Once thought to be the clear front-runner, Reilly now finds himself in a close race. We're not surprised. His challengers - Deval L. Patrick and Christopher F. Gabrieli - have much to offer voters. Each is capable and thoughtful.
Reilly is our choice because his positions on major issues such as fiscal responsibility, public education, public safety and others are representative of the broadest cross-section of Massachusetts voters.
We disagree with Reilly on some key issues, such as his plan to lower the state's income tax from 5.3 percent to 5 percent. At the moment, the state's budget cannot accommodate the loss of revenues from a cut in the income tax.
Yet, we were pleased to see a bit of the prosecutor in Reilly during the three-way debate Thursday night at the John F. Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, when he forcefully went to bat for the University of Massachusetts on the need for investments to promote stem cell research.
He has pledged to make the University of Massachusetts at Amherst a world-class university, making it a conduit for high-paying jobs in the region.
All three Democratic candidates for governor see education as a lifeline to the state's economy. Reilly has the strongest plan to improve the state's public schools, with an emphasis on science and math. That will better position the Bay State's students to compete in a global economy.
As attorney general, he defended the Massachusetts "buffer-zone law" that protects women entering health centers from being harassed or intimidated by protesters; he led a coalition of cities, states and environmental groups with a lawsuit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act; he battled with the Catholic Church on cases involving the alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests, and he led the fight for the largest reduction in automobile insurance rates in more than two decades.
When Reilly says he is the only candidate with experience in office, he has a record to stand behind.
We endorse Reilly for another reason that hits a little closer to home: he was born and raised in Springfield. A candidate's hometown is not a qualification for office, but we have heard many gubernatorial candidates over the years promise not to forget Western Massachusetts once they are in office.
Voters can take Reilly at his word.
"This city has been good to me," he said during a meeting with The Republican editorial board. "When I say that, I mean the people of the city. They educated me and gave me a chance. I owe this city a lot."
For 36 years, Reilly and his wife, Ruth, a retired public school teacher, have lived in rented apartment in Watertown, a neighborhood not unlike the Springfield neighborhood where he lived as a boy.
Both Patrick and Gabrieli are millionaires. Wealth does not disqualify a candidate for office, but Reilly's neighborhood looks very much like the neighborhoods of most Massachusetts voters.
There are also three candidates for lieutenant governor on the Democratic primary ballot - Timothy P. Murray, mayor of Worcester; Deborah B. Goldberg, former chairwoman of the Brookline selectmen and Andrea C. Silbert, former chief executive of the Center for Women and Enterprise in Boston.
Murray is our choice.
As a three-term mayor, Murray would be a powerful voice for small cities. Mayors in Chicopee, Holyoke, Easthampton and Northampton all support him.
Again, while his address is no qualification for elective office, Murray is the only candidate who lives west of Route 128.
He's our choice.
