BEVERLY — Sitting around a table with about a dozen small-business owners, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker emphasized cutting state government — instead of raising taxes or cutting local aid — as a pillar of his campaign.
"We need to get a control on state funding," he said. "The budget deficit for next year is $2 billion. Everyone knows it, but they talk about it like it's 20 bucks. We're going to solve this problem by reforming and shrinking state government."
The informal discussion among business owners touched on everything from taxes to health insurance to unemployment and the high cost of running a business in Massachusetts.
Throughout the month, Baker and Richard Tisei, candidate for lieutenant governor, have been traveling across the commonwealth conducting a handful of similar forums. The meeting, held at Acapulcos in the Cummings Center, brought together a wide range of people, from restaurant owners to insurance agents. Baker's favorite part of the campaign, he said, is "talking to real people about what their problems are."
"We're looking for input," he said.
So far, he said, his campaign issues mirror what the public is saying.
"A lot of the stuff we've been talking about has been consistent with what we're hearing," Baker said.
A top priority, he said, is to a put a moratorium on state regulations and do a top-to-bottom review of what works and what needs to be changed.
One of the reasons he's running for governor is because he has experience in turning around struggling companies, and it's a skill he plans to apply to state government, Baker said.
"I think Massachusetts needs a turnaround," he said.
The former Swampscott selectman became the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in 1999 and oversaw a $220 million financial improvement, according to his campaign website.
"Harvard Pilgrim, when I walked in, was on the verge of bankruptcy," he said.
Many people brought up concerns about health insurance costs and high taxes for small businesses, which causes them to pursue growth in states other than Massachusetts.
Baker said he recently heard from a man on the South Shore who reluctantly hired employees in his Minnesota office instead of in Massachusetts because it was less expensive.
"He made it clear it was killing him to do it," Baker said.
Paul Guanci, a Beverly city councilor and owner of Super Sub, said he's come to rely more on part-time help because he can't afford to pay benefits.
One of the first steps to reform is acknowledging the problem, especially when it comes to health insurance costs that can vary among companies from $100 to $1,000 for the same type of service, Baker said. Public disclosure of those disparities is something he said he would address.
"I would want to do that right out of the gate," Baker said.
Business owners also bemoaned the lack of predictability in terms of state regulations and funding.
"The bigger issue," Carmen Marciano of Carmen-Kimball Insurance said, "is nobody wants to take any financial risks because nobody knows what the rules are going to be a year from now."
Indeed, Brett Schetzsle of Beverly, a Republican candidate for state representative, said that over the last 10 years state revenue has increased by 40 percent, and local aid has decreased by 15 percent.
"The state should be cutting its own budget, instead of cutting local aid," Baker said.
An example would be the Worker Retraining Program, designed to help unemployed people develop other skills for a job. About half of the money earmarked for that fund is going to the state's general fund instead, Tisei said.
"That's a classic example of the state having good intentions but siphoning off the revenue," he said.
Everybody has had to tighten their belts, and the state should have to play by the same set of rules, he added.
"There's a huge disconnect," Tisei said, "between what's happening in the real world and what's happening on Beacon Hill."
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.
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