governor themself may be hovering in the back of any LG candidate’s mind, but that’s not something any politic player would air. Instead, the three Democrats all made a case for what they could do as the right-hand deputy under Maura Healey, the presumptive Democratic nominee and strong favorite to capture the governor’s office.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll played up her 16 years leading a Gateway City and the role recent lieutenant governors have played as the administration’s key liaison to local government. State Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow touted the geographic balance he brings as the only candidate from outside I-495 as well as his background in the Legislature and former stint in federal government in the Obama administration. State Rep. Tami Gouveia of Acton talked up her background as a social worker with a doctorate in public health in pointing to her interest in pushing an agenda for those on the margins. “As great as we are and as well-resourced as we are, we are still leaving too many people behind,” she said of the state.
All three candidates said the state should follow through with a 1986 law that is poised to return as much as $3 billion to taxpayers because of surging revenue over the last year. But they also all wanted to see the Legislature return to session to hammer out an economic development bill with further targeted tax breaks that got sidelined by unexpected news that the tax-cap law would be triggered for the first time since 1987.
Their shared position puts all three candidates in alignment with Healey, who shared a similar take yesterday on the Beacon Hill tax talk.
If there was anything close to a moment of tension in the very civil debate, it came when the candidates were asked what distinguishes them from their rivals.
Driscoll pointed to her years in an “executive role” as mayor. “You’ve got to solve problems for people every day when you’re mayor. It’s a little different than when you’re in the Legislature,” she said. “Believe me – no slight, important role, but very different when you have to do, not just talk about things.”
Her disavowal notwithstanding, the slight to the two lawmakers she’s competing with did not go unnoticed.
“I would challenge that premise,” said Lesser. “Because we‘ve done quite a lot that has had real impact on people’s lives on a daily basis at a massive scale, not isolated to one community or one place.”
When asked about the obscure Governor’s Council, which must ratify judicial nominations, only Driscoll claimed she could name all eight of its elected members. (Braude did not put her to the test.)
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About Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in early 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His cover story in CommonWealth's Fall 1999 issue on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Michael got his start in journalism at the Dorchester Community News, a community newspaper serving Boston's largest neighborhood, where he covered a range of urban issues. Since the late 1980s, he has been a regular contributor to the Boston Globe. For 15 years he wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly section.
Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In 1989, he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for "Our Times," a weekly magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston.
Michael lives in Dorchester with his wife and their two daughters.
About Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in early 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His cover story in CommonWealth's Fall 1999 issue on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Michael got his start in journalism at the Dorchester Community News, a community newspaper serving Boston's largest neighborhood, where he covered a range of urban issues. Since the late 1980s, he has been a regular contributor to the Boston Globe. For 15 years he wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly section.
Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In 1989, he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for "Our Times," a weekly magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston.
Michael lives in Dorchester with his wife and their two daughters.
Asked what former lieutenant governor was a model for how they would serve, Gouveia pointed to Evelyn Murphy, who served under Michael Dukakis, while Lesser cited Tim Murray, a former Worcester mayor who served under Deval Patrick. Driscoll piggybacked on the answers and name-checked both former LGs.
Resurrecting a moment of state political lore, Braude asked Gouevia if Murphy’s role-modeling extended to a famous episode in which Murphy tried to redirect administration policy on a state budget issue as acting governor when Dukakis was out of town, infuriating the governor.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that route,” Gouveia said of the brazen power play. “As a social worker that’s not my style.”
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