Mitt Romney
His Excellency Mitt Romney | |
|---|---|
| File:Mitt romney.JPG | |
| 70th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January, 2003 – present | |
| Lieutenant | Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by | Jane M. Swift (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 12, 1947 Detroit, Michigan |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Ann Romney |
| Profession | Founder, Bain Capital |
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is a Republican politician who has been the Governor of Massachusetts since 2003. He has stated he will not seek re-election in 2006. [1]
Prior to his political career, Romney rose to prominence as CEO and organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He is frequently considered a possible candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
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. 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 semesters, Romney served for two and one-half years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) in France [1]. He received his B.A. with Highest Honors and as valedictorian from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, Romney was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School and was named a Baker scholar. In 1975 he also received his JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
Prior to being elected governor, Romney was a cofounder and managing partner of Bain Capital, a Boston private equity firm; the 1994 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, taking 41% of the vote versus Senator Ted Kennedy's 58% in the closest election of Kennedy's long Senate career; and from 1999 to 2002 the CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in charge of planning the 2002 Winter Olympics, taking charge after the bribery scandal. He also sat on the board of office supply giant Staples, Inc..
Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2002 as a Republican, and is among those speculated as being very interested in seeking the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2008. Romney is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and Ann have been married 36 years and have five sons (Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig) and eight grandchildren. Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998.
Founder of Bain Capital
From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a Vice President of Bain & Company, Inc., the 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 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 Winter Olympics 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 avoid a major embarrassment, Romney was asked to lead the organization of the games. Under his leadership, the 2002 Winter Olympics 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.
Governorship
Before the 2002 Republican primary for governor, the Republican incumbent, Jane Swift, was expected to run for governor. However, due to events under her tenure as acting governor she was seen by many Republicans 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, Jane 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 opponents, on the other hand, 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 had claimed residency in Utah as recently as 2000.
Romney was elected Governor in November 2002 over Democrat Shannon O'Brien, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and Libertarian Carla Howell (50%, 45%, 4%, 1% respectively).
Romney's performance as governor is a subject of active debate. Proponents of the governor point towards his effectiveness in reducing government waste and moving towards a balanced budget. Upon entering office, Romney faced a $3 billion deficit. Romney balanced the 2003 budget, and Massachusetts finished 2004 with a $700 million surplus. A reviving economy helped, but Romney didn't increase taxes, and he reduced spending through government consolidation and reform. Opponents say that he has supported the interests of big business over his constituents and been more interested in traveling the country to promote his political ambitions (there is speculation that he will run for President of the United States in 2008) than in being governor. Romney was selected in 2005 to head the Republican Governors' Association.
Romney announced in 2005 that he will not seek reelection for a second term as Governor of the Commonwealth, fueling speculation that he is preparing a run at the White House in 2008.
William Bulger
Romney successfully pressured William Bulger to resign as President of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) on September 1, 2003. William Bulger came under pressure from Romney and others to resign after he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege 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. Many supporters of the UMass system opposed Romney's attack on William Bulger, who, they said, had been a highly effective advocate for UMass and was being targeted as a formerly powerful Democrat.
Same-sex marriage
Romney has been a strong opponent of gay marriage and civil unions. He has continualy 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.[2]
Romney believes that the actions of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to legalize gay marriage have threatened the fundamental 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. If heterosexual adults can marry, then homosexual adults must also marry to have equal rights," said Romney. "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."[3]
During his 1994 campaign against Senator Edward Kennedy, Romney voiced his opposition to legalized gay marriages. [4]
When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney declared his opposition to both gay marriage and civil unions [5]. "Marriage should be reserved to a man and a woman,"[6] declared Romney in his race against a pro-gay marriage opponent. He also voiced support for basic partnership benifits for gay couples. Romney told the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts (a Republican gay-rights group) that he did not support gay marriage, but would fight discrimination against gays and lesbians. He also opposed an amendment, then before the Legislature, that would have banned gay marriage and outlawed all domestic partnership benefits for gay couples. As a result, the Log Cabin Club endorsed Romney in the gubernatorial election. [7]. When campaigning in 2002, Romney's stated position was that "all citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation" and that "homosexuals should have the right to a domestic partnership status that affords them the potential for health benefits and rights of survivorship." [8]
Romney was heavily involved in attempts to block implementation of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's November 2003 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. In 2004, he backed an amendment in the General Court that would have banned same-sex marriage and established civil unions. The amendment passed the legislature in 2004, but Romney changed his mind and opposed the same amendment (which needed to be passed by the legislature twice and then approved by voters in a referendum to go into effect) in September 2005, 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 the Coalition for Marriage and Family that would ban gay marriage and make no provisions for civil unions. [9]
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 and 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[10][11] , while Thomas Reilly has stated that the law had nothing to do with race.[12].
Romney also testified to the U.S. House of Representatives, urging it to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment.
Health Care
As Governor, Romney has offered an initiative to provide health insurance to all citizens of Massachusetts without raising taxes.[13] Romney’s plan stresses personal responsibility in paying for coverage and provides funding for the underprivileged. The proposal would make health insurance mandatory for all state residents while providing assistance to those who are unable to afford it.[14] It also proposes penalties for people who are able to pay for their own health care but chose not to. The Massachusetts House and Senate have also filed similar plans and are working with the governor to reach a final agreement. A major difference between Romney’s proposal and versions offered by the legislature is the implementation of a payroll tax. Romney has repeatedly called the tax unnecessary and warned of the negative impact it would have on Bay State employers.[15] If one of the plans is approved, Massachusetts would be the first state in the nation to insure all of its citizens.
Retroactive Capital Gains Tax
On November 18, 2005 Governor Romney filed a bill to stop a retroactive capital gains tax in Massachusetts. In 2002 the state legislature raised the capital gains tax rate in the middle of the calendar year. A prudent taxpayer realized the illegality of the policy and sued the Commonwealth on the grounds that it violated the state’s constitution. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court agreed, and ruled that the legislature must implement the tax-hike on either January 1, 2002 or January 1, 2003. In November of 2005 the Democratic controlled legislature voted to push back the start date of the 2 ½ year old tax hike. This action exposed nearly 50,000 residents to 200 million dollars in additional state taxes. Romney immediately filed legislation to change the start date to January of 2003 while refunding about 250 million dollars to people who had paid at the higher rate. Calling the practice of retroaction taxation “Un-American” the Governor called upon the legislature to adopt this plan. After a strong demonstration of public support in favor of the Romney’s preference, the legislature reversed its decision.[16] On December 8, 2005 the Governor signed legislation “abolishing” the retroactive capital gains tax.[17]
Death penalty
In December 2004, Romney announced plans to file a death penalty bill in early 2005. [18] 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, though it's arguable that under Massachusetts law incarcerating a convicted felon for life would be equally expensive.
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. Romney dubbed the legislation “Melanie’s Bill” in honor of 13-year-old Melanie Powell. Melanie was killed in 2003 by a repeat drunk driver while walking to the beach with friends. The bill included provisions that gave prosecutors greater power to go after repeat offenders with stiffer penalties. It also increased license suspensions, raised sentencing guidelines and required repeat drunk drivers to install ignition-interlock devices in their vehicles. Governor Romney urged Massachusetts residents to contact their representatives and ask them to adopt the tough new laws. Prominent members of the legislature were themselves trial lawyers and made their living defending repeat drunk drivers[19]. The 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.[20] 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.[21] A massive outcry in favor of the Governor’s plan forced the state legislature 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.[22]
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 in threatened.[23] 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.[24] The Governor believes each state should have the right to determine its own abortion laws, voicing support for efforts in states such as South Dakota to regulate abortion within its borders.[25]
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.[26]
During the 2002 governor's race, Romney voiced his personal opposition to abortion, but promised to maintian 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."[27] 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.
In May 2005, Romney claimed his stance on abortion had changed, saying that he considered himself a "pro-life governor" who wished "the laws of our nation could reflect that view." [28]
In 1994, Romney also claimed 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." [29]
Although Romney has stated that he supports the use of unused embryos from fertility clinics for stem-cell research, he vetoed a Massachusetts bill to fund stem-cell research because the bill allowed the cloning of human embryos. 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.[30].
Despite the controversy regarding Romney's positions, Romney has said he has kept his campaign promises. Romney vetoed a emergency contraception bill in July 2005, claiming that allowing it to pass into law would violate his "moratorium" on changes to the abortion laws.[31] Romney's critics accuse him of grandstanding for the purpose of polishing up his pro-life credentials, for a possible run for the presidency in 2008.
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. [32][33] In 2005, the bill was reintroduced to the House, backed by Representative Marie St. Fleur. The in-state immigrant tuiton bill was brought to another vote on January 11, 2006 and was overwhelmingly defeated by a total of 96-57 [34]. Romney applauded the decison.
One Laptop Per Child initiative
Duplicating a successful program in nearby Maine, in September 2005, Romney submitted a bill to the legislature to deliver $100 laptops to all children in Massachusetts. This project would cost $54 million.
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 underperfoming 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."
Other Issues
- Gun Control: "Mitt Romney supports the strict enforcement of gun laws. He 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."[35]
- Minimum Wage: In 2002, Romney proposed an increase in the Massachusetts minimum wage, arguing "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 pass his minimum wage increase. In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney endorsed an increase in the federal minimum wage after TV ads from Ed Kennedy blasted Romney for opposing an increase in the minimum wage. Romney denies that he ever opposed a minimum wage increase and says that a 1994 letter opposing such an increase was written by a supporter not authorized by Romney's campaign.[2]
Cabinet
* reports to Commonwealth Development
** reports to Economic Development
Source: www.mass.gov
Presidential Ambitions
In what many viewed as efforts to kickstart his 2008 campaign for President, Romney campaigned for George W. Bush in New Hampshire and Michigan and had a prime speaking slot at the 2004 Republican National Convention. However, the speech, in spite of Republicans telling the press to "keep an eye on Romney," generated little interest, and New Hampshire and Michigan both went to John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election. Romney's own popularity in Massachusetts slid due to a variety of reasons, including public unease over his frequent trips out of state, his campaigning for Bush against Kerry, an inability to get many of his proposals through the Democratic-controlled state legislature, and unrelenting attacks from his political foes, particularly state Attorney General Tom Reilly, a 2006 gubernatorial candidate, and state Senate President Robert Travaglini. In the 2004 general election, Romney's sponsorship of a slate of Republican candidates in traditionally Democratic districts failed, ending in a three-seat loss for the Republicans in the state legislature. News reports continue to suggest, however, that Romney has been laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign and many have speculated that Romney will run. On February 21, 2005 he spoke before South Carolina Republicans; the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to be the Republican nominee in every election since 1980 [36].
In June 2005 a Times Argus article quoted Romney as saying it was a "fair characterization" to say that he's testing the presidential waters, but that he was currently planning to run for governor. A final decision, he said, would be made in the fall.
In a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation in September 2005 Romney stirred controversy when he suggested that those Muslim Mosques "that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror" should be wiretapped to check for possible terrorist activity and that foreign students from "terrorist-sponsored states" might merit special scrutiny and surveillance. [37]
On December 14, 2005, Romney announced that he will not seek re-election in 2006, thus further fueling speculation that he will make a run for the presidency in 2008 [38]. Romney has also said that he will not make a decision on whether or not to run for president until 2007 [39].
On March 11, 2006, Mitt Romney attended the Southern Republican Leadership conference at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. He finished a surprising second in the The Hotline SRLC Straw Poll with 14% of the vote, ahead of John McCain and George Allen. [40]
Electoral history
- 2002 Race for Governor
- Mitt Romney (R), 50%
- Shannon O'Brien (D), 45%
- 1994 Race for U.S. Senate
- Edward Kennedy (D) (inc.), 58%
- Mitt Romney (R), 41%
Notes
- ^ Miller, John J. "Matinee Mitt." National Review, June 20 2005.
- ^ "Romney proposal links wage to inflation." Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe, July 25, 2002
External links
- Official Website
- Blog for www.electromneyin2008.com
- Americans for Mitt! Mitt Romney for President
- Queerty: Mitty Romney
- Politics1: P2008 - W. Mitt Romney
- Speech at the Republican National Convention, 2004 (RealPlayer required)
- Gov. Mitt Romney - 2008 Presidential Wire
- RomneyforAmerica
- Yahoo Group For Elect Romney In 2008
- in 2008, Will It Be Mormon in America? The Weekly Standard, 06/06/2005
- Onward, Mormon soldiers - How the Latter-day Saints could make Mitt Romney president The Boston Phoenix, March 18-24, 2005
- The Holy Cow! Candidate The Atlantic Monthly September 2005
- Bain Capital
- Mitt Romney's Evangelical Problem
