Candidates address business concerns Vow more local aid, affordable housing
WBJ asked the gubernatorial candidates to address a list of the key concerns raised by business groups (See WBJ Oct.16, 2006). Democrat Deval Patrick did not respond to our questions by press time, with campaign staff citing scheduling constraints. Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey only found time to answer a portion of the questions we posed. Following are some insights into how Healey, Grace Ross and Christy Mihos plan to address some of the issues raised.
Healey: Affordable housing but
no disruption of home rule
Kerry Healey has stressed plans for unemployment insurance reform and a crack down on firms that hire illegal aliens to create a move level playing field among her pro-business stands.
In response to a top concern by many business groups that prohibitive land-use regulations by cities and towns are thwarting affordable housing, Healey insists the Romney/Healey administration has made progress in encouraging more affordable housing in urban areas and near transportation hubs. But she agrees more housing of all types is needed to keep a skilled workforce. Healey does not favor, as some groups suggest, establishing statewide regulations that would override municipal home rule. But, she says, she would pursue solutions to mitigate some of the municipal costs of adding new housing, with local aid programs similar to the 40S law focused on school costs.
Healey also plans to:
• Continue the Romney/Healey administration’s commitment to local aid for cities and town, citing an 8.6 percent increase over the past year. (She gave no specifics on future increases)
• Reform the state’s pension system and allow cities and towns to purchase health care through the state health-insurance system to control costs, returning more $200 million to municipalities per year
• Roll back the state income tax to 5 percent, stabilizing taxes, making the state more affordable to families and allowing employers to be more competitive
Ross: Close the economic divide
Green Rainbow Party candidates Grace Ross has aimed her campaign for the corner office at the common man and woman - the lower 60 percent of wage earners in the state. But she says that doesn’t mean her ideas don’t apply to the business community, especially small business. Like lower- and middle-income residents, most small business owners are affected by the growing divide "between the top and the rest of us," says Ross.
Ross says overriding home rule with statewide zoning isn’t going to solve the affordable housing crisis. Most towns, she says, want to accommodate such housing but don’t feel options like current cluster zoning provisions give them enough control over preserving open space. And, she says, the state measures that are supposed to make housing affordable, like 40B, create housing that is still out of most people’s reach. That state needs to sit down with municipal planners, developers and landowners and come up with solutions that all parties can live with, she says.
Among Ross’ other stands on business issues, she proposes to:
• Give state surplus funds back to cities and towns and increase local aid to stop their financial suffering.
• Create government-sponsored health care, which she notes would save the one-third of our health-care dollars now going to administrative costs.
• Increase minimum wage, which, she says, may hurt small business in the short-term but will improve the local economy long term.
• Put more money into renewable energy and conservation, which will create jobs and help businesses with energy costs.
• Improve education funding for basic resources, like smaller class sizes, and work to step the minority dropout rate.
• Shift some of the tax burden from the working and middle class by making big business pay more of a share, which she says, will level the playing field "for all business in the state."
Mihos: Cut red tape
As owner of Christy’s Markets, Christy Mihos points out that he is the only gubernatorial candidate with small to medium-size business experience. He says he is determined to make the state business-friendly by cutting the red tape that bogs down permitting processes and keeps companies from locating here.
That said, Mihos makes it clear he will not challenge cities’ and towns’ rights to home rule when it comes to zoning for the sake of creating more affordable housing. He plans instead to bring in a planning expert and come up with incentives to get municipalities to embrace more housing development.
Besides, Mihos notes, with his proposed Proposition One - a plan to channel 40 percent of state tax revenue into local aid rather than the current 28 percent - communities will be less concerned with the costs of residential growth and more open to housing development.
Beyond that, Mihos proposes to:
• Set up a committee to standardize the health-care reporting system to cut down on medical administrative costs.
• Hire accountants and auditors to cut back on health-care fraud, saving some 10-15 percent in costs.
• Bid out Medicaid services to save an estimated $200 million a year.
• If all else fails, return to regulating health-care costs.
• Return surplus from state budget to cities and towns.
• Cap real estate taxes at their current rate, only allowing them to increase by 2.5 percent.
• Oppose any cost controls on biotechnology.
• Oppose MCAS as a standard for high school graduation.
• Oppose raising the minimum wage and having local meal taxes.
• Put more money into promoting tourism and personally serve as a "tourism czar" for the state.
Micky Baca can be reached at mbaca@wbjournal.com
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