EaBo Clipper

We have no doubt that Kerry Healey is the best candidate in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. She is intelligent, articulate, thoughtful and exceptionally qualified to lead the Bay State toward a bright future.

Unfortunately, Healey's qualities have been blurred by a campaign that did well to expose Patrick's weaknesses on key issues but did not work hard enough to highlight Healey's many strengths. Healey the governor will be far superior to Healey the candidate.

Her 50-point plan is a detailed blueprint for how she will govern, while her Democratic opponent, Deval Patrick, has been evasive about what he will actually do and how he means to do it. He speaks generally of bringing "hope," but we can't help but wonder how expensive that hope will be to the taxpayers of Massachusetts.

On education, Healey supports merit pay for the best teachers, particularly for those working in underperforming schools and those teaching math and science. She wants to lift the cap on charter schools to give parents and students more options, raise the mandatory age of school attendance to 18 to keep kids from dropping out, and retain the MCAS as a graduation requirement.

Unlike other candidates, Healey won't water down public education in Massachusetts. She understands that a solid academic foundation will allow students to attend college, excel in their careers and boost the state's economic growth.

Healey supports rolling back the income tax to 5 percent, as approved by voters in 2000. She took a no-new-taxes pledge, will work to reform the state's pension system to eliminate fraud and abuse, will penalize businesses that hire illegal immigrants and will push to allow municipalities to purchase health-care insurance through the state, a move that would save struggling communities millions.

It is clear Healey understands the concerns and needs of Massachusetts taxpayers and municipalities. She knows residents need good schools, lower taxes and safe neighborhoods, and she will strive to provide those necessities.

Healey would fight for lifetime parole for Level 2 sex offenders, to reinstate the death penalty for felons convicted of killing law-enforcement personnel, provide loan forgiveness for students pursuing in-demand careers like engineering and forensic sciences, and to make housing more affordable for first-time home buyers. Unlike Patrick, Healey has concrete plans that, with the support of the Legislature, will allow such changes to occur without piling more taxes on overburdened residents.

There's a lot to be said for checks and balances in government. It's the reason the GOP has held a lock on the corner office for 16 years. The people of Massachusetts know that the Democrat-dominated Legislature is less inclined to bust open the piggy bank and reach for the taxpayers' wallets with a Republican governor standing guard.

Taking office amid a recession in 2002, Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Healey refused to tax their way out of a fiscal crisis, and for the past two years the state budget has included a $1 billion surplus.

Although Patrick claims that the state has lost 148,000 jobs under Romney-Healey, his numbers are just plain wrong. The state has 148,000 fewer jobs now than when the state reached its peak, but that peak was reached in February 2001 -- nearly two years before Romney and Healey took office. According to the Department of Workforce Development, the state's job market has rebounded by 61,000 jobs since it bottomed out in December 2003.

A moderate Republican, Healey will continue to halt some of the Legislature's financial extravagance while reaching out across party lines to get things done and unify our polarized political arena.

The Sun is pleased to endorse Kerry Healey to be Massachusetts' next governor.