Around New England

Where Is Charlie on Ballot Questions?

May 11, 2018

Could Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s high approval ratings be based in part on his refusal to take a stand on important ballot questions?

The Boston Business Journal is calling out Baker for not telling voters what he believes about an income surtax on millionaires, an increase in the minimum wage, and the mandating of paid medical leave — all of which are likely to go to the voters in the November general election.

If you ask Baker about these items, the Boston Business Journal notes in an editorial, “his answers are vague, his stance evasive.”

Silence, the editorial states, “amounts to a tacit endorsement of the questions as written” — including “the so-called ‘millionaire’s tax,’ an unconstitutional money grab that threatens, at worst, to chase the Bay State’s wealthiest residents out of state.”