Cahill tells Lynn biz group political shift not ‘mushy’

LYNN – State Treasurer Timothy Cahill took his gubernatorial campaign to Lynn Wednesday where he talked frankly about expanding the two-party political system so that it represents many interests and voices.”If the two-party system was working extraordinarily well, I would have stayed within it,” said the former Quincy city councilor who switched parties from Democrat to Independent in 2009 and is seeking the governor’s office as an independent candidate. “They want to limit your options. I want to expand them. This is a time when people are looking for a third alternative.”Cahill, a married father of four daughters, said governments in cities like Lynn and Quincy pay less heed to political party membership. “It works better in our communities than it does on Beacon Hill,” he said, adding that a crisis tends to magnify the two-party system’s shortcomings. “We run as individuals. We run as people. Independent doesn’t mean mushy. I have plenty of opinions. I have chosen to do it this way.”Speaking to members of the Lynn Business Partnership gathered at Eastern Bank’s offices on Market Street, the candidate emphasized that despite his independent status, he is not a vote-splitter.Democrat Gov. Deval Patrick and Republican Charles Baker are the other candidates in the race and all three appeared early Wednesday morning on a WRKO-AM radio show.”The next governor will have no stimulus money and no rainy day money,” said Cahill, citing his experience raising money through the state’s Lottery, funds which are returned annually to Massachusetts communities as local aid.”Seven billion dollars have been returned during my term alone – unencumbered. We don’t tell them how to spend it and most spend it well – fire, police, schools,” he said. “Per capita, we have the most successful lottery in the country.”Cahill, a 1981 Boston University graduate, said the state Lottery is a $4.5 billion annual operation with over 400 employees and 7,500 private retailers that sell the agency’s gaming products. Asked for his vision of the state’s gaming future, he supported so-called slots parlors in the short term and more resort-style casinos later on.”We have to give tourists to Massachusetts some place to spend their money besides Fenway Park, Plymouth and Rockport,” he said, noting that Massachusetts is first among states in selling scratch tickets. “I don’t think it has disrupted our culture.”Patrick has come out strongly against slots parlors and shown a preference for the resort casino model, saying small gambling outlets tend to extract a “human impact” by leaving the poor poorer and, hence, more dependent on society.”The Lottery is your father’s game. People today liked to be entertained,” said Cahill, suggesting that an updated gaming model is required to capture new players.On education, Cahill said architects in the mid-1990s were heavily influencing the size and shape of schools. In many instances, those recommendations advocated building schools that were physically too big and that drove the host community into debt.”We’re building schools today at 30 percent less cost,” he said, affirming that schools didn’t need to be as big as they were designed. “We are spending $1.5 billion this year on schools, projects that will create 6,000 jobs.”On healthcare, Cahill said Gov. Patrick has mandated healthcare for all but devised no way to pay for the program. As a result, the costs are proving particularly damaging to small businesses. He explained that 400,000 Massachusetts residents who had no health insurance are now covered, increasing from 93 to 97 percent the number of residents with healthcare.The policy change cost state taxpayers an estimated $4.2 billion. Of those 400,000 residents new to healthcare, 320,000 receive the services for free.”If they can pay for cars, iPhones and big TVs, they can contribute something to their healthcare,” Cahill said, asserting that those who receive services for free will not value them and take as much as p