League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Citizen Education Fund
	Bristol, Norfolk County, MA November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues State Representative; First Bristol District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Massaschusetts and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Employment, Infrastructure, Education Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What proposals do you have to increase employment opportunities in Massachusetts? Answer from Fred Jay Barrows: Massachusetts must maintain a predictable and consistent tax base to prove to businesses both large and small that they can grow in this state. When businesses are forced to move out of state, it is usually because the cost of doing business here has grown too much. Unfortunately, when this happens, our jobs go with them. State government needs to stop sending the mixed messages to employers across the state. Overtaxing businesses may bring revenue, but its costs us jobs. 2. How will you rectify problems with aging Massachusetts infrastructure, especially bridges and tunnels? Answer from Fred Jay Barrows: Massachusetts taxpayers deserve better roads and bridges and they deserve to have agencies that are more accountable. State government needs to consolidate its transportation agencies to allow greater accountability and ensure more efficiency. The Mass Turnpike Authority and the Mass Highway Dept have proven that they cannot get the job done. Once we know who is in charge, we then need to develop a comprehensive plan for our infrastructure. The state cannot simply afford to fix everything at once, but we can develop a long term plan for upgrading and repairing the areas in need of immediate attention. 3. Governor Patrick has proposed a wide-ranging plan to transform education in the Commonwealth. What do you see as the top priorities in his plan and what funding mechanism do you feel will enable their successful implementation? Answer from Fred Jay Barrows: The Governor has put forth a number of good ideas with regard to public education. However, what his plans have in grandeur, they are seriously lacking in specificity. Nearly every one of the Governor's proposals, whether it is universal pre-k or free community college, will be a huge cost to state government. This year is already proving difficult enough to fund our current committments. Unless the Governor can communicate how he wants to pay for his proposals, the Legislature cannot keep making promises we cannot keep. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.