Education

Paul's service on the Littleton School Committee, his past volunteer substituting in Littleton High School, and his time spent teaching religious education clearly demonstrate his passionate commitment to our children's education. As the school committee vice chair he has consistently demonstrated pivotal leadership in expanding educational opportunities while working to control spending. During his tenure, the Littleton School District has added programs and has been able to pare down its percentage of the Town's overall budget. The school department's operating budget now comprises nearly three percent less of the Town's annual budget than when he joined the committee in 2006. He has petitioned the legislature and has marched on Beacon Hill seeking a fairer and more equitable distribution of Chapter 70 (Education) funding for all. In the legislature, Paul will work for a funding formula that serves student needs so that they emerge from our schools prepared for life in the 21st Century. He will also introduce legislation that will put into place student assessment techniques that better determine a student's real level of achievement. A rock solid education is the prerequisite for all that is to follow in one's life.

Healthcare

Healthcare costs continue to rise with no end in sight. Not a year ago, there was quite the buzz about Massachusetts' 'experiment' with mandated healthcare. As if by surprise, the first year's bill is higher than anticipated, and it is becoming necessary to cut back on services originally promised. Good healthcare is a fundamental necessity. But ultimately, it is a service best provided for by the private sector. Single-payer (Government) is not the answer. Not at the tune of tens of billions for the population of Massachusetts alone. More efficient point of service and electronic record keeping immediately jump to mind on how to begin to control healthcare spending. As a member of the legislature Paul will work to enact legislation that creates incentives for insurance companies and individuals alike that would contribute to controlling costs while providing service.

Job Growth

Ample availability and access to jobs within the district contribute to our communities' vitality. They serve as a draw to our towns, making them attractive and desirable place in which to live for all of us. The increased revenue base contributes to the communities' ability to serve the people in an appropriate manner. Likewise, adequate jobs state-wide contribute to the Commonwealth's vitality across the board. United States' Department of Labor statistics indicate that from 2001 to 2006 (last year of comparable data) jobs in the US increased 7.2%. During that same period, jobs in MA decreased by 1.5%. It is appropriate for us to ask why. Fewer jobs coupled with flat wages plainly results in a lower standard of living for us all by zapping the energy right out of our communities. We must not allow this to occur. Paul is committed to growing jobs, and not just moving them from one town or city to another. This requires a mutually beneficial teaming effort between business and government. We need an environment that permits and encourages job growth. This serves to incentivize employers to expand. Tax breaks are not necessarily the holy-grail either, and are thus not necessarily the first resort. Employers, just like the rest of us, seek consistency and fairness in taxation policies and the general regulatory environment. Paul will engender a cooperative and collaborative engagement between government and industry to expand the job base across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Investment

According to the Boston Chamber of Commerce and MASS Insight Corporation, 11 years ago, 17 FORTUNE 500 companies made Massachusetts their home. Today, only nine remain. Financial services provide life blood to the state's economy. They too are leaving the Commonwealth. An example of only one company: Last year Fidelity Investments said it will spend $200 million to expand its operations in Texas, creating more than 1,500 jobs there. Fidelity also struck a deal to spend $100 million in North Carolina to add another 2,000 jobs there. As if that were not enough, by 2010, Fidelity plans to create 1,200 new jobs in Jacksonville, FL. It is appropriate to ask why those jobs are not coming to Massachusetts. For many decades Massachusetts has been the premier location for financial services. But this will not remain the case in a constrictive business environment. Paul will seek ways to redraw the business picture so that businesses will see the Commonwealth as not only their first choice, but as their only logical choice.

Spending

Massachusetts is ready for a return to fiscally responsible government. We must get beyond 'billion-dollar' here, 'billion-dollar' there proposals by the entrenched party. It is time to pay current and due bills, not to offer new proposals to be paid from non-existent revenue sources. We must expect and demand openness and accountability throughout our state government. In Massachusetts, spending and taxation are chasing each other around a circle, an ever expanding circle. Control spending and we control taxes. Paul will fight for controls on spending, controls much like we use in our own lives, whereby we live within our means.

Taxes

Attempting to tax into prosperity is fatally flawed. It really is that simple. We the People are responsible for providing the Treasury with sufficient resources with which to fund necessary governmental functions. The mechanism by which we raise the revenue has fallen behind the times. The Commonwealth's current taxing 'scheme' no longer serves the People. It is time to overhaul how the People provide for the common good. Paul will work to enact a taxation policy that works for the People, not the other way around.

Senate and House Districts in the Commonwealth

Every election year, voters get to make their voices heard and have a hand in charting the course for the future of their state and their nation by choosing leaders who best represent them.
In Massachusetts, that process is fundamentally flawed by the way the Democrat-controlled Legislature redraws its voting districts every 10 years following the release of the US Census.
The Census is supposed to provide population information to states so that they can properly shape congressional and state Senate and House districts in a way that provides proportional and fair representation in national and state legislatures.
But instead of trying to achieve fairness, elected Democrats in Massachusetts use the redistricting process as an opportunity to disenfranchise residents in communities throughout the commonwealth by drawing boundaries that are specifically designed to defend incumbent Democrats' seats in the General Court, or to eliminate a Republican seat.
Using the redistricting process to manipulate elections is commonly known as "gerrymandering" - a term that, to no surprise, was coined in Massachusetts in 1812.
The most egregious example of gerrymandering can be found in our own backyard.
When the Democrat-controlled Legislature redistricted after the 2000 Census, it treated the town of Chelmsford as an object to be sliced and diced.
They transformed a well-functioning House district into a subset of four different districts where each piece was added to much larger neighboring districts as a mere appendage, effectively preventing the people of Chelmsford from retaining the representative of their choice.
This is unacceptable.
The state must make an effort to inject fairness into the process before redistricting happens again in 2010.
We should start by taking the politics out of the process. The state should create special commissions to handle redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts in Massachusetts, instead of allowing the Legislature to make those decisions according to partisan politics.
Further, these commissions should more closely align House districts within Senate districts by placing four House districts within each Senate district. This method achieves a greater deal of homogeneity of representation for the people living in the districts. It would also engender a greater level of synergy between the senator and the four representatives in each senatorial district.
This approach is in direct contrast, and is superior to, the Second Middlesex House district's current arrangement where the district overlays three different Senate districts.
Voting is one of the most important civic duties and privileges that United States citizens enjoy, and we should do everything we can to encourage more people to engage in the political process.
Reforming our redistricting process will restore true representation to the people and will reassure them that, if they vote, their voices will be heard.