Christy Mihos in MA gubernatorial debate on Fox News

On Corporations: Property tax rollback will bring businesses back in-state

MIHOS: I’m a small business person. I know how difficult it is to run a small business, especially in the Commonwealth. The only way we’re going to get people coming into Massachusetts and investing back in here- whether large business, small business, or whatever- is we’ve got to roll back the property tax and Christy’s Proposition One does it. We’ve got to take the hurt out of living here. We can’t afford living here.

On Education: MCAS has become a weapon against public education

MIHOS: We’ve really cut all the support services for MCAS. I am against MCAS. It was a tool, it’s now a weapon. We went from 1789 to 2003 in this Commonwealth with public education and it works. We’ve spent $9 billion dollars over the last few years on ed reform and what have we learned? When you fund these school systems properly they do well, when you don’t they don’t. I’m against MCAS.

On Education: No state-based merit pay; let cities & towns decide

MIHOS: I’m against merit pay, but what I’m for is Christy’s proposition 1, get as much local aid back to those cities & towns, let them make the decision at the local level via their local school committee, as to how to run their schools, and not let some elites up on Beacon Hill in the department of education make the decision for the local cities & towns as to what they want taught in their schools and how they want it taught.

On Environment: Cape Wind hurts fishing industry

MIHOS: Well, number one is I will appoint a secretary of agriculture which will help our farmers, our fishing industry here, and I will work against Cape Wind so that those fishermen can fish out there and have a decent industry. Fishing has long been part of this commonwealth. I’ll work with the hook fishermen and all of them to get this done.

On Immigration: Illegal immigration is illegal--they cost Massachusetts $1B

MIHOS: Illegal immigration is illegal. And they’re not immigrants, they’re illegal immigrants, they’re here illegally and INS tells us that by the year 2010 that’s going to cost this Commonwealth $1 billion in cost to deal with this issue. Kerry Healey in November 2005 said they should all go back basically, but in May 2006 she’s with George Bush that these people pay taxes, they should stay here.

On Immigration: Dems want immigrants votes; GOP wants their cheap labor

MIHOS: Lets be clear about illegal immigration -- the Democrats want their votes, the Republicans want cheap labor. That’s what this is all about and that’s why we have gridlock and that’s why the federal government won’t do anything and that’s why the state government won’t do anything. How many corporations under the Romney/Healey administration have been fined, or investigated [for hiring illegal immigrants]? Zero.

On Immigration: No licenses for illegals; felony for driving without license

MIHOS: Let me put it this way, when I’m elected governor what I will work with the legislature, and one of the first bills I will pass is I believe anybody riding around without a license, without a registration, without insurance, I want to change that from a misdemeanor to a felony. We’ve got to secure our borders and yes, I will ask the state police to enforce that, I will ask them to work with INS. This is a huge issue for the Commonwealth.

On Principles & Values: On being a spoiler: How can you spoil a rotten system?

MIHOS: Maybe she’s going to spoil my election. But how can you spoil a system that’s rotten? I mean, take a look at Massachusetts. We are the laughing stock of the nation on the Big Dig because both the Democrats and the Republicans have been taking special interests’ money for the last few years and looks what’s happened. We’ve had two deaths in those tunnels, we’ve paid well over $15 billion for a project that we can’t properly use. When I was getting fired by Jane Swift, because I took on big business, big government, big labor, and big business, and spoke truth to power- both [parties did nothing]. People are just fed up with both of these parties and that’s why they’re checking out. People are checking out of politics, because they can’t deal with it any longer. And an independent will speak truth to power.

On Principles & Values: Not just passing through Massachusetts, like some governors

On Principles & Values: I represent 50% of voters; no difference between Dems & GOP

On Tax Reform: Get money out of Beacon Hill and back to cities & towns

MIHOS: Well it’s not local property taxes, it’s local property assessments for residences and businesses. Look, under the Republican’s administration, they’ve been in charge for 16 years, the Democrats have been in power forever. Massachusetts has become unaffordable. We have to do it, we have to get the money back out of Beacon Hill, back to the cities and towns and it can be done. We’ve run billion plus dollar surpluses in revenue over the last three years. This money is sitting up there on Beacon Hill. They’re giving it to the Turnpike Authority, $31 million to start the Rose Kennedy Greenway up again with your money, they’re giving it to the Red Sox and their corporate neighbors to upgrade the infrastructure up around Fenway Park. That’s your money, that’s money that should be going back to the cities and towns, not to the special interests.

On Tax Reform: Roll back taxes but restore local aid

MIHOS: I’m for it. The people voted overwhelmingly for it. I’ll work the legislature to get it done over time, certainly. Statutorily it’s being done as we sit here, but this administration has taken local aid away from this cities and towns. They’re starving. They’ve taken well over $2 billion in local aid away from the cities and towns so the property taxes have gone up.