kennedyseat.com meets the candidates: Exclusive email interview with Steve Pagliuca.

Today kennedyseat.com concludes its series of email interview with each of the candidates for Senate, as Democratic candidate Steve Pagliuca, co-owner and managing partner of the Boston Celtics, offers up his thoughts on politics, jobs, and political Celtics.

As a reminder/disclaimer: my goal in reaching out to the campaigns is to try and capture a slightly different picture of the candidates as people and politicians.  I am not asking them about their positions on specific issues because a) I don't have the opportunity for follow up questions, and b) if I want a stock answer I can just look at the website.  Instead I'm trying to gauge their personalities, passions, and sense of humor.

For the time being I will let their answers speak for themselves, and hope readers will weigh in with their thoughts in the comments.

Without further ado, I give you my exclusive email interview with Democratic Senate candidate Steve Pagliuca, uncut, unedited, unspun:



KS: You are new to politics.  What compelled you to enter this race and what are the advantages/disadvantages of being a first time candidate?

Pagliuca: Some might think the fact that I am not a career politician is a disadvantage in this campaign, but I believe my experience in the community and business will set me a part and serve me well as a member of the U.S. Senate.   These are critical times and I am convinced that we can turn this country around if we send new ideas to Washington.

We are in the midst of an economic crisis and a jobs crisis.   Massachusetts has nearly 10 percent unemployment. At the same time, health care costs are spiraling out of control.   These issues are more than just political abstractions to me.  As I’ve traveled the State and through my work with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Shamrock Foundation  and other community organizations, I have seen firsthand the impact that this financial crisis has had on residents of the Commonwealth.  I know we can do more, and we must.

My 20 years of building businesses and putting people to work have provided me with a unique understanding of the issues facing our country. And I have used this experience to develop a comprehensive jobs creation platform. The details of this platform can be found at my website: www.stevepagliuca.com/jobs.  I have a record of bringing people together to get results. The combination of these ideas and this experience is exactly what we need in Washington right now.    I believe it would be cowardly to sit on the sidelines when there is so much to do in order to get our nation back on track.

KS: VC companies sometimes get a bad wrap for buying and selling companies, yet there is compelling data that proves them to be critical job creators for Massachusetts.  How do you make the case to voters that your work at Bain has created jobs in the Commonwealth?

Pagliuca: I have been a venture investor for the past 20 years.  It is something I’m proud of.  I know that my experience in this area is an asset – not a liability in this race.

There is a huge misperception that exists about what venture investment firms do.  We invest in companies that we believe are going to grow, produce high-paying jobs and make our economy stronger. We plan for growth for every company or venture we invest in.

I’m not going to pretend that we have a perfect record. We have not been successful in every investment.  But we get it right far more often than not, and I’d be happy to match my record of job creation against any of my opponents in this race.

The facts around venture capital paint a compelling picture – a 2008 study found that in Massachusetts alone venture backed firms have created 650,000 jobs, ranking us 4th in the nation.

I believe this should be a race about ideas – who has the plans and policies that will get jobs back and keep them. I have outlined a comprehensive set of job creation plans, and I am confident that the voters will judge me on the merits of these ideas and not the political name calling and misleading sound bites that are just part of business as usual in Washington.

KS: Recession, war, health care: What is the greatest challenge facing the United States and how can you help to address it?

Pagliuca: These issues are not independent.  They are linked.  The skyrocketing cost of health care and the cost of sustaining two full-scale wars weigh heavily on our economy.  If we’re going to get our nation back on track and get ourselves out of the mess we’re in, we have to put people back to work, control healthcare costs and find a way to exit the foreign conflicts in which we’re currently engaged.

We need to immediately address both the fallout of the economic recession and the systemic problems that allowed it to occur.  My plan to do this begins with smart targeted investment in key strategic industries to promote sustainable job growth.   It includes deficit neutral, self-funding job tax credits and job training funding. We also need serious regulatory reforms.  Until we fix the underlying problems of the fiscal system, with intelligent regulations, we risk another economic crisis.  Finally, we need to control the rising healthcare costs that make it hard for small businesses to hire new workers.

And the best way to do that is with comprehensive healthcare reform. That starts with universal coverage and a strong public option. I am strongly pro-choice and will work to remove the Stupak-Pitts amendment from the current bill, but we must get everyone covered. As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, I believe I’m the only reliable 60th vote in the fight to pass healthcare reform. But once we pass healthcare reform, our work is not over. We then need to turn our attention to aggressively tackling the spiraling costs of the healthcare system. I have also put forth an expensive plan focused on doing exactly that – getting costs down so businesses can start to hire again.



KS: Who (other than Ted Kennedy) do you view as a political role model?

Pagliuca: I have always admired Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  The lessons from his Presidency have never been as relevant as they are today.  FDR brought our nation back from financial collapse and put in place policies that have benefited our workforce ever since.  The hallmark of FDR’s leadership was collaboration with creative thinkers in different fields. This collaboration led his Administration to develop innovative solutions to create jobs, police an unregulated economy and establish a new system of social security.  Under FDR’s administration, our nation witnessed the most productive partnership ever known between government, business and labor. As we face down trying economic times of our own, it is exactly this kind of leadership and creativity that we so desperately need.

KS: In your professional opinion, which Celtic would be the most effective politician?

Pagliuca: Many of the Celtics would be excellent public servants, and they have worked hard to improve our communities.  Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins would each be a great Secretary of Defense, Paul Pierce an outstanding commander of the Air Force, and Rajon Rondo a terrific Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as he must distribute the ball to very powerful people.  And I know Ray Allen would be a tremendous public servant. I was fortunate to travel with Ray to Washington, D.C. to attend the inauguration of President Obama. There, I witnessed first-hand Ray’s interest in and knowledge of the political system. He shares my progressive values and would be an asset in public service. Unfortunately, we need them all to bring back our 18th championship and hopefully they are well on their way.