Candidates agree on stem cell research and the importance of science education but diverge on climate change and wind energy in Nantucket Sound.
Adrianne Appel
The Massachusetts race for governor is heating up with the primaries set for Tuesday. Here is a roundup of the candidates’ positions on technology development, the environment, stem cell research, the Cape Wind project, and science education.
Former assistant attorney general during the Clinton Administration and former general counsel for Coca-Cola
– backs stem cell research and biotechnology and would provide financing for its expansion by issuing bonds, similar to the measure passed in California
– supports alternative energy development and sees it as a possible new industry for Massachusetts
– a strong supporter of the Cape Wind project, which would generate electricity by placing 130 wind turbines on a 24-square-mile area of Nantucket Sound
– favors bringing Massachusetts into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a seven-state program designed to decrease power plant emissions, which Governor Mitt Romney declined to sign
– would work to bring high-speed internet access to residents statewide
Former venture capitalist
– promises to create a $1 billion fund, financed by bonds, to support life sciences research and development and would direct up to half of it toward stem cell research; the funds could be used for recruitment, training, and commercialization of discoveries
– supports the development of alternative-energy businesses
– supports Cape Wind but has questions about the leasing of land related to it
– would sign the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
– promises to improve science and technology programs at the University of Massachusetts and would create a biomedical research institute at the university’s Worcester campus
– would create a new system of public science and math schools statewide
Attorney general for Massachusetts
– backs stem cell research
– opposes Cape Wind and would actively work to stop it if governor
– would sign the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
– promises $500 million for science and technology research and development at the University of Massachusetts, with an emphasis on hiring top researchers
– would enhance science and math education at public schools
– would offer tax incentives to companies that supply high schools with math and science tutors and offer scholarships to college students who agree to work in public schools
Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts
– broke ranks with Governor Mitt Romney earlier this year to say she supports stem cell research
– would not sign Massachusetts onto the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, because she opposes the level of fees that would be levied against emitters
– opposes the Cape Wind project and says she would work to block the project
– wants to see an increased emphasis on science, engineering, and math in high schools, would base teacher pay on performance, and provide bonuses to math and science teachers
Coordinator for Sisters Together Ending Poverty, a nonprofit organization
– backs stem cell research but wouldn’t give it funding priority over other innovative technologies and public health programs
– supports the development of small, local alternative-energy projects, such as wind and solar projects, and would renovate government buildings and vehicles for maximum energy efficiency
– supports the Cape Wind project
– promises to sign Massachusetts onto the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
– would encourage biotechnology and technology development but only for peaceful purposes
– supports increasing funds directed toward public higher education by reducing tax breaks to corporations
Owner of a convenience-store chain and former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
– supports stem cell research
– supports the development of alternative energy but is opposed to Cape Wind and is co-chair of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the group formed to stop the project
– supports an initiative to bring a $300 million bond package to Springfield for the creation of a new research and development center focused on biotechnology, nanotechnology, and agricultural technology
– would eliminate the MCAS public-school test as a requirement for graduation