On July 27, the Reporter asked each of the six candidates who are running to succeed Mitt Romney -Chris Gabrieli, Kerry Healey, Christy Mihos, Deval Patrick, Thomas Reilly, and Grace Ross - a series of questions that touch on considerations on the minds of many who live in Dorchester, Boston's largest neighborhood. The questions appear below, followed by the candidates' responses, save those of Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, who did not respond.

Q: The high cost of living in Massachusetts is often cited as one reason residents are leaving the Commonwealth. What would you do to stabilize rents and home prices and increase the availability of affordable housing, particularly in urban areas like Dorchester?

Q: Violent crime and homicide have been constant and unfortunate topics within the city of Boston in recent months. What role should state government and the governor's office play in combating violent crime (particularly in urban areas) and what role should the state police play in a comprehensive strategy to reduce homicide and violent crime?

Q: How does Dorchester fit within your campaign platform and gubernatorial plans? Please name five Dorchester individuals or organizations in support of your campaign and describe how they fit into your vision for the state.

Q: News in recent months that Massachusetts lawmakers have approved legislation that would provide health care to nearly everyone in the Commonwealth could have a profound impact both on Dorchester residents and the health centers they rely on for care. What policies would you enlist to ensure that neighborhood health centers - and community hospitals like Dorchester's Caritas Carney - remain vital institutions in light of any new health care legislation?

Q: On July 27, the city of Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission convened a community meeting in Dorchester to raise awareness regarding substance abuse among young people and offer strategies for prevention and response. In the continuing struggle against both familiar substances (cocaine, heroin) and new threats (crystal methamphetamine, OxyContin) how would you coordinate policing efforts, preventative resources, and state funding to fight against illegal drugs?

CHRIS GABRIELI

Democrat

Question 1. On Housing

The state must take an active role in resolving the affordable housing crisis.  While it is obvious there is a need for low-income housing, there is also a need for moderate-income housing that is affordable.  Many of our 24-to-35-year-old residents leave Massachusetts after graduating from college because they cannot afford the cost of housing, and in some cases, cannot afford to live where they grew up.  We cannot afford to lose them to areas such as North Carolina with less expensive housing.  As governor, I will fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, so that we can keep and grow our affordable housing stock.  Additionally, I will work with local cities and towns to encourage more housing starts, including examining whether state zoning laws should be changed to encourage more housing production. 

Question 2. On Violent Crime

I commend the Legislature in passing legislation to reduce gang violence and allocating $11 million in community grants to stem the upsurge in violence.  These are first steps, but there is more that needs to be done. Gun trafficking in Massachusetts is out of control. An estimated 60 percent of crime guns in Massachusetts are brought in illegally from other states. While gun trafficking is an issue best dealt with on a national level, the Bush administration has failed to step up and address this issue. This leaves the responsibility in the hands of state and local officials.  As governor of Massachusetts, I intend to fully accept this responsibility and fight illegal gun trafficking and violence.  I will encourage the establishment of anti-gang and anti-gun task forces around the state, enforce mandatory gun sentencing guidelines, and establish a gun buyback program.

In addition to being tough on crime from the enforcement side, it is critical to give our kids better options than a life filled with violence and crime.  This is accomplished by providing a first-class education to all students, funding high-quality after school programs, developing better workforce/skills training programs, and by growing good jobs that will provide for families. I already have a proven record of dedication to improving education and creating jobs, and I intend to continue this work as a method of combating violence.

Question 3. On Dorchester's Needs

I am running an inclusive campaign, which includes the Dorchester community. We have a strong grassroots organization with supporters across the state, including the vibrant and diverse neighborhood of Dorchester. I am running to be governor of all of Massachusetts, where residents from all walks of life feel they have a stake in their state, and their government is held accountable.

I am proud to have the support of local leaders such as Bill Walczak, CEO of the Codman Square Health Center; Community leaders Quintin Gabriel and Ruth and Alan Brown; and Democratic State Committee member John Doogan. These local leaders represent a wide range of the Dorchester community, including the Caribbean community and the public and private sector. Each of these supporters is vital to our thriving grassroots organization in Dorchester.

Question 4. On Health Care

The new health care law is a good first step, and I applaud our leaders in the State Senate and House for getting it done. It helps increase access to health care for Massachusetts residents, and the next governor is going to play a major role in figuring out the details to make it work and I look forward to this challenge.  Community health centers and hospitals, like Caritas Carney, play a tremendous part in increasing health care access and making health care delivery affordable.  As governor, I will work with community health centers and hospitals to ensure that they have the support and resources to provide quality and affordable care to all of those who seek it.

Question 5. On Substance Abuse

In order to prevent drug use, we have to have the cooperation and participation of all levels of government &endash; from the Drug Enforcement Agency to local police departments, in addition to schools and community organizations. As governor, I will offer that coordination and commitment to our cities and towns to reduce the supply and use of drugs in our communities.  We must also commit to helping those who are already addicted to overcome their addiction through high quality rehabilitation programs and support structures.

An important aspect of any crime or drug policy needs to be prevention.  It is critical to provide our kids with education about avoiding drugs in the first place and giving them tools to do so. We must also provide our residents with a first class education and high quality work-force skills and training programs that open up doors to the careers that can last a lifetime.  I already have a proven record of dedication to improving education and creating jobs, and I intend to continue this work as a way to prevent crime and drug use.

CHRISTY MIHOS

Independent

Question 1. On Housing

I'm committed to helping all the residents of Massachusetts find affordable housing in the Commonwealth; I want everyone to have an opportunity for the American dream. It's something I'll work incredibly hard toward when I'm elected governor in November. My Proposition One, my dedication to increasing SoftSecond loans, and my desire to double funding in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund are three ways I would work to help the state's families who are in search of, and deserve affordable housing.

Proposition One, the first bill I will introduce when I'm elected, will help the state's taxpayers and homeowners by stabilizing property taxes throughout the Commonwealth. When someone purchases a new home, he or she needs to factor in the property tax payments, which can escalate dramatically under revaluation. But Proposition One will cap your assessment at the time you purchase your home. The cap means you will never see more than a 2.5 percent increase in your property taxes from year to year unless your town votes for a Proposition 2.5 override. My Proposition One is a solution that will benefit all Massachusetts taxpayers and help them afford homes.

I'm also in favor of increasing the amount of SoftSecond loans the state gives out, and I'll work to double the funding in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund from $20 million to $40 million. These two programs help first-time homebuyers and young families get homes that they normally could not. The expanded buying power of a SoftSecond loan is a great tool for these individuals, and it allows them to purchase a house to call their own. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund allows for financial assistance for construction of affordable housing and helps to provide home ownership opportunities for low-income families.

Question 2. On Violent Crime

The state government and governor's office must do much more to provide municipalities with the tools to fight crime in their areas. Right now, the cities and towns in the Commonwealth have police departments that urgently need better funding. Another aspect of Proposition One is it will return more of the annual state tax revenues to cities and towns to be spent the way they feel it is appropriate. While 28 percent of state tax revenues is returned to the cities and towns today, the percentage would increase to 40 under a Mihos administration. The additional money cities and towns receive can be put to use however the municipality wants &endash; be it hiring more teachers, making more road improvements or increasing the number of public safety officials to help curb the rise of crime many neighborhoods have been seeing.

I would explore having the state police work with municipalities as needed to combat crime in their city or town. The state police have many resources that a smaller city or town might only need on an occasional basis and an arrangement should be made where these departments can help out if needed. I believe our state and local law enforcement should work together to make the state a better place, and I hope to see those efforts further coordinated when I become governor. We need to stop the rash of crime that Boston has seen recently, and we need all available public safety personnel to help in any way they can.

Question 3. On Dorchester's Needs

Dorchester has many needs at the local level that need to be addressed by Beacon Hill, and my Proposition One will provide the city of Boston with much needed local aid to increase services for public safety, public education, and public works in Dorchester.

Dorchester has a unique position in my campaign since my campaign manager is a resident. Carolyn Kain, the only female campaign manager in this gubernatorial election, grew up in Dorchester and resides there today. She grew up in Lower Mills, attended St. Gregory's grammar and high school, married a life-long resident of Dorchester, and together with their young daughter they live in Neponset. Ms. Kain was a Boston police officer for eight years where she worked in Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester while on the force. Ms. Kain's daughter attends the Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School in Dorchester, and Ms. Kain is a co-chair of the O'Hearn's school-based management. She provides me with direct input on the needs of families in her community. We recently attended a meeting with the Dorchester Board of Trade and heard the concerns of local business owners.

Amanda and James Loftus, a registered nurse and an architect with two young children, live in the Melville Park area of Dorchester and are also two wonderful supporters. They were instrumental in the fundraising for, and recent construction of, a handicapped accessible playground at the O'Hearn School and have provided our campaign with their thoughts on the needs of children attending the public school system and the need for additional funding in this area.

Catherine and Francis Walsh are two retirees who are supporters of my campaign. They have resided in Dorchester for more than twenty years and raised their family there. They have expressed concern over the demands of increasing real estate taxes and my Proposition One will help stabilize those costs by capping assessments at their current rates to give home owners certainty about those expenses for years to come.

Question 4. On Health Care

Health care is a vital issue that affects everyone in the Commonwealth, and I would monitor situations at community hospitals and neighborhood health centers on a case-by-case basis. I don't think it is fair to make a blanket statement about what would happen to every neighborhood health center and community hospital in the Commonwealth, and I wouldn't want to make that statement without considering all the facts. There are areas in the city that need more hospitals and care centers, while there may be other areas that have a surplus. The coverage of community health centers and hospitals should be monitored to ensure all residents have access to adequate coverage.

I also hope to introduce my own health care plan in the near future that will be different than the plan proposed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Romney. Problems exist with the new health care law, and I have a team of doctors, specialists, and attorneys helping me craft new legislation that can better serve the residents of Dorchester and the Commonwealth. It is my hope the Legislature will give careful consideration to this plan when I'm elected in November and submit it to them for their approval.

Question 5. On Substance Abuse

The war on drugs is one on which the next governor of Massachusetts must focus, and I plan to do so when I'm elected in November. It will take a coordinated effort between police, schools and the state government to help slow the spread of these drugs to our youth and other residents of our community.

We need to start by educating students in schools and continuing to use preventative programs at an early age. This approach helps the state's youth understand how harmful drugs can be, and educating students to the dangers of drugs at an early age. These types of tools will have a greater impact later in life. Teaching them about it will not only benefit them, but also their families and their friends.

Police must continue to fight drugs in the communities and can help solve the problem by working to arrest drug dealers and keep them off the streets. Only by remaining vigilant against the war on drugs can we hope to make a dent in the amount that circulates in our neighborhoods. We should also help our police departments by funding more full-time positions that can be used exclusively on task forces that have the sole purpose of taking down drug dealers and getting drugs off the streets.

We must also look into how individuals with drug addictions are treated and if we are treating them in the best possible way. We must find the best way to treat those with addictions and help them overcome their problems. Only by taking drugs off the street, helping give police the resources to fight them in their communities, and fighting addiction can we truly be winning the war on drugs. I will support the efforts to fight illegal drugs, and my administration will make inroads in curtailing the use, sale and distribution of such.

DEVAL PATRICK

Democrat

Question 1. On Housing

To address the high cost of housing, I believe we must have both more housing supply and more convenient and affordable public transportation.

Partnering with cities and towns, with developers as well as neighborhood and environmental advocates, my administration will stimulate development of a range of housing options.  Affordable rental housing, clustered near public transportation, will enable young families and lower-wage workers to have stable shelter and easier access to jobs, and seniors to remain in their neighborhoods.  Two-family homes for entrepreneurially-minded residents will give some a leg up.   Smaller, - starter - homes for young professionals and young families, with an emphasis on energy efficient design so that both the cost of maintenance and the environmental impact are limited, will give still others their start.  Sensitivity to design and density will improve the fabric of our neighborhoods. 

Housing policy will be closely coordinated with transportation and other infrastructure investment in my administration, so that we are encouraging business and neighborhood development in every region of the Commonwealth. Specifically, I will increase funding of the Housing Trust Fund.  Through a strong public private partnership we will expand this proven source of dedicated funding to $40 million per year.  We will also leverage state dollars by matching dollar for dollar up to $25 million of employer contributions to the Trust Fund. 

Furthermore, my administration will support the Massachusetts "Soft Second" Mortgage Program with $5 million per year and work to expand the reach of the program throughout the state and to homebuyers making up to the area median income.  The "SoftSecond" program has been a highly successful program to assist lower income first time homebuyers.

Question 2. On Violent Crime

Safe neighborhoods are essential to rebuilding intact communities.  I believe the state must provide region-wide leadership to address the importation of guns purchased in bulk in other states, and the resources needed to support both law enforcement (to solve and punish crime) and youth initiatives (to prevent crime).  To that end, we will promote greater coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement from Massachusetts and neighboring states, as well as community leaders, clergy, and youth workers.

Specifically, as governor I will support community policing - staffing police departments sufficiently to enable walking patrols, so that officers become a presence in and familiar with local communities.  In addition, I will expand after-school opportunities for our youth, including enrichment programs and supervised activities in the public schools.  Summer and after-school job opportunities should also be expanded.

 Regarding better coordination, I have experience that matters.  When I was the head of the Civil Rights Division in the Clinton administration, we managed what was before 911 the largest criminal investigation in US history - the response to the burning of black churches and synagogues in the South.  I know how to bring together different agencies, law enforcement officials and community leaders to solve complex problems.

I put forward some ideas for dealing with gun violence in December of last year and we will be releasing a public safety policy paper within the next 10 days.

Question 3. On Dorchester's Needs

I am running a statewide, grassroots campaign and that means having a presence in Dorchester and every community across the commonwealth. I think that talking to real people about their concerns helps make me a better candidate and will make me a better governor. We have a campaign office in Grove Hall on the Roxbury/Dorchester line and it is staffed daily. I have also held many community meetings in Dorchester, small and large, over the past 14 months, including meetings at Freedom House, Cedar Grove Gardens, and the Prince Hall Lodge of Masons.

In addition, I am honored to have the support of many Dorchester stalwarts, including state representative Linda Dorcena Forry, councilors Felix Arroyo, Steve Murphy, and Sam Yoon, Sheriff Andrea Cabral, Jim and Christina Keefe, Sandi Bagley and the Ward 15 Democratic Committee, the Massachusetts Black Political Task Force, and ACORN. I will be a governor who is a strong partner for local officials and residents in communities across the state.  That is why I began reaching out early to hear your concerns and that is what I will continue to do in the campaign and from the governor's office.

Question 4. On Health Care

 Community hospitals play an important role in our health care system and therefore must be supported.  I know and appreciate that hospitals are not always reimbursed at rates that fairly reflect the costs of services.  As governor I will work to ensure that Medicaid rate enhancements approved by recently approved legislation are effectively implemented. 

 I believe that health is a public good, so I think government has a role to play in assuring an appropriate, comprehensive affordable patient-centered care to everyone. The escalating cost of health insurance, the difficulty of attracting and retaining doctors and other health care professionals, and the complexities involved in implementing the health care reform bill are serious challenges. I believe I am up to meeting each of these challenges. Having served at the highest levels in government, business and not-for-profits, I have the broadest leadership experience of any of the candidates for governor from any party.

Question 5. On Substance Abuse

Drugs, both legal and illegal, are too widely available to our children.  Oxycontin has become a severe problem among teenagers across the Commonwealth and has driven the overdose rate up among that population by almost 50 percent.  Heroin use is on the rise as the drug price goes down.  With a scarcity of after-school programs and work opportunities, we are losing too many kids.  Too many of our children are witnesses to, as well as victims themselves, of violence, drug-related and otherwise.

For the benefit of all kids, my administration will create new or expanded after-school opportunities, including enrichment programs and supervised activities in the public schools.  Summer and after-school job opportunities should also be expanded so that young people can experience the dignity and responsibility that comes with honest work.  Evidence shows that providing these opportunities to youth helps to lower the drop-out rate and the number of youth who commit crime. 

In addition, I will work with the attorney general to pull together local mayors, district attorneys, police and law enforcement professionals, clergy, non-profit service providers, and youth workers, together with federal officials and officials from neighboring states, to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy for addressing the fight against illegal drug use.   

 I also support funding for drug treatment programs at health care facilities within the community as well as behind the walls of houses of correction and our prisons.

THOMAS REILLY

Democrat

Question 1. On Housing

One of the most important challenges facing the next Governor will be to address the shortage of affordable housing across the state. Massachusetts's affordable housing

shortage not only poses a major hardship for working families but is also a barrier to economic growth and job creation, particularly in urban areas like Dorchester. Solving this housing challenge will require sustained, personal leadership from a governor.

One way to stabilize rents and home prices and increase the availability of affordable housing is by increasing our overall housing production. I strongly support and, as governor, will strengthen state programs designed to increase the production of affordable housing, such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Moreover, particularly in urban areas like Dorchester, we can increase the supply of affordable housing by building on two projects I have championed as attorney general: rehabilitating abandoned properties and promoting the cleanup and re-development of contaminated brownfield sites.

We must also work to preserve affordable housing that already exists. Among other things, as governor I will support providing gap financing for preservation projects and working with the non-profit community and local Community Development Corporations to keep expiring-use housing affordable. Finally, as we work to make housing prices more affordable, we must also maintain a strong housing safety net - including federal and state rental vouchers - to help low- and moderate-income families find housing that they can afford.

Question 2. On Violent Crime

Keeping our streets and neighborhoods safe is not the sole responsibility of any one person, agency, or branch of government. Rather, we must work together to prevent violent crime in neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. When I served as District Attorney of Middlesex County, I brought people together to share information and work together to determine how best to steer at-risk youth in the right direction. We called this approach "Community Based Justice" and it became a national model for preventing crime and paving paths of opportunity for young people.

As governor, I will bring the same approach to the Corner Office, using a combination of smart enforcement, tough punishment for serious offenders, effective violence-prevention programs, and strong partnerships to keep our communities safe from gang and gun violence.

I will put more cops on the beat and toughen our state laws to target gang violence. I will also work with our cities and towns to create a "Neighborhood Partnership Initiative" to target and coordinate state resources to help communities struggling with crime provide safe havens for youth, services for at-risk youth, and re-entry programs for young offenders released from custody.

And I will work with schools and community organizations to increase access to after-school programs, which give young people alternatives to becoming involved in gangs.

At the federal level, I will work with our congressional delegation to secure restored funding for the successful COPS program. I will also push the Bush Administration to close gaping loopholes in our national gun laws which allow private sales of guns without background checks in numerous states - guns that wind up being used in crimes in Massachusetts.

Question 3. On Dorchester's Needs

As attorney general, I have had the opportunity to work closely with community partners from Dorchester. My office plays a leading role in two Safe Neighborhood Initiatives in Dorchester, through which we have partnered with numerous city and state agencies, local law enforcement, and local non-profits to address public safety and quality-of-life concerns in these neighborhoods.

I am also proud to have many Dorchester residents supporting my campaign, including: State Representative Marty Walsh; City Councilor Maureen Feeney; entrepreneur and community organizer Cherie Craft; president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, Ed Kelly; lifelong Dorchester resident Nina Glover; small-business owner Lovette Harris; and vice president of IBEW Local 2222, Gerry Leary. They are supporting me because they know my vision for Massachusetts includes helping each and every one of our cities and towns thrive - and all of our citizens share in opportunity and prosperity. Along these lines, I will support all of Dorchester's many neighborhoods by reinvesting in Local Aid, strengthening our public schools, working with local law enforcement and community leaders to improve public safety, providing lifelong skills and job training through a responsive workforce development system, and promoting the development and success of women- and minority-owned businesses.

Throughout my career as attorney general, I have worked closely with Mayor Menino and other mayors across the state to promote opportunity, safety and prosperity in our urban communities. I will continue to do so governor.

Question 4. On Health Care

Community health centers and community hospitals, like Caritas Carney, offer not only excellent but affordable care, and making care affordable is critical to the successful implementation of the new health care reform legislation. Beyond providing health care services, these institutions are also vital to the economic health of their communities, offering good-paying jobs with health insurance benefits. My health care plan, "A Prescription for a Healthy Massachusetts," recognizes the essential work of our community health centers and community hospitals in increasing access to quality, affordable care and meeting the special health care needs of low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color.

In my plan, I support expanding the use of our community health centers as sites that not only provide care but also facilitate enrollment in health care insurance. I also encourage cities and towns to build on the Community Benefits Programs developed by local hospitals with community partners to address the health care needs of their community.

Question 5. On Substance Abuse

Illegal drugs continue to be a threat to our young people's safety and well-being, in forms both old and new. To deal with the growing threat of prescription drug abuse, I will push for legislation to create the specific crime of trafficking in prescription drugs to effectively punish drug dealers who illegally distribute large quantities.

I will also launch a statewide effort to use nuisance statues and local ordinances to close down drug houses, building on my existing Abandoned Housing Initiative. And I will work with local law enforcement and the trial courts to create more programs allowing first-time, non-violent juvenile and youthful offenders charged with minor substance abuse possession offenses to complete counseling and community service as an alternative to prosecution.

Of course, the most effective way to combat illegal drug use among young people is to prevent them from using drugs in the first place. As governor, I will scale up effective prevention initiatives - for example, the school-based "Choose to Refuse" OxyContin prevention program. I will support increased funding for extended school day and after-school programs that involve youth in recreational, educational, and athletic activities, making them less likely to become involved in drugs.

I also recognize that we must help those young people with substance abuse problems overcome their addiction by increasing the availability of early screening and treatment programs.

I have released comprehensive public safety, and children's, safety plans that detail my vision for creating safe and drug-free communities across Massachusetts. Please visit my website, tomreilly.org, to read these plans and the rest of my Massachusetts Action Plan (MAP) for a Better Future.

GRACE ROSS

Green-Rainbow Party

Question 1. On Housing

We need to move away from economic policies that focus on huge for-profit developers, scattered development and absentee ownership. For example, Fallon's huge downtown hotel development was built on land provided at a reduced rate and he went bragging about the millions he had gotten in tax breaks - this kind of development gives huge subsidy to those who need it least and will make windfall profits while providing neither the needed tax base for the rest of us nor serving our housing needs.

In my economic plan, we will shift those same resources into local development, non-profit and genuinely affordable development, neighborhood infrastructure (which also supports small, local business development) - soft second, public housing renovation, renovation of brown fields and boarded up downtowns providing local, higher paying jobs and supporting green-development to help save our environment.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority needs to stop making bargain land deals with huge developers and help us instead to revitalize our local housing stock, renovate boarded up buildings, and increase our housing stock to bring down the market and support municipal initiatives to limit huge rent increases.

We will put state dollars into the housing trust fund and support local, mostly non-profit developers who can provide home-ownership options for those making less than $50,000 per year and rents that are even affordable for lower income families. We will pursue the paint companies and clean up our lead paint problems. We need as well to address the income side and increase minimum wage to a living wage ,which will also help small businesses and get money back into the pockets of local people and businesses who spend their money locally.

Question 2. On Violent Crime

Violence always increases in bad economic times. The bottom 60 percent of us are worse off than five years ago; we are still in the recession. We need money in our communities to pay for the jobs we desperately need done and have workers ready to do. By increasing minimum wage, closing loopholes for big corporations and moving away from our present reverse-Robin Hood taxes, the state will have the money and our local communities will have the cash flow to create economic possibilities and hope for youth, people of color, women. Schools need to funded adequately for smaller class sizes, educational materials, and all the programs and after-school programs that engage youth and give them greater opportunities. We need to move back to jobs and decent benefits for those without jobs that pay enough so that all of us have time for our families and our communities and can rebuild our human connections and our neighborhoods. We need cradle-to-grave monitoring of guns and bullets and policies that keep guns off the streets. We need to increase welfare benefits and remove the stigma and restrictive provisions so that battered women can again use this critical financial means to leave batterers and our shelters can again be available to move women whose lives and health are threatened rapidly into and out of shelter.

Question 3. On Dorchester's Needs

No answer.

Question 4. On Health Care

We must institute real universal health care through a system similar to MassHealth - so we all receive the same standard of care, drastically reduce health care costs, and can negotiate for greatly reduced pharmaceutical costs, etc. The present non-universal, non-plan continues to benefit employers who don't provide health coverage, requiring only those businesses that provide less than 40 percent of their workers' health care to pay a few hundred dollars per work per year in fines to the state - thereby actually creating more downward pressure on those presently providing health coverage to their works; meanwhile it penalizes those individuals and families who are yet to be able to afford health coverage on their own to the tune of thousands per year through loss of their personal tax deduction; those of us who cannot afford coverage will pay more than corporations that don't cover their own workers.

Huge corporations, especially the insurance industry, spent $7.5 million to pass this non-plan, including turning this pool of the 200,000 to 400,000 uninsured into their own captive market desperate to buy any kind of insurance to avoid losing their personal tax deduction. It does nothing to contain costs while "single payer" cuts one third of present costs in administration covering all for the same price we have now.

I will fight for an actual plan that serves all of us and protects all of our existing and local health resources and will actually help expand them as we bring everyone in a fair and equitable way into health-centered, not profit-centered, statewide health care system. We don't deserve anything less and must not settle for this non-universal, non-plan.

Question 5. On Substance Abuse

The most immediate answer to drug addiction is to treat it as what it is, a health issue, not a criminal issue. No other industrialized nation has the drug abuse problems nor the artificially inflated numbers in jail because treatment on demand is the proven solution to those problems. About half of our skyrocketing prison population are non-violent offenders, mostly drug related. While imprisoning someone for a year costs us about $43,000, real government-sponsored health coverage would not cost us a dime more than our current health system. The US government can so control the import of fruit that they've kept out certain species of fruit flies but cannot seem to stop the import of billions of tons of illegal drugs. The problem does not really start with local street dealer. State government must commit to focusing its resources on the billionaire importers, no matter who knows who. This is probably best done by bringing all drugs from cradle to grave under government regulation (and taxation), which can only be accomplished through legalization.