Alan Khazei:

Why did you decide to run for U.S. senate?
Alan co-founded City Year, which inspired President Clinton to create AmeriCorps, which has resulted in 575,000 Americans to contribute 700,000 hours of service. Alan wants to take his years of service as a private citizen to Washington.

What makes you the most qualified candidate?
Alan has helped create four pieces of national legislation. As a private citizen, Alan already has experience working with Washington.

What are your stances on:
Health Care?
Alan supports passing the Senate health care bill and is the only candidate to offer a comprehensive plan to increase health care access, improve quality and lower costs by addressing the major sources of inefficiency.

Afghanistan?
Alan opposed sending more troops to Afghanistan in a major address at Harvard in November and presented his Ten Point Plan for Redefining America’s Mission.

Education (specifically higher education)?
Alan supports investing in charter public schools, increasing teacher pay and accountability, expanding the school day and year and paying for the full cost of college for each year of community service.

What plans do you have to help turn the economy around?
Alan Khazei proposes an innovative New Jobs Stimulus that will create over 7 million jobs. Alan supports Job Creation Tax Credits, increased tax benefits, and support for small businesses and fully funding the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Steve Pagliuca

Why did you decide to run for U.S. senate?
Steve’s experiences of public service and a successful business career have shaped his vision for the country’s future and make him uniquely qualified to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate.

What makes you the most qualified candidate?
As one of the Managing Directors of Bain Capital and co-owner of the Boston Celtics, Steve has experience with business and creating jobs, which he will bring with him to the Senate if elected.

What are your stances on:
Health Care?
Steve’s core principles for health care reform are to ensure coverage for all and control escalating costs through the implementation of a strong public option, changing incentives and increasing efficiencies in the current system.

Afghanistan?
Steve supports President Obama’s efforts to gather all the facts before making his final decision on the strategy for Afghanistan. However, he is wary of sending more troops to Afghanistan without a compelling strategy that outlines how they will be used and the strategic goals their deployment will support.

Education (specifically higher education)?
Our education system needs to focus on improving education for both the students and the teachers. Steve believes we need to provide schools with more resources to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn and to grow.

What plans do you have to help turn the economy around?
We need to put people back to work and to fix our financial regulatory system to ensure that we don’t face another crisis like this again.

Martha Coakley
Why did you decide to run for U.S. senate?
As someone who grew up in a middle class family in Western Massachusetts, she knows that families are struggling and need help now. She will hold corporate America accountable for their actions.

What makes you the most qualified candidate?
Martha has gotten real results for our families. She has put away child sex predators, protected our seniors from abusive nursing home operators, and stood up to the big insurance and pharmaceutical companies that drove up the cost of our healthcare and committed fraud.

What are your stances on:
Health Care?
One of Martha’s top priorities is reforming our health care system so that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. Martha supports a public option and would vote for the bill that recently came to the floor of the Senate.

Afghanistan?
Based on what Martha knows now about the President’s planned troop increase, she does not believe that we should send additional troops into Afghanistan. She believes we should begin the process of bringing our troops home.

Education (specifically higher education)?
Martha believes an array of strategies should be employed to help students afford higher education. As Senator, she will support an expansion of college tax credits, growth of public institutions of higher education, and efforts to strengthen the community college system.

What plans do you have to help turn the economy around?
Martha calls for stricter regulation of financial services and greater consumer protections, including the creation of a Federal Consumer Protection Agency.

Michael Capuano

Why did you decide to run for U.S. senate?
“I’ve been talking to people in Mass. who want people who can combine the philosophical view comparable to Ted Kennedy with ability to get something done. I’m the only person with that combination.”

What makes you the most qualified candidate?
“I have 20 years of experience in legislative forms; not only in the [U.S.] House of representative, the State House of Representatives, City Council, the PTA, anything. [None of the other candidates] have ever worked in a legislature at all.”
What are your stances on:
Health Care?
“For real health reform [the bill] need to do two things, stabilize cost of health insurance, and increase amt of health care. Without one or the other it is not health reform.”

Afghanistan?
“I think we should come home. We have accomplished our mission. Al Quada is no longer in Afghanistan. We have accomplished our mission. We should no longer be there.”

Education (specifically higher education)?
“To me it’s accessibility. [College] is unaffordable for too many kids. We need to knock down prices by increasing federal grants, lowering the price of student loans, making it simpler, and providing more options. [The cost of education] is putting a significant burden on too many kids going to college.”

What plans do you have to help turn the economy around?
“Two things—one, we have to put financial system under thoughtful regulation and two; the government needs to create jobs. Private entities are not going to do this. Only fed government is willing and capable to do that.”