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Healey: School Funding will Increase 8% in 2007
Hanna Interviews Kerry Healey
09/01/06

Valley Patriot ace-reporter, Hanna, sat down with Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey at Jackson’s Restaurant last month for an exclusive interview.
Right now you are the lieutenant governor. What does the lt. governor do?

Well, under the state constitution, the lt. governor only has one duty and that is to be the chairman of the Governor’s Council, which meets once a week. It approves judges, justices of the peace, and notary publics. It also authorizes all the spending for the state. Each week we have to vote to pay all our bills. Beyond that, though, the lt. governor performs all the duties the governor assigns. Governor Romney has assigned me a number of duties, one of which is to be the liaison to the cities and towns. Another is that I get to chair the Interagency Council on Homelessness Issues. I also chair the Interagency Council on Substance Abuse. I chair the Governor’s Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence. I also chair something called the Seaport Advisory Council, which works with the fishing industry to redevelop all our ports.

That’s a lot for a few! What is your day like?

My day starts very early in the morning. I live in Beverly, so I often get up at five in the morning to get ready to go to work. Then I usually drive somewhere in the state for a breakfast meeting. Today I started the day doing talk radio from my house and then driving to see a factory where they design equipment to screen luggage for bombs, like the ones that were going to be used in the planned terrorist attack last month. I generally have some meetings in the afternoon, do a press event and then, at night, I do things like this: going to fundraisers for a campaign or helping other Republican candidates around the state.

So, what time to do you end up going to bed?

I probably get home around nine o’clock and try to get to bed as quickly as I can. I like to get as much sleep as I can, given the parameters of the day.

Why are you running for governor?

Well, because I think I am the best qualified person to do it. I’ve had the opportunity to be lieutenant governor for four years and learned what is necessary for the state to do to be more competitive and more affordable for the businesses that are here. The job isn’t done yet, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue working on improving education, public safety and the economy here in Massachusetts.

Do you think Governor Romney will run for president?

I think the governor would be very good at anything he chooses to do.

What is your favorite book?

That’s a good question. It is very hard to choose just one. I would say Howard Zen.

Do you have any children? If you do, how old are they?

I have two children, a girl and a boy. My son is 14 and my daughter is 11.

That’s my age! Is your daughter going to sixth grade?

She is.

Wow. Me too! If you win, what is the first thing you will change at the State House?

I will file a bill to roll back taxes to 5 percent, because the people of the commonwealth voted to do that six years ago and we still haven’t done it. I think that should be the first priority, to obey the democratic will of the people.

That’s good because I was just going to ask you if you were going to lower taxes.

I am going to try.

Why do you think you are qualified to be governor?

I have had a lot of practice being acting governor while the governor has been traveling over the last four years.  And I also have been able to work with him in times of crisis, like when the tunnel collapsed at the Big Dig, or when we dealt with issues like the potential terrorist attacks coming out of London. I think those kinds of situations prepare you for governor better than any theoretical training you can have.

What are you proud to have accomplished as lt. governor?

Well, I am actually proud of a number of things. But what makes me most proud is that we passed a law this year to make our drunken driving laws more strict than they have been in the past to get drunk drivers off the road. In the past, 200 people a year were killed by drunk drivers on the roads of Massachusetts. And we had some very lenient laws. But since we passed this new law, Melanie’s Law, in honor of a 13-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver while crossing the street in the middle of the day, we’ve had 20 percent fewer drunk drivers on the roads. Instead of losing 10 people on the roads over Memorial Day weekend, like we did last year, we only lost four and only one was attributable to a drunk driver. I think we are saving people’s lives and I am very proud of that.

What do you like best about your job?

That you can actually change things you think are wrong. I get the opportunity to change laws or policies that aren’t helping people. It makes me feel very gratified that I might have saved someone’s life or made life better for somebody.

Why didn’t you pick Mayor Mike Sullivan to be your lieutenant governor?

Actually, he is a wonderful mayor and would have been a great lieutenant governor candidate. But the man I picked, Reed Hillman, is older and has also been the head of the state police and has served in the legislature for six years. I was looking for someone who could work with me to get my legislation passed.

And besides, I think the mayor is dong a fantastic job where he is and I would hate to take him out of Lawrence. I really believe that Lawrence is going to be one of our best cities in Massachusetts … if he can just stay there a little bit longer.

Well, my mom wants him to run for state representative against Dave (Torrisi).

That would be fantastic as well. He would be great in the Legislature. Lawrence has become such a success story since Mike Sullivan took over as mayor. He has really turned Lawrence around.

Can you help us get more money for my school?

What school do you go to now?

I used to go to Thomson and now I am going to the Middle School in September.

They are both public schools?

Yes.

They will be getting 8 percent more money than last year.

We had such a problem at Thomson. Teachers had to buy their own paper, it was so bad.

What town is that?

North Andover.

North Andover? They should have paper in a town like North Andover. I’m sorry that’s the case. I will have to look into that.

I have two cats. Do you have any pets?

I have two pets. I think its two pets … maybe more. I have two dogs. One is a Bouvier des Flandres. It’s a Belgian cattle herding dog. It weighs about 130 pounds and is bigger than you, certainly. I also have a very small West Island terrier that is called McDuff. That‘s my daughter’s dog.
Tommy’s dad was a cop killed in the line of duty.

Tommy says he supports you because you back the death penalty for cop killers. Is that true, and are you the only candidate to support that?

It is true. I am the only candidate who supports the death penalty for cop killers. In fact, Reed and I were just talking about that tonight while we were going over our criminal justice platform. The first thing on it is to reinstate the death penalty for cop killers.

I have one last question. Why are you a Republican?

I am a Republican because my parents’ values were Republican values. They were brought up in the Great Depression. My dad fought in World War II. My mom was a schoolteacher. They both really believed in service to your country and community, and working hard. My mom was a first generation American and she always told me that the way you get ahead in America is hard work and contributing to the community, by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and valuing the power of an education in a democracy. Those were Republican values and that’s why I am a Republican.

I know you have to go to bed because it’s almost nine o’clock, so I will let you go. Thank you.

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The September, 2006 Edition of the Valley Patriot
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