Willard Mitt Romney is the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. He is currently in his first term as Governor, serving until 2007. He has stated he will not seek re-election in 2006.

Before becoming Governor, Romney rose to prominence in an unsuccessful 1994 campaign against Senator Ted Kennedy and as CEO and organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mitt Romney was born March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan and is the son of former Governor of Michigan and Presidential candidate George W. Romney. He and Ann have been married 36 years and have five sons (Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig) and nine grandchildren. Ann was diagnosed with M.S. in 1998.

Education

Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills (which was then an all-male school allied with the Kingswood School, but they have now merged to become the Cranbrook Kingswood School). He met his future wife, Ann Davies (born in 1949), when she was at the Kingswood School. After attending Stanford for two quarters, Romney served for two and one-half years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) in France. Upon returning from his mission, he transferred universities and subsequently received his B.A. with Highest Honors and as valedictorian from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, Romney was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School and was named a Baker Scholar. In 1975 he also received his JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Business

Prior to being elected governor, Romney was a cofounder and managing partner of Bain Capital, a Boston private equity firm.From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a Vice President of Bain & Company, Inc., a Boston-based management consulting firm. Later, as the company’s CEO, he led it through a highly successful turnaround. Today, Bain & Company has 31 offices in 19 countries and over 2800 employees.

In 1984, Romney co-founded Bain Capital, one of the nation’s most successful venture capital investment companies. Among the first companies it invested in was Staples, an office-supply store. In 1986 Staples, Inc., had one store. Today it has nearly 1,700.

Bain Capital founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies including Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino’s, Sealy and The Sports Authority.

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney first obtained national attention with the 2002 Winter Olympics being held in Salt Lake City. In 1999 the event was $379 million short of its revenue goals, and there were damaging allegations of bribery involving top officials. In an effort to avoid a major embarrassment, Romney was asked to lead the organization of the games. A massive restructuring of the games leadership and policies was undertaken. Under his leadership, the 2002 Winter Olympics turned into a spectacular success, clearing a profit of $100 million. Romney himself contributed $1 million, and donated his three years of pay ($275,000 per annum) to charity. He wrote a book about his experience called Turn Around.

Governor of Massachusetts

Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003. His Lieutenant Governor is Kerry Healey. Romney was selected in 2005 to head the Republican Governors Association.Romney announced in 2005 that he will not seek re-election for a second term as Governor of the Commonwealth, fueling speculation that he is preparing a run at the White House in 2008. Current Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey has accepted the Republican nomination for the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial race.

Health Care

On April 12, 2006, Governor Romney signed legislation to provide health insurance to virtually all citizens of Massachusetts without raising taxes. Working with conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation and Democrats in the state legislature, Romney developed a plan that stresses personal responsibility in paying for coverage and provides funding for low-income residents. Starting in July 2007, health insurance will be mandatory for all state residents, provided a plan is available to the individual that is deemed affordable according to state standards. Lower income individuals will be eligible for subsidies to purchase health insurance.

Education

In 2004, Governor Romney established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a four-year, tuition-free scholarship to Massachusetts’ state university or colleges. He has also drafted other education reforms, including the recruitment of 1,000 skilled math and science instructors, bonuses of as much as $15,000 a year for top-performing teachers, and new intervention programs for failing schools.Additionally, Romney began advocating for a nationwide focus on education through the recruitment of and better pay for math and science teachers, and allowing state governments to take control of underperforming schools after three instead of the six-year period that is now in place.

Speaking of the education provided to minority students, Romney said, “I really believe that the failure of our urban schools and, in some cases our suburban schools, to help minority students achieve the levels that are necessary for success in the workplace is the civil rights issue of our time.”

In 1994 Governor Romney pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice. He also supported abolishing the federal Department of Education and favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community (Boston Globe review of 1994 campaign issues Mar 21, 2002)

In April of 2006, Romney outlined his 6-point plan for improving the country’s education in an Op/Ed in the Washington Times.

Budget Balancing

Upon entering office, Romney faced a $3 billion deficit. Facing an immediate fiscal crisis, the Governor asked the state legislature for emergency powers to make “9C” cuts to the fiscal year 2003 budget. Refusing to raise taxes, Romney cut spending and restructured state government. An unexpected windfall in capital gains taxes reduced the deficit by $1.3 billion, and Romney raised an extra $500 million in revenue by increasing hundreds of fees (such as driver’s license and marriage license fees) and by closing tax “loopholes.” The state also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns. In response, cities and towns became more reliant on local revenue to pay for municipal services and schools.Massachusetts finished 2004 with a $700 million surplus and 2005 with a $500 million surplus.

With the help of a reviving economy, Romney was able to balance the state budget and replenish the states’ “rainy day fund” through government consolidation and reform. As a result of the fiscal turnaround, Romney has repeatedly pushed the state legislature to roll back the state income tax from 5.3% to 5.0% (Massachusetts has a flat income tax).

Same-Sex Marriage

Romney has strongly opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions. He has continually stressed the need to protect the institution of marriage while denouncing discrimination against gays and lesbians. “Like me, the great majority of Americans wish both to preserve the traditional definition of marriage and to oppose bias and intolerance directed towards gays and lesbians,” said Romney in a 2004 interview. Romney was heavily involved in attempts to block implementation of the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage in 2003. Romney criticized the decision as harming the rights of children:

“They viewed marriage as an institution principally designed for adults. Adults are who they saw. Adults stood before them in the courtroom. And so they thought of adult rights, equal rights for adults … Marriage is also for children. In fact, marriage is principally for the nurturing and development of children. The children of America have the right to have a father and a mother.”

Death Penalty

In December 2004, Romney announced plans to file a death penalty bill in early 2005. The bill sought to reinstate the death penalty in cases that include terrorism, the assassination of law enforcement officials and multiple killings. The legislation would have required corroborating scientific evidence, multiple layers of review and a new “no doubt” standard of proof.

Drunk Driving

In May of 2005 Governor Romney presented a proposal to the Massachusetts Legislature to crack down on repeat drunk drivers. Massachusetts had some of the weakest drunk driving laws of any state in the country.The state was losing 9 million dollars annually from its highway budget because existing laws were not in compliance with federal standards. Romney dubbed the legislation “Melanie’s Bill” in honor of 13-year-old Melanie Powell. Melanie was killed in 2003 by a repeat drunk driver while walking to the beach with friends. The bill included provisions that gave prosecutors greater power to go after repeat offenders with stiffer penalties. It also increased license suspensions, raised sentencing guidelines and required repeat drunk drivers to install ignition-interlock devices in their vehicles.

Abortion

Romney has identified himself as a pro-life politician. He does not support abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of a mother is threatened. Romney has been a vocal opponent of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, criticizing the “one size fits all” statute created by the ruling. The Governor believes each state should have the right to determine its own abortion laws, voicing support for efforts in states such as South Dakota to regulate abortion within its borders. Prior to his run for governor Romney told a newspaper in Salt Lake City Utah that he did not want to be classified as a “pro-choice” politician.

During the 2002 governor’s race, Romney voiced his personal opposition to abortion, but promised to maintain the Massachusetts abortion laws if elected. Romney’s platform stated, “As Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts. No law would change. The choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government’s.” Although he told voters that he was personally opposed to abortion, Romney said that he would respect the will of the pro-choice majority in Massachusetts. Referencing the established abortion laws in Massachusetts, Romney said that he would “preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose…I will not change any provisions in Massachusetts’ pro-choice laws.”

Romney has said that his views on abortion have “evolved” and “changed” since 2002 such that he now considers himself a “pro-life governor” who wishes “the laws of our nation could reflect that view.”

In 1994, Romney also said that he was personally opposed to abortion. He also said that he became committed to legalized abortion after the death of a family friend in an illegal abortion made him see “that regardless of one’s beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal.”

“Many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion,” Romney said in a televised debate opposite Senator Edward Kennedy. “It is since that time my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that.” The person Romney was referring to was a teenage girl engaged to marry a member of Romney’s extended family. Romney’s sister Jane has said that the girl’s death changed the family’s perspective on the legality of abortion. “With my mom, that was a personal thing because we had a tragedy close to us — not in our immediate family, but a young girl who actually was engaged and had an illegal abortion and died.” “She was a beautiful, talented young gal we all loved. And it pretty much ruined the parents — their only daughter. You would do anything not to repeat that.”

Romney has said he has kept his campaign promises. Romney vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005, claiming that allowing it to pass into law would violate his “moratorium” on changes to the abortion laws. Romney’s critics accuse him of grandstanding for the purpose of polishing up his pro-life credentials, for a possible run for the presidency in 2008.

Stem Cell Research

Although Romney has stated that he supports the use of surplus embryos from fertility clinics for stem-cell research, he vetoed a Massachusetts bill to fund stem-cell research because the legislation allowed the cloning of human embryos. “I am not in favor of creating new human embryos through cloning,” said Romney, calling the practice a “a matter of profound moral and ethical consequence.” Romney also opposed the legislation because of its assertion that life does not begin until an embryo is implanted in a uterus. “It is very conceivable that scientific advances will allow an embryo to be grown for a substantial period of time outside the uterus,” Romney said in an interview with the Boston Globe. “To say that it is not life at one month or two months or four months or full term, just because it had never been in a uterus, would be absurd.” The state legislature overrode Romney’s veto, with many legislators feeling that stem-cell research will be important in the future to the state’s biotech industry.

In-State Tuition Bill

Romney vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain in-state tuition rates at state colleges if they graduated from a Massachusetts high school after attending it for at least three years and signed an affidavit affirming that they intended to seek citizenship. Romney vowed to veto the bill again if it ever made it to his desk, arguing that the bill would cost the state government $15 million and that the state should not reward illegal immigration. In 2005, the bill was reintroduced to the House. The in-state immigrant tuition bill was brought to another vote on January 11, 2006 and was overwhelmingly defeated by a total of 96-57. Romney applauded the decision.

Gun Control

Romney supports the strict enforcement of gun laws. He is a supporter of the federal assault weapons ban. Mitt also believes in the rights of those who hunt to responsibly own and use firearms.

Official Site: MittRomney.com

Biography Source: Wikipedia

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