Endorsements

by the Phoenix staff

MONDAY'S GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE was a reminder of what a bleak political season this has been. Sniping and negative campaigning have all but drowned out any kind of serious discussion about where the state is headed. Yet voters have important choices to make on November 3, from selecting the state's chief executive to a series of important ballot questions.

Constitutional offices

Governor. The difference between the contenders for governor is stark. One wants to govern. The other merely wishes to be governor.

The Phoenix endorses Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, a progressive Democrat who promises to restore an activist vision to state government while not abandoning the hard-won, bipartisan fiscal restraint that has defined Beacon Hill in the 1990s.

Harshbarger knows what he believes in and will fight hard for it. He has shown an admirable willingness to challenge powerful institutions, from the tobacco lobby to well-connected officials of his own party. Less than a year after the legislature came within one vote of passing a death-penalty law, Harshbarger's staunch opposition to capital punishment is our best insurance against a return to this barbaric practice. And his humane approach to social ills such as homelessness and poverty will serve as a crucial counterbalance to the state's welfare-reform law, which kicks in fully later this year.

Harshbarger's Republican opponent, Acting Governor Paul Cellucci, has already shown how he will govern: very little. The fact that he has run such a spirited (if negative) campaign is in itself evidence of his cynicism, given the lassitude of his governance until recently. Cellucci has allowed his administration to be overrun with influence peddlers. Emblematic of this is his refusal to fire insurance commissioner Linda Ruthardt, who has presided over a lucrative, anti-consumer "reform" known by the unwieldy name of demutualization.

The recent Cellucci ad mocking the legal assistance Harshbarger gave to witches who had been discriminated against offered some useful insight into how Cellucci and the people around him view unconventional thinking. The Phoenix twice endorsed Cellucci's predecessor and "co-governor," Bill Weld; but Cellucci has none of Weld's creativity and intellectual curiosity. Cellucci is a status quo governor for times that will demand more.

Harshbarger's running mate, state senator Warren Tolman, is a veteran legislator and committee chair who is well positioned to serve as outsider Harshbarger's bridge to the legislature. Cellucci's running mate, former state senator Jane Swift, is an energetic campaigner, but her youth and inexperience would leave her with a steep learning curve should she ever be called upon to serve as acting governor.

Together, Harshbarger and Tolman are the team that will best serve Massachusetts.

Attorney General. For the state's top law-enforcement official, the best choice is Democrat Tom Reilly, an experienced prosecutor who has been the district attorney for Middlesex County. Reilly is a focused and aggressive lawyer who will pursue the state's cases with passion.

The Phoenix has some reservations about Reilly. He, like his opponent, supports the death penalty. And as his career has developed, his prosecutorial vision has narrowed. But Reilly's opponent, Brad Bailey, doesn't have the experience the office demands, and his troubled tenure as Middlesex County sheriff raises too many questions about his judgment.

We endorse Reilly and hope that, with this new position, he will return to his roots, to a broader view of fighting crime that goes beyond merely locking up criminals.

Treasurer. The treasurer is charged with managing the state's pension funds and overseeing the lottery. But the office has wider possibilities. A creative treasurer can use the state's investments to leverage important social goals. Democrat Shannon O'Brien, a former state representative and state senator, is the candidate who best understands that. An O'Brien victory would also be a historic one: only once before has a woman been elected to statewide office in Massachusetts.

Auditor. The auditor's mission is to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in state government. To do that, the people need a candidate who combines political savvy with the courage to expose powerful allies. Joe DeNucci, the Democratic incumbent, has shown he can handle the pressures. DeNucci has issued hard-hitting reports on everything from the Big Dig to education, and he should be returned to office to continue his good work.

Secretary of State. The Democratic incumbent, William Galvin, has brought a rare energy to his duties, computerizing much of the office's archaic record-keeping. He has overseen the elections, one of his most important duties, with fairness. He is clearly the most qualified candidate in the race, and the Phoenix endorses him.

It is important to note, though, that there is also a Libertarian candidate for this office, David Atkinson. This race probably represents the Libertarians' best shot at the three-percent vote they need for major-party status in the state. With Galvin already heavily favored to win, a vote for Atkinson would also be a vote well cast.

Referenda

No on Question 1. The legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment that would grant it automatic pay increases. Although the current system is certainly messy, and although the Phoenix supports higher pay for legislators, this question would take an important political question out of the political arena. It would remove a critical piece of legislative accountability. We urge a no vote.

Yes on Question 2. The nation's political system faces a crisis of confidence on all levels. Question 2 aims to restore some faith in the process by limiting the role that money plays in politics.

The proposal, which would provide public funding to all serious candidates for legislative or statewide constitutional offices who agree to spending limits, is not perfect. Some worry that the limits it imposes constitute a limit on free speech. And there is always the danger that the measure will have unintended consequences.

But it is also clear that this system will help break the hold of special interests and encourage more people to run for office. A yes vote will send a message to Beacon Hill -- and the country.

No on Question 4. Ballot questions are a blunt instrument. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Question 4, which asks voters to pass judgment on a bafflingly complex piece of legislation, the deregulation of the electric utilities.

The law, which was passed last winter, has many laudable aspects. It injects market competition into a heavily regulated industry and cuts costs for consumers across the state. The regulated approach resulted in high prices and inefficient, polluting power plants.

But this deal is fatally flawed. A classic case of industry getting its way on Beacon Hill, the law leaves consumers, not shareholders, paying for between $8 billion and $12 billion in bad utility investments. A fair deal would split the cost. We urge voters to ignore all the slick advertising paid for by the utilities. Vote no on 4. Tell the legislature it must do better.

US Congress

Third district. In his first term, Democrat Jim McGovern established himself as an affable, thoughtful lawmaker unafraid to vote his conscience and, just as important, an effective friend to the district. He's provided much-needed federal funds for a variety of projects while maintaining a high-profile in town. This is exactly the kind of leadership we need to keep the city's and the district's growth and rehabilitation efforts on track. McGovern has lived up to our expectations. We support McGovern's re-election bid over Republican challenger Matt Amorello's.

We do applaud Amorello's record. As a state senator from Grafton, he helped push through the brownfields legislation that gives Worcester funds to clean up some of its 200 hazardous-waste sites. He also created the Central Massachusetts Legislative Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, that have group clout on Beacon Hill. But Amorello has failed to make a case as to why he would be more effective than McGovern in Congress.

As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, McGovern delivered the $3.5 million to jumpstart Worcester's beleaguered Union Station rehabilitation project. It was McGovern who signed off on $1.3 million to fund the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. He successfully argued for $1.5 million to improve Fall River's sewer system, signed off on $1 million to open a community health center at UMass Memorial Health Care's Memorial campus, and channeled another $3.5 million to UMass to expand services for the poor at the former Worcester City Hospital. McGovern has provided $1 million for building improvements at Worcester's Great Brook Valley Health Center and $1.8 million to Assumption College for a new science and technology center.

Beyond supplying a steady flow of federal funds, McGovern has proved a most impressive liberal lawmaker, unwilling to bend his principles on key debates. In June, for example, he voted against the balanced-budget proposal because, he argued, it would cut Medicaid. A civil-rights supporter who has fought against human-rights violations in El Salvador, McGovern is a liberal champion thriving in a conservative Congress.

Sixth district. In just two years, Democrat John Tierney has established himself as an innovative progressive in the tradition of Michael Harrington, an antiwar stalwart who represented the district three decades ago. Tierney's has been a strong voice for public education, for the environment, and for health care, and he has won plaudits for his efforts to protect Social Security and to reform the corrupt campaign-finance system. He, like McGovern, is a dedicated progressive who represents his district with energy.

The Phoenix endorsements in the other congressional districts are John Olver (First), Richard Neal (Second), Barney Frank (Fourth), Marty Meehan (Fifth), Ed Markey (Seventh), Mike Capuano (Eighth), Joe Moakley (Ninth), and Bill Delahunt (Tenth).

State legislature

Few differences separate Second Worcester District Democratic state senate candidate Guy Glodis from his Republican challenger, Karyn Polito, a former Shrewsbury selectman and a Worcester attorney. Throughout the campaign, both have demonstrated a solid understanding of this unusual district that serves rural, suburban, and urban populations. Both oppose so-called partial-birth abortions (except when a mother's life is in danger) but favor a women's right to choose; both support the death penalty; both applaud the education-reform laws and argue that such initiatives should be carried past year 2000; and both oppose a ban on assault weapons. So our choice is based on ideology.

We believe that Guy Glodis will better serve the district's working-class and poor residents -- groups that need increased protection in this climate of economic prosperity that has left them behind. On the campaign trail and during his freshman year as a state rep, Glodis has argued for a repeal of the state's ill-conceived welfare-reform law that punishes recipients and prohibits them from furthering their education. He favors an increase in the minimum wage and says that unemployment insurance provisions should be rewritten to protect the workforce. Polito was on the right track when she made job creation a central component of her platform. We need more jobs and a larger tax base. But ultimately, that responsibility rightly falls to local leadership. What the Second Worcester District needs in Boston is a senator who will enact legislation to protect the most vulnerable should the much threatened economic downturn become reality and destroy Worcester's surviving manufacturing base. Guy Glodis has our support.

Other offices

In Middlesex County, Democrat Martha Coakley is an intelligent, tough, articulate prosecutor. Her work in the DA's office gives her the experience she will need to lead it.