Gov. Paul Cellucci squares off tonight with Senate President
Thomas F. Birmingham in the fourth and final in a series of debates over plans to roll the state's income tax rate back to
5 percent.
The Republican governor's unusual debate challenge to the
Bay State's top Democrats has paid off politically -- with Cellucci performing well in succession against gubernatorial
hopeful Steve Grossman, state Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien and House Speaker Thomas M.
Finneran.
But the stakes are dramatically higher as Cellucci heads
into tonight's match-up with Birmingham, which is cosponsored by the Boston Herald and WCVB-TV, and airs live at 7:30
p.m. on "Chronicle."
A Herald poll last week showed voter support dropping off
for the $1 billion tax rollback -- Question 4 on the Nov. 7 ballot.
That trend could energize Birmingham, who argues the income
tax cut will drain too much funding from education and health care programs.
The Senate president, who has kept a low profile on Beacon
Hill since the Legislature adjourned formal sessions in July, is also looking to show he has the stuff to compete in the
2002 gubernatorial race.
But Cellucci aides still insist the governor can't miss with
his support and promotion of the tax cut.
Observers expect Cellucci, in debating Birmingham, may
return to the aggressive style which marked his first, testy face-offs with Grossman and O'Brien.
His third debate, against Finneran, was such a cordial
affair that the speaker had to re-affirm his opposition to Question 4 in the days following.
"We feel confident that we're on the right side of this
issue. This is what the public wants," said one top adviser to the governor. "That's why we used our (political) organization
to get it on the ballot. We're prepared to take on anybody."
Indeed, some close to Cellucci have jokingly referred to the
debates as the "chump of the week" series - so confident are they in the basic plan of attack, which is to repeat the
fundamental themes that tax cuts spur economic growth and the Legislature can't be trusted to
otherwise spend the $1 billion responsibly.
"I think Cellucci and (Lt. Gov.) Jane Swift were on the
defensive for a while, and (the debates) really helped change the equation," said GOP political consultant Charley Manning.
"If this passes, it's a big win for Cellucci."
But polling results from the Herald, as well as reportedly
similar results in polls done by the AFL-CIO and other tax cut opponents, have prompted the governor to begin a late-game rush
of fund-raising calls and direct appeals for support.
To see the tax cut go down in defeat would devastate Cellucci's political image and clout, and
raise serious questions about his ability to run a winning re-election campaign.
While tax cut foes have been outspending proponents with a
television ad attack against Question 4, sources said the governor is going back to the campaign's largest corporate
donors and asking for contributions of up to $100,000.
The tax rollback question would cut the tax rate from 5.85
percent to 5 percent.
Proponents of the rollback say when the increase was passed
that it was intended to be temporary.