Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney (b. March 12, 1947) is the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. He is currently in his first term as Governor, serving until 2007. He has stated he will not seek re-election in 2006.Romney also serves as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association and honorary chairman of [http://www.thecommonwealthpac.com The Commonwealth Political Action Committee.

Before becoming Governor, Romney rose to prominence in an unsuccessful 1994 campaign against Senator Ted Kennedy and as CEO and organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Biography

Mitt Romney was born March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan and is the son of former Governor of Michigan and Presidential candidate George W. Romney. He has been married to his wife, Ann Romney, for 36 years. They have five sons (Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig) and nine grandchildren. Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 ^*.

Education

Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills (which was then an all-male school allied with the Kingswood School, but they have now merged to become the Cranbrook Kingswood School). He met his future wife, Ann Davies (born in 1949), when she was at the Kingswood School.

After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served for two and one-half years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France Miller, John J. "Matinee Mitt." ''National Review, June 20 2005. . Upon returning from his mission, he transferred universities and subsequently received his B.A. with Highest Honors and as valedictorian from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, Romney was awarded an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and was named a Baker scholar. In 1975 he also received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Business

Prior to being elected governor, Romney was a cofounder and managing partner of Bain Capital, a Boston private equity firm.

From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a Vice President of Bain & Company, Inc., a Boston-based management consulting firm. Later, as the company's CEO, he led it through a highly successful turnaround ^*. Today, Bain & Company has 31 offices in 19 countries and over 2800 employees.

In 1984, Romney co-founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital investment companies. Among the first companies it invested in was Staples, an office-supply store. In 1986 Staples, Inc., had one store. Today it has nearly 1,700. Bain Capital founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies including Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy and The Sports Authority.

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney first obtained national attention with the 2002 Olympic Winter Games being held in Salt Lake City. In 1999 the event was $379 million short of its revenue goals, and there were damaging allegations of bribery involving top officials. In an effort to get the event back on track, Romney was asked to lead the organization of the Games. The Organizing Committee's leadership and policies were restructured, budgets were tightened and fundraising was placed back on track. Under his leadership, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games turned into a spectacular success, clearing a profit of $100 million. Romney himself contributed $1 million, and donated his three years of pay ($275,000 per annum) to charity. He wrote a book about his experience called Turn Around

Political Campaigns

1994 Campaign for US Senate

In 1994, Romney was the Massachusetts Republican Party's nominee for U.S. Senate after he defeated businessman John Lakian in the primary. In the general election, Romney captured 41% of the vote versus Senator Ted Kennedy's 58% in the closest election of Kennedy's long Senate career. Pre-election polling had the two much closer than this and so the "scare" that Romney put to Kennedy endeared him to many of Massachusetts Republican voters.

2002 Campaign for Governor

In 2002, Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift, who had served as acting governor since the resignation of Governor Paul Cellucci, was expected to run for the corner office. Swift was viewed as an unpopular executive, and her administration was plagued by political missteps and personal scandalsAs a result, many Republicans viewed her as a liability who would be unable to win a general election against a Democrat ^*. One poll taken at this time showed that Republicans favored Romney over Swift by a margin of more than 50 percentage points. With growing speculation that Romney would challenge Swift in what would be a bruising primary battle, Swift decided not to seek her party's nomination.

During the general election Romney ran on a reform platform, as a major issue in the election was a serious state budget crisis. Supporters of Romney hailed his business record, especially his success with the 2002 Olympics, as that of one who would be able to bring in a new era of efficiency into Massachusetts politics.

His critics cited his lack of government experience and claimed that he was ineligible to run for governor, citing issues regarding residency. The state Constitution requires seven consecutive years of residency before a run, and Romney claimed residency in Utah as recently as 2000. Romney filed taxes as a resident of Utah, and received $54,000 in tax breaks for having his "primary residence" there. In 1999 he listed himself as a part-time Massachusetts resident.

State democrats filed a complaint with the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission. The commission,(appointed by the Republican governor and consisting of 3 Republicans, 1 Democrat and 1 Independent), eventually ruled that Romney was eligible to run for office. The Democratic Party decided not to challenge the ruling in court.

Romney was elected Governor in November 2002 over Democrat Shannon O'Brien, Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein, and Libertarian Carla Howell (50%, 45%, 4%, 1% respectively).

Governorship

Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003. His Lieutenant Governor is Kerry Healey. Romney was selected in 2005 to head the Republican Governors Association.^*

Romney announced in 2005 that he will not seek re-election for a second term as Governor of the Commonwealth, fueling speculation that he is preparing a run at the White House in 2008. Current Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey has accepted the Republican nomination for the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial race ^*.

Health Care

On April 12, 2006, Governor Romney signed legislation to provide health insurance to virtually all citizens of Massachusetts without raising taxes.^* Working with conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation and Democrats in the state legislature, Romney developed a plan that stresses personal responsibility in paying for coverage and provides funding for low-income residents. Starting in July 2007, health insurance will be mandatory for all state residents, provided a plan is available to the individual that is deemed affordable according to state standards. Lower income individuals will be eligible for subsidies to purchase health insurance.

As of March, 2006 there were approximately 500,000 uninsured citizens in Massachusetts. Those who are uninsured commonly use emergency rooms as a source of primary care because of their lack of health insurance coverage.Massachusetts hospitals are required to provide care even if a patient cannot pay for it. As a result, hospitals have been left with unpaid bills and mounting expenses to care for the uninsured. "People who don't have insurance nonetheless receive health care," said Romney. "And it's expensive."[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5330854

In Massachusetts, a roughly $800 million fund known as the "uncompensated care pool" is used to partially reimburse hospitals for these expenses. The fund's revenue comes from an annual assessment on employers, insurance providers and hospitals, plus contributions of state and federal tax dollars. Governor Romney's plan redirects money from this fund to subsidize health care costs for low-income residents of Massachusetts. The Romney Administration consulted with MIT professor Jonathan Gruber to study the state's population and health care needs. They determined that there was enough money in the "free care pool" to implement the Governor's plans without additional funding or taxes.A separate study by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts found that universal coverage would require substantial additional state spending. [http://roadmaptocoverage.org

The legislature amended Romney's plan somewhat, adding a Medicaid expansion for children and imposing an assessment on firms with 11 or more workers who do not offer health coverage. The assessment is intended to equalize the contributions to the free care pool from employers that offer and do not offer coverage. The legislature also rejected Romney's provision allowing high-deductible health plans.

The new Massachusetts health care legislation establishes a system to provide citizens with private, affordable, market based insurance. The state will work to enroll all residents eligible for Medicaid and subsidize private insurance policies for low income individualsA sliding scale based on income is used to determine the amount of money a person contributes to their policy. The higher the income, the higher the premium. Individuals who can afford health coverage but chose not to purchase a policy will now be required by law to acquire insurance. Failure to purchase health insurance if an affordable policy is available would result in tax penalties.[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1184679,00.html

The legislation also establishes a device developed by the Heritage Foundation known as the "Connector." The Connector allows Massachusetts citizens to "purchase health insurance with pretax dollars, even if their employer makes no contribution. The connector enables pretax payments, simplifies payroll deduction, permits prorated employer contributions for part-time employees, reduces insurer marketing costs, and makes it efficient for policies to be entirely portable. Because small businesses may use the connector, it gives them even greater bargaining power than large companies."^*

Romney vetoed 8 sections of the health care legislation, including a $295 dollar per person fee on businesses with 11 employees or more that do not provide health insurance.^*" target="_blank" > Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental and eyeglass benefits to poor residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid.^* The legislature overrode all of the vetoes.

Education

In 2004, Governor Romney established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a four-year, tuition-free scholarship to Massachusetts’ state university or colleges. He has also drafted other education reforms, including the recruitment of 1,000 skilled math and science instructors, bonuses of as much as $15,000 a year for top-performing teachers, and new intervention programs for failing schools.

Additionally, Romney began advocating for a nationwide focus on education through the recruitment of and better pay for math and science teachers, and allowing state governments to take control of underperforming schools after three instead of the six-year period that is now in place.

Speaking of the education provided to minority students, Romney said, "I really believe that the failure of our urban schools and, in some cases our suburban schools, to help minority students achieve the levels that are necessary for success in the workplace is the civil rights issue of our time."

In 1994 Romney, as a candidate for US Senate, pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice. He also supported abolishing the federal Department of Education and favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community (Boston Globe review of 1994 campaign issues Mar 21, 2002)

In April of 2006, Romney outlined his 6-point plan for improving the country's education in an Op/Ed in the Washington Times.^*

Budget Balancing

Upon entering office, Romney faced a $3 billion deficit. Facing an immediate fiscal crisis, the Governor asked the state legislature for emergency powers to make "9C" cuts to the fiscal year 2003 budget. Refusing to raise taxes, Romney cut spending and restructured state government. An unexpected windfall in capital gains taxes reduced the deficit by $1.3 billion, and Romney raised an extra $500 million in revenue by increasing hundreds of fees (such as driver's license and marriage license fees) and by closing tax "loopholes."Greenberger, Scott S. "Romney often casts himself as budget hero; But speeches omit some important detail," Boston Globe, October 24, 2005.^* In response, cities and towns became more reliant on local revenue to pay for municipal services and schools.

Massachusetts finished 2004 with a $700 million surplus and 2005 with a $500 million surplus.[http://www.umass.edu/usa/newsgrams/2005/unionvoiceoct05/index_files/Page915.htm.

With the help of a reviving economy, Romney was able to balance the state budget and replenish the states' "rainy day fund" through government consolidation and reform. As a result of the fiscal turnaround, Romney has repeatedly pushed the state legislature to roll back the state income tax from 5.3% to 5.0% (Massachusetts has a flat income tax).

Same-Sex Marriage

Romney has strongly opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions. He has continually stressed the need to protect the institution of marriage while denouncing discrimination against gays and lesbians. "Like me, the great majority of Americans wish both to preserve the traditional definition of marriage and to oppose bias and intolerance directed towards gays and lesbians," said Romney in a 2004 interview.^*

On June 2nd, 2006 Governor Romney sent a letter to each member of the U.S. Senate urging them to vote in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment (entire letter can be viewed at this link ^*). In the letter, Romney stated that the debate over same-sex unions is not a discussion about "tolerance," but rather a "debate about the purpose of the instituion of marriage." Romney wrote that "Attaching the word marriage to the association of same-sex individuals mistakenly presumes that marriage is principally a matter of adult benefits and adult rights. In fact, marriage is principally about the nurturing and development of children. And the successful development of children is critical to the preservation and success of our nation."

Romney's letter was his second attempt to persuade the U.S. Senate to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment. On June 22, 2004 he testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, urging its members to protect the traditional definition of marriage. "Marriage is not an evolving paradigm," said Romney, "but is a fundamental and universal social institution that bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of all of the people of Massachusetts."^*

Romney was heavily involved in attempts to block implementation of the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that legalized same-sex marriage in 2003. Romney criticized the decision as harming the rights of children:

"They viewed marriage as an institution principally designed for adults. Adults are who they saw. Adults stood before them in the courtroom. And so they thought of adult rights, equal rights for adults ... Marriage is also for children. In fact, marriage is principally for the nurturing and development of children. The children of America have the right to have a father and a mother."^*

In 2004 the Massachusetts Legislature attempted to address the issue of gay marriage before the implementation of the Goodridge decision. During a constitutional convention, the heavily democratic legislature approved an amendment that would have banned gay marriage, but established civil unions. An initial amendment offered by House Speaker Thomas Finnernan that would have simply banned gay marraige without a provision for civil unions was narrowly defeated ^*.The compromise amendment needed to be approved in a second constitutional convention to be held a year later before it would have appeared on a state election ballot. The amendment was voted down in the subsequent convention and never made it before the voters of Massachusetts.

Romney reluctantly backed the compromise amendment, viewing it as the only feasible way to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts. "If the question is, 'Do you support gay marriage or civil unions?' I'd say neither," Romney said of the amendment. "If they said you have to have one or the other, that Massachusetts is going to have one or the other, then I'd rather have civil unions than gay marriage. But I'd rather have neither."^*

In September 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, claiming that the amendment confused voters who oppose both gay marriage and civil unions. The amendment was defeated in the legislature in 2005 when both supporters of same-sex marriage and opponents of civil unions voted against it. In June 2005, Romney endorsed a petition effort by the Coalition for Marriage and Family that would ban gay marriage and make no provisions for civil unions. ^*

The Romney Administration resurrected the "1913 law," which prohibits non-residents from marrying in Massachusetts if the marriage would be void in their home state; the law had not been enforced for several decades. Some legal experts have argued that the original purpose of the legislation was to block interracial marriages and have noted that the law was enacted at the height of public scandal over black heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson's interracial marriages^*" target="_blank" >, while Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly has stated that the law had nothing to do with race.^*" target="_blank" >Romney applauded the decision, saying that the "ruling is an important victory for traditional marriage." He also stated that "It would have been wrong for the Supreme Judicial Court to impose its mistaken view of marriage on the rest of the country. The continuing threat of the judicial redefinition of marriage, here and in several other states, is why I believe that the best and most reliable way to preserve the institution of marriage is to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution." [http://baywindows.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=80354FA6376441B4873F9696A073ADFD

When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney declared his opposition to both same-sex marriage and civil unions. He also voiced support for basic domestic partnership benefits for gay couples. Romney told the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts (a Republican gay-rights group) that he did not support same-sex marriage, but would fight discrimination against gays and lesbians. He also opposed an amendment, then before the Legislature, that would have banned same-sex marriage and outlawed all domestic partnership benefits for gay couples. As a result, the Log Cabin Club endorsed Romney in the gubernatorial election. ^*

During his 1994 campaign against Senator Edward Kennedy, Romney said that same-sex marriage "is not appropriate at this time"Lehigh, Scot. "Kennedy, Romney battle for the middle." Boston Globe, October 10, 1994. but supported Federal legislation that would prohibit discrimination in the workplace against homosexuals.Rimer, Sara. "Perfect Anti-Kennedy' Opposes the Senator." The New York Times, October 25, 1994.

Death Penalty

In December 2004, Romney announced plans to file a death penalty bill in early 2005. ^* The bill, filed April 28, 2005, sought to reinstate the death penalty in cases that include terrorism, the assassination of law enforcement officials and multiple killings. The legislation would have required corroborating scientific evidence, multiple layers of review and a new "no doubt" standard of proof.

Romney's critics made arguments against the death penalty and claimed that Romney's complex scheme for trying capital cases is unworkable and a waste of prosecutorial resources. It is estimated that under Romney's plan, trying a capital case could cost upwards of US$3,000,000, while the cost of incarcerating a convicted felon in a maximum security facility in Massachusetts is $48,000 per year.^*

Ultimately, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which is controlled by a Democratic party supermajority, defeated the bill 99-53.

Drunk Driving: Melanie's Bill

In May of 2005 Governor Romney presented a proposal to the Massachusetts Legislature to crack down on repeat drunk drivers. Massachusetts had some of the weakest drunk driving laws of any state in the country.The state was losing 9 million dollars annually from its highway budget because existing laws were not in compliance with federal standards.ignition-interlock devices in their vehicles. Governor Romney urged Massachusetts residents to contact their representatives and ask them to adopt the tough new laws. Some members of the legislative confrence committee were lawyers who had represented drunk driving defendants. "Five of the six members of the committee are lawyers who have represented drunken driving defendants." House Judiciary Committee stripped many of the tough new provisions of Melanie’s Law and sent a watered-down version to an eventual conference committee.^*" target="_blank" >The scaled back version of the legislation that reached the Governor’s desk bore little resemblance to Romney’s original plan. In response, the Governor filed amendments to restore some of the key provisions that had been omitted by the legislature. Appearing with families of drunk driving victims at State House press conferences, Romney rallied public support for Melanie’s Bill.[http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/10/21/romney_seeks_restoration_of_tougher_provisions/?page=full A massive outcry in favor of the Governor’s plan forced the state legislature to consider Romney’s amendments. Pressured by angry constituents and negative media coverage, the House and the Senate restored many of the tough provisions included in the original legislation. In October of 2005 Romney signed Melanie’s Bill into law, creating the toughest drunk driving regulations in Massachusetts history. ^*

Abortion

Romney has identified himself as a pro-life politician. He does not support abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of a mother is threatened.Romney has been a vocal opponent of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, criticizing the “one size fits all” statute created by the ruling.^*

Prior to his run for governor Romney told a newspaper in Salt Lake City Utah that he did not want to be classified as a "pro-choice" politician.^*

During the 2002 governor's race, Romney voiced his personal opposition to abortion, but promised to maintain the Massachusetts abortion laws if elected. Romney's platform stated, "As Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts. No law would change. The choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government’s." Although he told voters that he was personally opposed to abortion, Romney said that he would respect the will of the pro-choice majority in Massachusetts. Referencing the established abortion laws in Massachusetts, Romney said that he would "preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose...I will not change any provisions in Massachusetts’ pro-choice laws."[http://www-tech.mit.edu/V122/N52/52debate.52n.html

Romney has said that his views on abortion have "evolved" and "changed" since 2002 such that he now considers himself a "pro-life governor" who wishes "the laws of our nation could reflect that view." ^*^*

In 1994, Romney also said that he was personally opposed to abortion. He also said that he became committed to legalized abortion after the death of a family friend in an illegal abortion made him see "that regardless of one's beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal."

"Many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion," Romney said in a televised debate opposite Senator Edward Kennedy. "It is since that time my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that." The person Romney was referring to was a teenage girl engaged to marry a member of Romney's extended family. Romney's sister Jane has said that the girl's death changed the family's perspective on the legality of abortion. "With my mom, that was a personal thing because we had a tragedy close to us -- not in our immediate family, but a young girl who actually was engaged and had an illegal abortion and died." "She was a beautiful, talented young gal we all loved. And it pretty much ruined the parents -- their only daughter. You would do anything not to repeat that." ^*

Romney has said he has kept his campaign promises. Romney vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005, claiming that allowing it to pass into law would violate his "moratorium" on changes to the abortion laws.^*.

Stem Cell Research

Although Romney has stated that he supports the use of surplus embryos from fertility clinics for stem-cell research, he vetoed a Massachusetts bill to fund stem-cell research because the legislation allowed the cloning of human embryos. "I am not in favor of creating new human embryos through cloning," said Romney, calling the practice a "a matter of profound moral and ethical consequence." Romney also opposed the legislation because of its assertion that life does not begin until an embryo is implanted in a uterus. "It is very conceivable that scientific advances will allow an embryo to be grown for a substantial period of time outside the uterus," Romney said in an interview with the Boston Globe. "To say that it is not life at one month or two months or four months or full term, just because it had never been in a uterus, would be absurd." ^*" target="_blank" >The state legislature overrode Romney's veto, with many legislators feeling that stem-cell research will be important in the future to the state's biotech industry.[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/02/romney_concedes_defeat_on_stem_cell_research/.

In-State Tuition Bill

Romney vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain in-state tuition rates at state colleges if they graduated from a Massachusetts high school after attending it for at least three years and signed an affidavit affirming that they intended to seek citizenship. Romney vowed to veto the bill again if it ever made it to his desk, arguing that the bill would cost the state government $15 million and that the state should not reward illegal immigration. ^*" target="_blank" >In 2005, the bill was reintroduced to the House, backed by Representative Marie St. Fleur. The in-state immigrant tuition bill was brought to another vote on January 11, 2006 and was overwhelmingly defeated by a total of 96-57 [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/01/12/immigrant_tuition_bill_defeated/. Romney applauded the decision.

One Laptop Per Child Initiative

Duplicating a successful program in nearby Maine, in September 2005, Romney submitted a bill to the legislature to deliver laptop" target="_blank" >^*s to all children in Massachusetts. This project would cost $54 million.

Environment

Romney supports regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through voluntary measures He issued a 72-point Climate Protection Plan. His staffers spent more than $500,000 negotiating the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI--pronounced "Reggie"), which Romney praised in November 2005, saying "I'm convinced it is good business."Amanda Griscom Little. Mitt Romney's mistake: Bowing to big business, the GOP governor and presidential hopeful flip-flops on clean air for New England. Salon.com. Jan. 28, 2006 ^*" target="_blank" > As plan details were being worked out, Romney pushed for a cap on fees charged to businesses who exceed emission limits citing concerns of increased consumer energy costs. He stated: "New England has the highest energy rates in the country, and RGGI would cost us more." This ongoing disagreement eventually led Romney, in December, 2005, to pull out of RGGI and Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri quickly followed suit. Scott S. Greenberger, 7 states sign emissions pact: Mass. legislators urge compliance, Boston Globe, December 21, 2005.[http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/12/21/7_states_sign_emissions_pact/

In 2003, Romney appointed environmental advocate Douglas I. Foy (former president of the Conservation Law Foundation) to head the state development office. Foy resigned in February of 2006 after Romney announced he would not seek re-election.[http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/22/foy_quits_states_development_post/

Romney opposes the controversial Cape Wind offshore wind farm proposal because of its visual detriment to Nantucket, saying that Nantucket "is a critical location for the state, and placing wind turbines there would be detrimental."^*

Other Issues

The "Big Dig": During his campaign for governor, Romney proposed merging the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the government agency that manages the Big Dig, with the Massachusetts Highway DepartmentUnder Massachusetts law the Turnpike Authority is an independent agency that does not report to the governor ^*." target="_blank" >The Massachusetts legislature rejected Romney’s call for consolidation. Following the discovery of leaks in the I-93 tunnel the Governor called for the resignation of Matthew Amorello, the head of the Turnpike Authority ^*." target="_blank" >In July of 2006 a woman was killed when a section of the I-90 roof collapsed on her car. Citing continued mismanagement of the project, Romney once again called for Amorello’s dismissal. Despite calls from Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, House Speaker Salvatore DaMasi, Senate President Robert Travaglini, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, the chairman of both the house and senate transportation committees and the editorial boards of the Boston Globe and Herald, Amorello once again refused to step aside^*." target="_blank" >The Governor responded by filing emergency legislation to wrestle control of the inspection of the Big Dig tunnel system from the Turnpike Authority ^*.
Gun Control: According to his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney "is a supporter of the federal assault weapons ban. Mitt also believes in the rights of those who hunt to responsibly own and use firearms." ^*
Minimum Wage: As a candidate for governor in 2002, Romney proposed indexing the minimum wage to inflation and boosting the hourly pay for the state's lowest-paid workers to $6.96 an hour starting January 2004. "I do not believe that indexing the minimum wage will cost us jobs. I believe it will help us retain jobs."^* However, he failed to convince the state legislature to index minimum wage rates to inflation, although a bill raising the minimum wage was passed in 2006.
William Bulger: Romney successfully pressured William Bulger to resign as President of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) on September 1, 2003. Bulger said that his resignation was the result of "a calculated political assault" on him, largely by the governor. Bulger came under pressure from Romney and others to resign after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify when he was subpoenaed by a Congressional committee to testify about his brother, James J. Bulger, aka Whitey Bulger, one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives. Romney, who had called for Bulger's resignation and the elimination of the UMass presidency as a cost-cutting move, denied that he had been personally targeting the former state senate president. "The decision was not a political calculation or a personal one," Romney said in February 2003, after unveiling his plan to eliminate the president's job.[http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/13/romney_turns_up_heat_on_former_ally_amorello/?page=2 The Governor's aides stressed that he had not been personally targeting Bulger, saying such interpretations of Romney's actions were cynical. "I think everybody should be taken at their word," spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said. Healy, Patrick and Lewis, Raphael. Globe Staff. "Governor Wants `Open' UMASS Hunt - Critics Say His Interest Shows He Was Out To Get Bulger" Boston Globe Aug 8, 2003,

Metro/Region: page A1.

May 2006 Flooding: In May 2006, heavy rains produced flooding in Massachusetts.Brian MacQuarrie and John R. Ellement, Misery Follows Flood's Havoc, Boston Globe, May 17, 2006. Romney declared a state of emergencymobilized the Massachusetts National Guard,^*" target="_blank" >and asked President Bush to declare the flooded area a major disaster area.Peabody six months after the town was flooded April 2004.^*^*" target="_blank" >After Peabody again suffered flooding in May of 2006, Romney announced that he now supports spending $2 million of state money on flood control for the town.[http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/snstory.pl?-sec-Pageone+1k589g0+fn-vetofolo-20060518-+page_0

Cabinet

Office	Official
Governor of Massachusetts	Mitt Romney
Secretary of Commonwealth Development	Andrew Gottlieb
Secretary of the Executive Office of Transportation*	John Cogliano
Director of the Department of Housing & Community Development*	Jane Wallis Gumble
Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs*	Stephen R. Pritchard
Secretary of Economic Development	Ranch C. Kimball
Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation**	Janice S. Tatarka
Director of the Department of Business & Technology**	Deborah Shufrin
Director of the Department of Labor**	John S. Ziemba
Director of the Department of Workforce Development**	Jane C. Edmonds
Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services	Timothy R. Murphy
Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs	Jennifer Davis Carey
Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety & Homeland Security	Robert Haas
Secretary of the Executive Office for Administration & Finance	Thomas Trimarco
Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Services	Thomas G. Kelley

* reports to Commonwealth Development
** reports to Economic Development
Source: www.mass.gov

Electoral history

2002 Race for Governor, Massachusetts
- Mitt Romney (R), 50%
- Shannon O'Brien (D), 45%
- Carla Howell (L),4%
- Jill Stein (G),1%
1994 Race for U.S. Senate, Massachusetts
- Edward Kennedy (D) (inc.), 58%
- Mitt Romney (R), 41%