OUR VIEW
State Rep. Harriett L. Stanley says she wants to lower our taxes. But when she had her chance, she voted against a tax cut.
State Rep. Harriett L. Stanley wants her constituents to believe she is fighting to cut their taxes.
She may want them to believe it. But it just isn't true.
The West Newbury Democrat had a chance last session to vote to roll back the state's income
tax to 5 percent. She had a chance to stand up and fight for citizens in her 2nd Essex District against the wishes of the House's Democratic leadership.
But when the time came to cast a courageous vote, Rep. Stanley turned and ran.
Now there's an election coming. And Rep. Stanley has sent a letter to voters in Haverhill, Georgetown, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley and West Newbury saying that she favors a question on the ballot to roll back the income tax. The wording of the referendum is the same as the bill she voted against in the House.
She's Harriett Stanley, tax warrior -- except when the chips are on the line.
Rep. Stanley said back when the tax-cut bill went down in flames that she favored a three-year, phased-in tax cut but couldn't vote for the bill. As the assistant vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, she could not break ranks with the House leadership. Rep. Stanley said then that she traded her vote on the tax cut to be able to cast a neutral "present" vote on a weakening of the state's special education law.
Rep. Stanley has said the state must return the tax rate to 5 percent to keep a promise made years ago. In 1989, the Legislature raised taxes to cope with the state's budget crisis. The raise was "temporary," they said. The "permanent" tax rate would return as soon as the crisis had passed, they promised. Yet here we are, 11 years later in the middle of a booming economy, and our tax rate is 5.85 percent.
She's Harriett Stanley, a believer in keeping promises -- except when House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran says otherwise.
Rep. Stanley says in her letter to voters that it's the Legislature's fault that our taxes are still too high. She has worked hard on House plans to reduce taxes, only to see them rejected by the state Senate. She says her four years as a budget negotiator have convinced her that "the best way to curb our spending is to keep our money at home."
She's Harriett Stanley, tool of the House leadership -- and part of the problem.