Deval Patrick in Interviews during 2017-2019
On Welfare & Poverty:
Supports reparations to living descendants of slaves
Patrick announced support for developing a reparations program as part of his "Equity Agenda for Black Americans." "The American Dream remains further out of reach of Black Americans than other Americans, and because of that, America has not fulfilled
her promise," the former governor said. He supports a plan in which the federal government would provide reparations to living descendants of enslaved African Americans, but added that "reparations without reconciliation are incomplete."
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 20, 2020
On Civil Rights:
1985: defended community activists in Alabama voter case
Patrick and Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced off in court in 1985, when Patrick was a member of the defense team in a federal criminal voter fraud case against three African-American community activists; Sessions served as the U..S Attorney for the
Southern District.While the former governor has been out of office for more than three years, he was one of a handful of surrogate campaigners for Democrat Doug Jones against Republican Roy Moore in the December Alabama Senate special election.
Patrick sat for an interview in May where he discussed his 2006 gubernatorial bid, his time campaigning in Alabama and the need for the Democratic Party to open up to
outsiders. "It was so much fun. I was in places I had spent time in before, in Selma and Birmingham . going back to my days litigating Jeff Sessions way back when. Yes indeed," he said.
Source: Politico.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jun 4, 2018
On Principles & Values:
Joined Bain Capital, lecture tour "Reinvesting in America"
The former governor of Massachusetts who has largely shunned politics since leaving office and joining Bain Capital in 2015, is using some of his most direct language to date to acknowledge his interest in a presidential run in 2020.
"It's on my radar screen," Patrick told KCUR, a public radio station in Kansas City, where he was traveling last week for a civic event called "An Evening with Deval Patrick: Reinvesting in America."
Source: M. Levenson in Boston Globe on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jul 17, 2017
On Tax Reform:
Called for cutting state sales tax, hiking income tax
Patrick called for a sharp increase in the state income tax and a deep cut in the sales tax.In his annual "State of the State" speech, Patrick asked the state Legislature to approve a hike in the state's
5.25 percent income tax to 6.25 percent and a reduction in the 6.25 percent sales tax to 4.5 percent. Patrick said proceeds, estimated at $1.9 billion a year, would go to public education and transportation projects.
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 17, 2013
On Crime:
Wrote letters to parole board for convicted rapist
Patrick had written two letters to the Massachusetts parole board seeking the release of Benjamin LaGuer, a convicted rapist serving a life sentence. The Globe subsequently reported that Patrick had helped pay for DNA tests LaGuer claimed would
exonerate him (they didn't). "I have never met Mr. LaGuer in person," Patrick wrote in one letter. "But, thanks to a lively exchange of correspondence over the years, I do feel I know him."
Source: The New Republic on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Nov 6, 2006
On Crime:
I don't need to be lectured about crime
Patrick did something that Democrats branded as "soft on crime" seldom do: He faced the attacks head-on. "I'm the only one in this race who's actually ever sent anyone to prison," he practically shouted. "Let's talk about crime," he continued. "I've
been a victim of crime. You can't grow up in a place like the South Side of Chicago without understanding the impact--on families, on communities--of crime. I don't need to be lectured to about crime."
Source: The New Republic on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Nov 6, 2006
Page last updated: Nov 01, 2021