Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Please help me decide who to vote for governor?

Since I'm out of the country, I've been relying on all sorts of internet sources to find out about the candidates. I've come to the conclusion that I kind of hate all of them, but could totally piece together my own perfect candidate from a mix of some of their ideas. I guess that's normal, though. But I just checked out the Boston.com comparison tool and am pretty disappointed about everyone's views about immigration- they either support the Arizona immigration law, make a distinction between "good" and "bad" immigrants, or disagree with the law but have other crazy-pants ideas. And that's why I turn to you, PPK.

Basically, what I'm trying to articulate is that I am undecided and pretty uninformed about the whole thing and would like to hear what you think! I just received my absentee ballot and still have some time to refresh these issues, but hearing different opinions is always helpful.

And if you have any additional feelings about the other stuff up for election, feel free to share here.

I just realized I'm going to be on a plane during voting. Can I mail something in or do it online or something?

I'm going for Jill Stein even though it's a long shot.

ETA: figured it out - printed an absentee ballot. Just gotta drop it in the mail. I hope it gets here before I leave for my trip though

I don't live in Massachusetts anymore, but if I did I would vote for Deval Patrick (current governor). He's not perfect, but he's done a lot of good things for the state, especially in western Mass, and he's a lot better than Baker or Cahill. Baker is a creep and would just cut everything. My boyfriend used to work for a news station in Springfield and their political reporter said Jill Stein made the most sense, but she's not going to win. My main concern would be to keep Baker out, and Patrick is the best bet for that.

I dislike Democrats probably more so than Republicans at this point... pretty much fed up with the broken promises and outright mocking of the left committed by Obama. In Massachusetts I actually campaigned for, volunteered and got to meet Robert Reich when he ran for governor years ago... he was a Democrat and a great candidate - the best man lost. Reich lost in the primaries because one of the handful of candidates began a mudslinging against the Republican opponent before the primary was decided... pretty much sealed her fate in the minds of voters. Then Mitt Romney beat that political hack. I usually write in dead people, vote for myself or the Green Part of Socialist Party candidates. One thing about Massachusetts is it feels like two states... there is a divide right past Worcester and it seems that the western part of the state gets ignored. I actually voted for Deval last time and will again - the second Democrat to get my vote for the governor's office. He's done a good job, we've had growth, Western Massachusetts has him visiting constantly and Deval & Olver brought some interesting projects to my city of Holyoke... a beautification / tourism project for the canal distric and a green high tech data-center that will take advantage of the city's hydroelectric power. I will vote for him again.

Originally I voted for him for one reason and one reason alone - his dad is Pat Patrick: http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/20 ... l_pat.html

Thank you all for your replies! They did give me some more things to think about. And thanks for the link about Patrick's dad, pronoblem. That was pretty interesting! I also remember liking Reich a while back, and Harshbarger (sp?) too, but I don't even remember for what reasons anymore. Time goes by quickly I guess..

Well anyway, my ballot is now sealed and ready to be sent off!