Burbine (R-Abington) Campaigns Against Taxes

MN Staff
September 2002 Print Edition

Andrew Burbine would like to represent the 7th Plymouth District in the House of Representatives. He's frustrated with the "politics as usual" atmosphere on Beacon Hill and would like to be part of a conservative and Republican resurgence which changes things in the legislature. A resident of Abington, Burbine will face Democrat incumbent Kathleen Teahan of Whitman in November.

One of the issues that frustrates Burbine about on Beacon Hill is taxation. He describes himself as a "wholehearted supporter" of the tax rollback which was approved by the voters through a ballot question. He tells MassNews, "The legislature has been overspending and overtaxing for years now. What they should have been doing is redcucing the tax burden on citizens while we had those big surpluses. Then we wouldn't be in the shape we're in now."

While he supports lower taxes, Burbine isn't in favor of the ballot question which would eliminate the state income tax altogether. While there are several reasons for his view on this, one key issue ranks as the most important for him. He said, he fears "that if it passes we'll then see attempts to change or eliminate Prop 21/2 in order to make up lost revenues. This would probably shift all the burden onto homeowners."

Regarding the Second Amendment, Burbine is solidly in favor of individual rights. He believes that the Second Amendment guarantees the rights of citizens to keep and own firearms. He said that he firmly believes that the government should not infringe upon these rights.

Although he says that it really isn't an issue in his own district, Burbine feels the matter of bilingual education is an important one for the Commonwealth. Kids should be fluent in English, he stated, both for their own good and for the good of the economy. "English should not be a second language," in this country he believes.

Burbine was outraged at the actions of legislators as they adjourned the recent Constitutional Convention without dealing with the matter of the Protection of Marriage Amendment. He tells MassNews, "Folks went out and got more than the required number of signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The legislators should have voted 'yes' or 'no' on the whether or not to put it before the voters on the ballot." If he had been a legislator at the time, he would have voted to put it on the ballot, he said.

The reason legislators took the action they did, according to Burbine, is that they lacked the courage to be on the record on the matter. He said, "You have to take votes, that's part of being a legislator. You have to take positions; defend those positions. That's not hard." He noted that when people read his positions in this profile, some people will disagree. That's fine with him. At least people will know where he stands.

Regarding the substance of the Protection of Marriage Amendment, Burbine was succinct. He said, "It calls for marriage to be between a man and a woman, right? I think that's what marriage is."

Solidly pro-life, Andrew Burbine believes that "life starts at conception." This being the case, he's certainly against partial birth abortions. He thinks they should be totally banned.

"The Republican philosophy is in favor of individual rights, self-responsibility, limited government and limited taxes," Burbine explains to MassNews, adding, "and I agree with all of those things."

He's also in favor of responsibility on the part of legislators. "People passed the charitable deduction and the tax rollback, and the legislature says 'the heck with you.' That's wrong." That's what Andrew Burbine hopes to change on Beacon Hill.